How to write a lawyer's resume?

Today, lawyers make up a significant part of the personnel market. This profession is very popular among young people, so a large number of school graduates annually enter the law faculties of universities throughout the country (both in prestigious universities in large cities and in small institutions in the provinces). Lawyers are no exception, so they, like all other professionals, must have a resume. First of all, this document is needed for employment.

What are the basic rules for the preparation and execution of a lawyer's resume? What are the guidelines for writing a cover letter? What should i avoid? You will find answers to these and some other questions in this article.

To get a job, you need to correctly draw up a lawyer's resume. Remember that it must look perfect in the eyes of the employer, because only the best candidates will get to the interview. In this regard, when writing a document, you should adhere to a few simple rules.

• Grammatical Accuracy. The resume should be drawn up taking into account all the rules of the Russian language. Spelling mistakes, omission of punctuation marks, any typos are not allowed. Such shortcomings will irritate the employer, and your candidacy will not be taken seriously. That is why, before submitting your resume, read it carefully several times and ask your friends and family to do so. You can also use specially designed spell checking services.
• Brevity and conciseness... The optimal resume size is 1 page. All information should be presented in a simple and understandable language, you should not describe the details of your personal life and biographical details.
• Formal and business style. When writing a resume, it is forbidden to use colloquial phrases or artistic language techniques (metaphors, epithets, comparisons). It is necessary to strictly follow the principles of the official business language. Remember that a resume is a document that creates the first impression of you as a specialist in the eyes of an employer.
• Structuredness. The resume should have clearly delineated and defined sections. You cannot write a job application document in a single continuous text (for example, as an essay). At the same time, it is recommended that the section titles be highlighted in larger or bold type, so that the summary is easier for the reader to perceive.
• Registration. The document should be neatly executed and have a consistent style.

In general, there is no clearly defined and strict requirement for having your personal photo on your resume. As a general rule it is recommended to attach your picture... In addition, you need to carefully read the job description - many employers write about whether they need your photo. One way or another, but in the process of solving this issue, the fact that your job responsibilities will be of primary importance is played.

So, those lawyers who will spend their working hours meeting with clients, partners of the company, counterparties, in court, as well as in any other communications, must attach their photo. If your work will consist in drawing up documents in your office, in finding the necessary legal information, etc., then you do not need to attach a picture. In this case, much attention should be paid to the photograph itself. First of all, it must be of high quality. It is not recommended to use photos taken with your phone. If possible, seek help from a specialist.

The photo should be taken in a business style, but it is not necessary to wear a formal business suit and do the styling. It is also not recommended to send the employer a photo that duplicates the photo on the passport. A photo taken in the workplace is fine, you may have a slight smile on your face.

A cover letter is an optional document for hiring, so not every employer requires it from a job seeker. More details about this should be written in the job description. If such a requirement is present, then the writing of the cover letter should be approached with the same seriousness as the writing of the resume itself.

Generally speaking, a cover letter is the document that will help you open up to the employer as a professional and individual. The thing is that The resume should contain only the hard facts, but the cover letter may include more personal information. For example, you can talk about why you decided to become a lawyer and what difficulties you encountered in achieving this goal.

At the same time, do not abuse the free form of the letter and the attention of the employer - write briefly and to the point. Also, a cover letter may contain information about one of your cases. For example, you might describe your biggest challenge, talk about the challenges you faced and how you overcame them.

The structure of a cover letter should have 3 main parts: a greeting, a main part, and a conclusion. At the same time, try to personalize the cover letter for a specific employer as much as possible, do not try to make a template version that is suitable for all cases. Also, you can attach recommendations and reviews of your employers, as well as former bosses to the document.

When applying for a job as a lawyer, it is important to write a competent resume. In general, you can focus on ready-made templates, samples and examples. However, at the same time, do not forget that it is forbidden to rewrite or copy them verbatim. You need to add personal information to your resume.

Besides, a lawyer is a rather multifaceted and complex profession. Therefore, the process of drawing up a document for hiring may differ depending on what specific position you are applying for: legal assistant, leading legal adviser, real estate specialist, corporate lawyer, enforcement proceedings specialist, labor law advisor, international lawyer, contractual specialist. department, etc. The main difference is job responsibilities.

At the same time, a lawyer's resume should include several mandatory blocks, which we will consider in more detail in our article.

