Resume tips!
- Thread starter blue_green
- Start date
1. Should one list scholarships under the Honors category if you aren't actually getting money from them?
ex: I was awarded a $25k/year scholarship from my law school, but then a full-tuition fellowship through the University, so I don't actually get any money from the law school scholarship. I asked in Admissions and at Career Services and got a few conflicting comments, but nobody seemed to be sure. If I do list the law school scholarship as well, is there a special notation I should put next to it?
2. Also, is there a special notation I should put next to my fellowship? I was thinking:
_______________ Fellowship (full-tuition) but should I also put something about how it is university-wide, or is this something that would just come up in an interview if I was asked? (Generally there are 6-10 offered each year, with only one to a law student)
3. Lastly, how important is it to see language experience? I'm thinking that since I'm not fluent I should leave it off, even though I do have 5 years of past experience (8th-12th grade)
ex: I was awarded a $25k/year scholarship from my law school, but then a full-tuition fellowship through the University, so I don't actually get any money from the law school scholarship. I asked in Admissions and at Career Services and got a few conflicting comments, but nobody seemed to be sure. If I do list the law school scholarship as well, is there a special notation I should put next to it?
2. Also, is there a special notation I should put next to my fellowship? I was thinking:
_______________ Fellowship (full-tuition) but should I also put something about how it is university-wide, or is this something that would just come up in an interview if I was asked? (Generally there are 6-10 offered each year, with only one to a law student)
3. Lastly, how important is it to see language experience? I'm thinking that since I'm not fluent I should leave it off, even though I do have 5 years of past experience (8th-12th grade)
If you can do your job better knowing a certain language, you should add that to your resume. Even if you do not speak it fluently, you can say can read and write". I guess you should at least so that with 5 years of high" school langauge course.
Most people only skim the top 1/3 of a single-sheet resume. Put your most important/impressive statements there.
If you went to a top law school, put it there, not at the bottom where Education usually goes.
If you can grab the reader's attention in the top 1/3, they will read the rest.
If you went to a top law school, put it there, not at the bottom where Education usually goes.
If you can grab the reader's attention in the top 1/3, they will read the rest.
No, the education should be the second thing you list on your resume, not the last. The first thing is what position you are looking for and a little about your qualification, no more than 2 sentences.
Again, the order is as follows: 1. objective, 2. education, 3, work experience, 4. activities/interests, societies and affiliations.
The main purpose of the resume is to show your qualification and competency in terms of your education, qualification, and leadership positions held. For every item that your list in the four, above mentioned categories, you want to clearly get your point across that you are independent, competent, motivated, creative, innovative, leadership type, focused, result-oriented, and mature. Think in terms of what key attributes the recruiters are looking for from the candidates.
the career services center told us to put one line at the bottom with any special skills, languages and a few interests to make us seem more real, and which might give us a hook if we share something in common with an employer.
yikes! i see this is a very polarized issue.
I also have a question about languages. I took 5 years of spanish (8th-12th grades) and scored a 5 (out of 5) on the spanish AP exam, and a perfect 100 on the NY Regents exam. However, I haven't taken any language classes in college, so my spanish is a bit rusty.
I am NOT fluent by any means (nor would i represent myself as such) but I was wondering if I should include anything related to spanish on my resume at the bottom - like familar with spanish, or something else. I did use some spanish over the summer when working at a law firm, but I understand it better than I speak it
"Some Spanish" is what I put. I took 4 years in high school, 1 year in college (1 semester of Advanced Conversation). If asked, I admit I'm rusty, but I can communicate on a rudimentary level.
As an attorney who has reviewed lots of resumes and interviewed many candidates, I am going to put in my two cents as well. Do not put an objective line on your resume unless you are interviewing for a non-traditional position. If you are interviewing for a firm job, clerkship, government, you don't need that line.
Please leave it one page. There is absolutely no need for a two page resume from a law student unless you went back to school after having worked for some time.
Basically, you include your GPA if it is good.
IMHO, law student resume should read as follows:
Education
list law school with city/state
JD expected 200X
GPA, Cali awards, honors, moot court, student groups, whatever
list undergrad with city/state
degree & major with year
GPA, awards, student groups, whatever
Experience
any jobs, clerkships with bullet points or something indicating your responsibilities
Other
Use this for languages, anything else that is interesting. Use this space to explain any gaps in resume (if such gaps exist). As for your Spanish, do not write about your AP exam or NY Regents, just write "conversational" if you deem that as accurate.
Best of luck to you!
Please leave it one page. There is absolutely no need for a two page resume from a law student unless you went back to school after having worked for some time.
Basically, you include your GPA if it is good.
IMHO, law student resume should read as follows:
Education
list law school with city/state
JD expected 200X
GPA, Cali awards, honors, moot court, student groups, whatever
list undergrad with city/state
degree & major with year
GPA, awards, student groups, whatever
Experience
any jobs, clerkships with bullet points or something indicating your responsibilities
Other
Use this for languages, anything else that is interesting. Use this space to explain any gaps in resume (if such gaps exist). As for your Spanish, do not write about your AP exam or NY Regents, just write "conversational" if you deem that as accurate.
Best of luck to you!
the career services center told us to put one line at the bottom with any special skills, languages and a few interests to make us seem more real, and which might give us a hook if we share something in common with an employer.
yikes! i see this is a very polarized issue.
I also have a question about languages. I took 5 years of spanish (8th-12th grades) and scored a 5 (out of 5) on the spanish AP exam, and a perfect 100 on the NY Regents exam. However, I haven't taken any language classes in college, so my spanish is a bit rusty.
I am NOT fluent by any means (nor would i represent myself as such) but I was wondering if I should include anything related to spanish on my resume at the bottom - like familar with spanish, or something else. I did use some spanish over the summer when working at a law firm, but I understand it better than I speak it
Fellow law student here (with my job already). I think it's a good idea to put a line at the bottom with interests and hobbies for law job seeking. You are probably a 1L (right?) and you are going to be competing with about a bazillion other 1Ls also spamming 50 firms with resumes and cover letters. It's good to stand out a little. But, like others said above, not by using pink scented paper a la legally blonde.