How Paralegals Should Write a Resume | CLS by BARBRI

Every student looking to become a paralegal should learn early on how to accomplish a resume. Getting a job in the legal industry is more than listing down the number of programs you have enrolled in; gaining employment takes personality, charisma, and convincing a firm that you are the perfect fit for their culture.

The Resume

There are four standard parts of a paralegal resume that condenses the relevant information about what an applicant brings to the table. These parts are Career Objective, Skills, Education, and Experience. Dividing the resume into distinct parts allows the applicant to bring attention to the area which they think should highlight what they can offer to a law firm.

For now, we will be focusing on the first two parts – career objective and education – as these will be the greatest strengths of the new graduate resume.

Career Objective

This is important because it provides the abstract qualities any recruiter cannot gather without knowing the applicant personally. Qualities such as drive, ambition, and vision for the future are some of the qualifications law firms look for in applicants, which they cannot measure during the recruitment process. The Career Objective can give employers a peek at the kind of person they are dealing with, and whether they will like working that person.

The best way to write this part is to start with a one-sentence description of the job you are seeking. Follow that up with no more than a paragraph of how you see reaching that objective, and either maintaining that objective or reaching for new ones.

Education

The key to writing this part is to list everything in a bullet list format. Unlike the career objective, education is all about the number of things the applicant has accomplished during their years in school.

Some applicants have a tendency to list as many as they can; don’t fall into this trap. Only list the top ten or fifteen things you want an employer to know about you. Putting too many items on a resume can make an applicant look pretentious, and an employer will easily get tired of reading a list that looks too long.

For more information on paralegal education, programs, and getting a job after studying, contact us today. Our teams are more than happy to answer any questions you might have regarding our services.