The Resume:  Your Main Marketing Piece

The resume is usually the first marketing piece that an employer will review.  It is not meant to answer every question about a job candidate, but should instigate the employer's interest and generate questions.  The basis of the interview will come from items on the resume, so items should contain nuggets that can be elaborated upon to provide good employment information.  Below are some general advice items to provide basic help in getting started with drafting a resume.  Since every resume should be different, Legal Career Services staff look forward to assisting each student with customizing theirs.

General Tips:

  • Create more than one, targeting different employers, practice areas and/or geographic locations
  • No objective or skills summary on typical legal resume, but should include one if seeking unusual career path
  • Items on left margin will be seen first
  • Items on the top third of the page get most attention
  • Use bolding, italics, caps to make it scannable
  • Use outline or bulleted format
  • Use active voice
  • The first-person subject "I" is understood
  • Numbers add tangibility
  • One page is the strong preference
  • Do the 10-second test - have a friend read your resume for 10 seconds & see what they remember from it

The Heading:

  • Use the name you go by
  • Give addresses (school, home, other) that will show a link to the employer's location
  • Be sure phone numbers can actually reach you
  • Include e-mail address(es)

Education:

  • The University of Georgia School of Law, Athens,Georgia
  • J.D. expected, Month 200whatever
  • List other degrees in reverse chronological order
  • No need to list non-degree institutions, but advisable if establishing geographical ties

Grades and Ranking Information:

  • Since representing grades/rank is incredibly individual and dependent on your goals, experiences and other factors, it is strongly advised that you consult with the LCS staff in representing your grades/rank to best suit your job search.
  • If rank is in the top half, it is almost always a good idea to show it; employers will often assume the worst if no rank is shown.
  • NEVER estimate or round up your rank or GPA.  NEVER use any approximate numbers.  Represent only the exact numbers as given by the LAW SCHOOL REGISTRAR.
  • NEVER get transcripts or ranking or GPA information from the University registrar - only from the LAW SCHOOL registrar.  The UGA regisrar's office does not compute + or - grades and all their numbers will be inaccurate; employers will not ask why there is a discrepancy, they will simply reject you, permanently.
  • Consult the posted Grade Distribution (ranking information) list: 
  • If you are just below a ranking cohort, you may not round up or estimate yourself into that cohort.  You may, however, show that you are close by giving your GPA & showing where that cohort ends, for example:  "GPA=3.41.  Top 20%=3.49.  Top 33%=3.30."  Employers will noodle this out to "top25%ish" even though you could never say such a thing on a resume.

Activities and Honors:

  • Include law school honors & activities under law school
  • Can integrate others with other educational institutions
  • Can create a separate Activities and Honors section if including non-academic items

Experience or Employment:

  • Experience is more broad, includes volunteer, externships, etc.
  • Can separate Legal or Professional and other experience
  • Reverse chronological is typical order
  • Give employer name and your title on left margin, dates and location elsewhere
  • Brief, active discussion of top responsiblities
  • For public interest, create a separate "Volunteer Experience" category

Other Items:

  • Never include illegal hiring considerations (age, weight, marital status, etc.)
  • Definitely include foreign language skills
  • Computer skills should be included only if extremely exceptional
  • Hobbies can be included, but should be jettisoned if space is needed for experience/education factors

Formatting Considerations:

  • Format in pdf (Adobe) when you finalize, this prevents any line wrap errors or other transmittal problems or interface difficulties when you upload or e-mail
  • Use bold, underlining, italics, caps, indenting and bullets sparingly to lead the reader's eye
  • In descriptions, use either bullets or paragraph style, depending on space needs

Simple, sample resume format  (PDF).