Career & Professional Development Blog

Resume and Interview Tips

We've covered this in the past on this blog, but just a refresher out there for those students and graduates who might be reading:

On your resume, please have a professional and somewhat innocuous email address. It can be simple: something like your first initial and last name. Use one of the many free email accounts that are out there now. I recently read a resume where the first word in the person's email address was "Queen".  Queen! When I read this, I instantly thought, what kind of person is this? (And her name was not Queen.)

For an interview, prepare questions in advance and act professionally throughout the interview. I recently visited with an employer and he said that an interviewee would answer "Check, sir!" to every statement made by the employer. Imagine: 

Interviewer:  We require our associates to bill 1800 hours.

Interviewee:  Check, sir!

Interviewer:  You will be required to bill in 6 minute intervals.

Interviewee:  Check, sir!

Interviewer:  How many fingers am I holding up?

Interviewee:  Check, sir!

While enthusiasm is a plus, there is such a thing as going over the top. Pay attention and give attentive and thoughtful answers and responses to the employer's questions.

Tailor your resume to the job description. It is good to have a standard resume, but always tailor it to fit the particular job for which you are applying. If the job description says, "Seeks person with management experience," then be sure to include any management experience you may have had in the past on your resume, even if it was in a non-legal setting. If the employer needs someone that is fluent in Excel, then make sure that is one your resume. Look for "key words" in the job description and make sure you have touched upon those areas either in your resume or your cover letter.

Speaking of cover letters, short is not always better. While "clear and concise" may have been your goal, you want to speak to the employer through your cover letter. Let them know why your are interested in the job. If the job involves a location change, tell the employer why you want to move to that location. If you are really excited about the job opportunity and it is exactly what you have always wanted to do, then communicate that in your cover letter. This is your first (and maybe only) chance to reach the employer through your words.

Finally and most importantly, proofread, proofread, proofread. Have someone else proof your resume and cover letter, too. The more eyes you can get on your application materials before you send it to the employer, the better. In the employer's eyes, a typo means that you don't care and it is the surest way to get your materials sent to the recycle bin.

Anetra Parks, University of Wyoming College of Law, Laramie, Wyoming

I Know It's Only June, But . . .

I realize that it's only the first week of June and everyone is still settling into their summer jobs, but it's not too early to start thinking about your marketing materials for this fall.  Fall recruiting will be here before you know it!  Many schools have resume drops that occur as early as July.  Now is the time to start revising your resume.   Remember to add your summer employment, update your GPA with Spring 2008 grades, add recent honors and law review or moot court membership, if appropriate, etc.  Most importantly, don't forget to have others proofread for you.  Remember that folks in your Career Services Office want to help you and will happily review your resume, but you have to get it to them before recruiting deadlines.

Tammy King,Washington University School of Law

Make a job description work for you!

Most job postings for law firm positions are bare-bones:   "entry level associate needed for busy family law practice"

When you apply for corporate, non-profit or academic positions, you usually get more to work with because there is a human resource professional who works with the department to craft a meaningful job description. 

Every word is in the description for a reason.  Make it work for you by mirroring every bit of its language in your resume and cover letter.  When discussing something that you have yet to do, use the specific language to link the requested or required experience to something that you have done.

Susan Gainen
University of Minnesota Law School