Top 3 Resume Building Tips

Confident happy young female candidate shaking hands during a job interview at the office with managers

Resumes are vital this time of year as law students explore summer externships or job opportunities after graduation. Beth Hansen, Career Services Director, gives her top tips for building a solid resume:

1. Details are everything:

  • Spelling counts: “Reuben” not “Rueben”
  • Don’t use abbreviations
  • Double check capitalization: the “d” on “Latter-day Saints” should be lower-case
  • Small errors can show disinterest

2. Make it readable:

  • Layout should be vertically pleasing to the eye
  • Use centered margins
  • Don’t have extra space, but use enough white space
  • Don’t use filler words
  • Look out for spacing discrepancies
  • Clean and easy to read — lawyers read quickly and are pressed for time

3. Patterns and consistency:

  • Don’t use these personal pronouns: I, me, or my
  • Use the same format throughout resume
  • Stay away from a resume creator
  • Font usage: Sans Serif text for online resumes and Serif fonts for print resumes

 

Close-up Of A Businesswoman At Desk Holding Resume

 

Additional Resources:

  • Alumni Mentor Program
  • Lunching with Lawyers Program
  • Professional Development Lecture Series Class & Skills Training Class
  • Pathways Mentor Program
  • 1L Mock/Practice Interview Fair – mid November
  • Annual Winter Job Fair – January
  • Early Interviewing Programs – August
  • Solo Practice Seminar – mid March
  • Visit BYU Law’s Career Services website for more resources.

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