Crafting an original resume can be a daunting task, but you want yours to stand out from the rest. If you are looking for attorney resume tips, this article offers many ideas to help you produce a resume that will grab the attention of a potential employer. Today, samples abound everywhere online and it is all too easy to use these templates, which means your resume ends up looking just like 95% of the other resumes that a human resource department may encounter. How do you make your original, so that it reflects your own personality and work style? Browse the attorney resume tips below to learn how to ignite your chances of securing the position.
Basic information you will need
- Here is a brief outline of what you will need to list on your attorney resume, in the order that the sections should be listed.
- Contact information
- Profile or Summary of Qualifications
- Key accomplishments
- Work experience
- Education
- Training and certification
- Additional information that adds value to your resume
- References
- Powerful action verbs
Here are some key attorney resume tips that will help you create a winning resume.
1. Keep in mind that you want to craft a resume that is original, professional, and demonstrates your enthusiasm for the position. Remember; this is your first presentation to a potential employer, and likely gives the reader a feeling for your work ethics and quality.
2. Use a font for your attorney resume that is easy to read and friendly to the eye. It should be no smaller than 11 points; Arial, Verdana and Times New Roman are good fonts to consider.
3. Keep your resume as brief as possible, using bold or italics only when necessary for emphasis.
4. Describe your previous and present work in the correct tense. Current work should be described in the present tense, while past employment should be described in the past tense.
5. Always check grammar, spelling and spacing. Proofread your resume a few times yourself, and let a friend or family member review your document as well.
6. Use action verbs to begin statements describing your experiences, as this makes your content come to life so that it doesn’t read in a dull, boring manner.
Powerful action verbs go a long way in determining whether your resume will land in the “interview” pile or in the “discard” pile. Employers love descriptive words like formulated, researched, implemented, developed, increased, etc. Describe your qualifications and talents in a way that relates directly to the position, and highlight your strongest assets.
Below your education and training and certification sections, list any information that would add to the value of your resume such as language and computer skills, legal internships, etc. This should be placed in the “additional information” section.
Use these attorney resume tips in building your resume, and you will see that it isn’t all that tough a task to master.