Drafting a CV / resume you can be proud of is extremely time-consuming and may take several attempts to get right. So, blocking out sufficient time in your diary for CV preparation is vitally important.
When drafting a CV, put yourself in the shoes of a busy law firm partner, graduate recruitment professional or legal recruiter. How easy will it be for them to skim over your CV on a computer screen or tablet so they can quickly glean your current position, academic credentials and relevant experience or transferable skills?
For the vast majority of employers, the length of a candidate’s CV is not massively important provided it only includes all the appropriate information and is easy to follow. This can be achieved by effectively using headings, bullet points and white space.
As you will see in the linked downloadable template, which is most suited for students seeking qualifying work experience via a paralegal role or training contract, the key headings to include in a CV are as follows:
- Academic Achievements, including scholarships and other prizes & Other Qualifications (eg admission as a lawyer in an overseas jurisdiction)
- Language & Advanced IT (eg knowledge of software used in document review) Skills
- Legal Work Experience, including paralegal roles, vacation schemes and insight days
- Other Relevant Work Experience, including part-time or holiday jobs
- Positions of Responsibility, including committee roles in student societies
- Pro Bono, Volunteering & Charity Work
- Hobbies and Interests, including captaining a team and details of successfully participating in any relevant competitions / tournaments
Career changers or mature students may also wish to include an additional section on Early Career History.
Most of the sections referred to above are fairly self-explanatory and if any do not apply to you then feel free to leave out. The key is to ensure that all ‘lengthy’ gaps between finishing secondary school and your current position are accounted for. Whether or not you include every single job, position, achievement or skill will depend on how historic and relevant they are to the role you’re applying for.
When setting out relevant experience gained in a previous paralegal role the temptation for many candidates is simply to add their day-to-day responsibilities. But what recruiters and hiring partners are also looking for are any relevant accomplishments. The most effective way to showcase your experience is to use action verbs such as advised, communicated, developed, drafted, edited, managed, negotiated, researched and reviewed etc.
The more evidence you include in your CV that demonstrates a genuine interest in law along with the skills an employer is looking for the stronger your chances of converting an application to a job interview. And remember that you don’t have to include every single piece of work ever handled or indeed achievement, because as they say less is more. Related to this, you should be confident discussing anything you mention in your CV at an interview.
You now know what to include in your CV so let’s run through some of the things that are best avoided:
- Typos and grammatical errors. This is obviously a big deal for lawyers so ensure you read your CV thoroughly. And even better get a family member or friend to give it a once over for you.
- Cheesy and meaningless personal statements telling the reader you are amazing. A well-drafted CV should enable the reader to form their own positive opinion of you. Saying that, personal statements can work well for career changers / mature applicants.
- Poor formatting, inappropriate typefaces, pictures and bright colours. Keep this simple but make important information stand out by using bold and italic fonts.
- Although customary to include them in some jurisdictions, in the UK CVs do not need to include a profile photo.
- Fibbing and exaggerating. You will get caught out.
- Telling an employer that you have the right experience or stating you have excellent team skills. Instead, provide a specific example that demonstrates this eg worked as part of a high performing team to deliver excellent client service
- Circulating the wrong version. You can avoid this by ensuring you date each draft. A sensible approach is to include the date on the document name when saving on a computer (e.g. HusnaraBegum_CV_Draft1_030517). Related to this, remember to remove track changes and then convert to a PDF before circulating.
- Achievements no longer deemed significant due to time lapse. You are no doubt very proud of once being a school prefect, but is this an achievement worth mentioning now that you’re all grown up?
- References to basic language skills. Employers only care about those you can use in a professional context. The same applies to basic IT skills – employers will expect you to have a good understanding of how to use a computer and Microsoft office.
- Waffle. Keep it punchy and simple because too much information is likely to bore the reader.
Incidentally, opinions on the best format for CVs will differ. So do not be put off if others suggest a different style. What is most important is that you are happy with the version you end up circulating to employers. With this in mind, if you are applying for a paralegal role or qualifying work experience via a legal recruitment agency, ask the consultant representing you to show you the final version they intend to send to their clients.
Finally, if you have a more unconventional background check out this CheekyLittleCareers blog for further tips.
Download the CV template here ›
Read our other Careers & Employability blogs here:
- Bouncing back from rejection after a job interview
- How to network your way into QWE
- What is the BARBRI CareerHub & how can it support you with QWE?
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