Resume

Applying General Resume Advice to Legal Resumes

  • On December 1, 2024
You may be wondering what general resume advice applies to in-house legal resumes in the Bay Area. Some rules apply, and others don’t. Let’s go through those listed by a hiring expert in the CNBC article “The resume mistake that will land it in the ‘no pile,’ according to a hiring expert of 30+ years.” […]
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Resume

WSJ’s “New Coveted Resume Line”: What is It?

  • On October 27, 2024
I fell for the WSJ’s article cleverly headlined “The New Coveted Résumé Line: Flipping Burgers.” Apparently fast food experience on your resume is now coveted: “A stint in fast food is a badge of honor for business leaders who want to be viewed as humble and relatable—and proof that they worked to get where they […]
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Resume

 Are Boring Formats OK for Legal Resumes? 

  • On August 25, 2024
Lawyers often ask me about updating their resumes to industry standard. What does that entail? Simple is ok; I’m backed up by recruiters from top companies like Nvidia on what to do. I agree you should do these basics: use the language from the job description, impactful verbs, and metrics to quantify accomplishment. Should you […]
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Resume

The Economist on the Perfect Resume

  • On August 4, 2024
I recently read the Economist’s article on writing the perfect CV/resume, and agree with so many points. It acknowledges “[y]our audience is made up of recruiters and hiring managers,” and confirms we “spend an average of 7.4 seconds skimming a job application.” Valid recommendations to follow: Do not “put the reader off.” The format should […]
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Resume

Don’t Customize Your Resume?!

  • On July 21, 2024
OK I bit. I had to click on the career advice article telling applicants NOT to customize their resume to the job since that is often the FIRST thing I tell people to do. So why does the Nike head of talent acquisition say tailoring the resume is a “waste of time?” He explains job […]
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Resume

Advice That Doesn’t Apply to Legal Resumes

  • On November 5, 2023
I just read this post featuring a recruiter at Deloitte who says the thing she looks for on a resume that “will give you ‘the edge’” is an interesting factoid about yourself. She says you should “put the nugget at the top of the resume,” presumably to inject personality into the document. No. Do not do […]
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Resume

5 Minutes to Update Your Resume

  • On October 8, 2023
My 5 minute series covers easy things you can do that’s a good return on your time. We covered interview prep  and networking. Now let’s talk about resumes! As with interview prep and networking, you may feel like you can spend an unlimited time on your resume (hello decreasing marginal returns!). But if you only have […]
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Job Search, LinkedIn, Resume

6 Job Search Tips that Do Not Apply to Lawyers 

  • On September 17, 2023
Working in-house is a specialized space, so general advice for job seekers may not work for lawyers. Here are 6 pieces of advice I’ve seen that do NOT work for getting a legal job: Always message the hiring manager and CEO when applying for a job? No. This is not a good use of your time. If […]
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Resume

Resume Refresh Part III: Tailoring Your Resume

  • On August 27, 2023
You may see this career tip all the time, that you should “tailor your resume” to the job. How exactly do you do that? It means highlighting relevant experience and reframing the other work you’ve done to match the target profile the company wants. Here are 5 ways to tailor your resume to the job: […]
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