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Resume Dos and Don’ts Revisited

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file9281249337561Can you believe it’s been almost two years since my last Dos and Don’ts post? Time certainly flies when your chasing ungrateful entitled millennials having fun. Anyway, in the past two years, I’ve been pleasantly surprised to see people heeding my advice. While overall the caliber and quality of resumes has improved, some people have found new ways to send me garbage disappoint me. It’s now time for another installment of Resume Dos and Don’ts. Here goes:

 

  • DO describe your current position in the present tense with active verbs.
    •  To the extent possible, lead each bullet point with words like “Manage” “Prepare” “Conduct” “Implement” “Prosecute” “Litigate” “Lead” “Research” “Draft” “Present” “File” etc. Don’t use passive or wishy washy language, it doesn’t inspire confidence in your skill set.

 

  • DO structure your job description in a strategic way. The bullet points should not be a mish-mash of daily functions. Start with a a broad bullet point that puts your practice into context. For example, this might be a good first bullet point for a litigator:

Litigate complex commercial and intellectual property cases, with a specific focus on motion practice, in federal and state courts

Or this one

Manage and engage in all phases of litigation in state and federal courts, concentrating primarily on business, real estate, products liability, construction and commercial matters; significant experience managing and assisting in large, complex actions involving international corporations, Fortune 500 companies, and damages awards in excess of $100 million

It tells me right away that you’re a litigator, your practice area, and that you have job relevant experience. For my corporate folks (I didn’t forget you):

Represent numerous public and emerging growth domestic and international companies in the life sciences, software, telecommunications, Internet, and e-commerce industries, in a wide variety of complex transactions including mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, public offerings of equity and debt securities, venture capital transactions, and formations of start-up companies

The subsequent bullet points should get into details. Something like:

Trial experience including direct and cross of percipient and expert witnesses, arguing pre trial and post trial motions and jury instruction submissions, opening and closing statements and voir dire; with approximately ten weeks of jury trials on five separate matters including recent trial victory

Or this:

Manage significant motion practice, discovery, and pleadings; particular experience with drafting, filing, arguing pre trial and post trial, in limine, directed verdict, summary judgment and adjudication, class certification opposition, judgment on the pleadings, and demurrer motions; propounding and responding to all forms of discovery; case analysis and strategic planning

Or for transactional experience

Draft and negotiate definitive merger agreements and all ancillary agreements for various M&A transactions, including Registration Statements on Form S-4, support agreements, lockup agreements, disclosure schedules and registration rights agreements

You should have several detailed bullet points, which list your experience.

Why? Because the threshold decision-maker is usually not an attorney. If he or she is looking for specific experience, and your job description doesn’t list it, you will not be given the benefit of the doubt. The person reviewing your application when it is received won’t always know what functions make up your practice, and if the keywords they’re seeking don’t appear front and center on your resume, you will get passed over. Too many people submit resumes and think that since they are xyz, and they’ve done abc, the hiring manager will assume… Don’t make that mistake. Be specific.

 

  • DO list experience that relates to the job first. If you’re applying for an M&A related position – then show me your M&A work first, and then list your other corporate experience. If you’re a general commercial litigator applying for an L&E heavy position, then showcase your L&E experience first, then talk about other litigation functions.
    • Realize that it’s perfectly acceptable (necessary, in fact) to have multiple versions of your resume geared towards different types of positions. Don’t make the mistake of sending one master resume to all potential jobs. You will most certainly get rejections from everyone, because in our uber-competitive job climate, no one is going to go searching through multiple irrelevant bullet points to see if you have the skills they’re seeking.

 

  • DO list the most impressive achievements and job functions next. For transactional attorneys – start with bullets that discuss leading deal teams. For litigators, start with bullets demonstrating trial experience.

 

  • DO keep the number of description bullet points proportional to the time you spent at a particular job. If you’ve been somewhere for three years, I’d like to see more than two bullet points. Conversely, if you list a summer associate position, there is no need for a lengthy description of everything you did spanning six bullet points.

 

  • DO list your education first, for the first few years of practice. After you’ve graduated to third year associate, move it below the EXPERIENCE section.

 

  • DON’T include pre-law employment. Unless you’re a patent attorney (for whom industry experience is highly relevant), there is no need to waste valuable resume real estate on pre-bar admission/ pre-law school work.
    • This brings up another interesting question – does your summer associate position belong on the resume? I used to say yes, unless you are a very senior level attorney. Recently, I heard from a hiring partner who thought it was odd that we included the candidate’s summer associate position (she is a 7th year associate). This one is a judgement call. The older you get (in lawyer years), the less important this becomes.

 

  • DON’T fudge your GPA with creative math. I don’t care how many law schools you attended, or how many relevant/irrelevant courses you took, if your resume GPA doesn’t match the cumulative GPA listed on your transcript, your resume is going in the garbage. Period.

 

  • DON’T give me vague employment dates like “2011 – 2013.” I need exact months of employment and these MUST BE IN LINE WITH REALITY. I’m going to ask you anyway, so please just save us both time and energy and tell me from the start.

 

And this bring me to my next and final point

 

  • DON’T lie on your resume. I know everyone fluffs and puffs, but I’m telling you – don’t do it. You will be found out. If you think you’re going to pull one over on everybody and no one will notice, you’re in for a very rude awakening.

 

I hope this post is helpful (and buys me another two years before I have to do another installment).

 


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