In order to get a job as a lawyer, you must have the appropriate education. For such professionals, short retraining courses or several conferences are not suitable. At the same time, depending on the specific organization, secondary specialized education (for example, a college) may be enough for you. Large international companies require higher education, and sometimes even a master's degree, from applicants. Detailed information about specific requirements will definitely be spelled out in the job description.

In the block "Education" of your resume, in chronological order, you should list the educational institutions that you graduated from. In this case, you also need to indicate such data as specialization, direction of training, department and years of study. Some employers also ask you to write your grade point average. In addition to the fact that a lawyer must have a special basic education, he must constantly improve his qualifications - this is the only way to remain a relevant specialist who knows all global and domestic legal trends, and is also competitive in the labor market. That's why lawyers are encouraged to regularly attend conferences, trainings, master classes, etc.

However, at the same time the resume does not need to include full detailed information. It must be fully consistent with the position for which you are applying (for example, if you want to become a corporate lawyer who will deal with economic and commercial disputes, then you should not indicate that you attended conferences on criminal law - such information is not will be relevant to the employer).

Having work experience and high achievements in the relevant field is a great advantage of the applicant in comparison with other candidates who also apply for this position. That is why it is very important to fill out this section of the resume correctly.

First of all, in this block, you should indicate a specific legal specialization. As you know, a professional lawyer cannot be a good specialist in all areas at the same time. That's why you should be honest with the employer and immediately tell truthful information about your competence.

Usually in this section it is customary to describe all the previous jobs.In this case, it is necessary to indicate the employing company, the position held and the time of work. It is not recommended to register those places of work where you have not stayed for more than a year - such information may raise suspicions in a potential employer.

In the "Achievements" section, it is customary to describe your most successful cases, complex cases or difficulties that you were able to successfully solve. In addition, if you have received any awards, participated in professional competitions, then this should also be definitely mentioned, because these facts will be your advantage over other applicants for the position.

Key professional skills and competencies depend on the specific position for which you are applying. Therefore, it is imperative that you first of all indicate exactly the knowledge that will help you in your new job. However, at the same time, one should not forget about the universal skills that every qualified lawyer should have. Among them are:

• the ability to draw up procedural documents and their projects;
• court presentation skills;
• experience of interaction with bailiffs;
• the ability to negotiate;
• knowledge of the principles of workflow, etc.

Besides, it is important to tell in detail about those areas that are directly related to the activities in which the company operates. So, for example, if an organization specializes in supporting bankruptcy procedures for legal entities, then you should describe the relevant experience.

Despite the fact that the employer primarily pays attention to your education, work experience and professional skills, personal qualities also play a significant role. The thing is that a lawyer is a specialist who is in constant interaction with other people (clients, colleagues, boss, counterparties, etc.). That is why it should be pleasant and comfortable to work with him.

Employers value such personal qualities of lawyers as:

• stress tolerance;
• sociability;
• ability to work in a team;
• attention to detail;
• a responsibility;
• punctuality;
• attentiveness;
• discipline, etc.

but do not literally rewrite the list given by us - be sure to individualize it for yourself. In addition, be prepared for the fact that during the interview the employer will ask you to give examples and situations where you showed the qualities you described.

Also, the resume should contain sections with your full name and contact information, information about the desired position and responsibilities that you are ready (or not ready) to perform, information about your hobby. Optionally, you can add a column with the desired salary, as well as the "Additional information" block, in which you can indicate the readiness to move, the availability of your own transport and driver's license, as well as other data of importance to the employer.

Job search and resume writing are especially challenging tasks for a novice professional and for those lawyers who have just completed their studies. That is why such people should pay great attention to drawing up a job application document.

So, first of all in no case should you mislead the employer and say that you have work experience. Be honest and straightforward. At the same time, in the column "Work experience", you can indicate your internship and practice that you took during your studies.

Also, in your resume (or cover letter), you should indicate that you are ready for an internship with subsequent employment. In this case, the employer will make sure of the seriousness of your intentions, and will also be able to check you as a specialist in practice.

A lawyer is a business person, a professional in his field. However, even if all your credentials are fully consistent with the proposed position, you may not get a job due to the fact that you made several mistakes when writing your resume. That's why it is important to avoid information that could harm you.

A resume should not describe in detail your personal life and biography. The document required for employment is official and business. It should contain only that information about you and only those data that are directly related to the position, to professional life, to your career. Personal information is not included in the range of required data.

Also, in the "Personality" section of your resume, you shouldn't describe your ideal portrait. List 3-5 positive traits of your character and justify them.