| Resume-Writing Tips |
| By Stephen E. Seckler |
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Numerous books have been written about resumes, and many career professionals will try to convince you that there are hard-and-fast rules about proper resume drafting. What follows are my own thoughts and observations about resumes (in a very distilled form) as well as a good sample that I have seen (and redacted).
It is my belief that many professionals spend too much time and energy thinking about and perfecting their resumes (I was one of those professionals). Time spent getting the wording on the page absolutely perfect could be better spent networking. Your resume is a summary that should emphasize those skills and experiences that are relevant to the job you want. It should not be a summary of everything that you have ever done or even necessarily every law-related activity you have ever been involved with (unless omitting the information would distort your background or leave large gaps of time that go unexplained or unless the experience clearly demonstrates that you have closely related skills and experience). In many ways, it is similar to writing a brief. When drafting a brief, a good lawyer will include only his/her best arguments, not every argument that he/she can articulate. Similarly, a good advocate is very selective about which facts to include in a brief, while being sure not to distort the case. If you were applying for an in-house position with a company that does a lot of acquisition work, for example, it would be a good idea to include anything you have done that relates to mergers and acquisitions; but your pro bono work with the District Attorney's office is probably less relevant.
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