Moritz career advisor Cheri Wiles recently attended a NALP conference session in which a firm's recruiter identified a list of critical resume features:
1. Potential legal employers are likely to spend fewer than 30 seconds on initial review of your resume, so include information that shows you think like a lawyer and can advocate for yourself.
2. Spelling and grammatical errors are the kiss of death. (Hint: "memoranda," not "memorandums.")
3. Limit your resume to one page. How will you be able to identify critical legal issues on an assignment if you are unable to edit your resume to one page?
4. Include your interests only if they are interesting, authentic and descriptive. For example, don't list "baseball" unless you know everything about baseball at all levels; instead, write "avid Cubs fan."
5. Keep position descriptions active and short. Avoid passive voice, e.g., "responsible for...." Don't repeat activities from one job to the next; instead, concentrate on additional skills or experiences.
6. If you include language skills, indicate your level of fluency. If you say you are fluent or conversational, be prepared to answer questions and converse in that language.
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from The Ohio State University Moritz College of law Career services office
