LATERAL LINK

Q: How detailed should my resume be?

A: Given the quantity of resumes received by recruiting offices nationwide, assume that your resume will get an initial 30-second review.  In those 30 seconds, it needs to effectively communicate why you are a unique and valuable candidate.  As long as your resume provides interesting, relevant information, a reviewer will continue to read it.  But the instant the information becomes superfluous or unhelpful, the reviewer will stop and spend his or her valuable time on the next candidate’s resume. 

Details are important, but the right details are more important.  So while you should provide more than just generic descriptions like “conducted due diligence on corporate matters,” you should also eliminate any details that are repetitive, non-relevant, or that don’t highlight your selling points. Certain practices, like tax, lend themselves to “more” detail on resumes. For corporate and litigation candidates, a deal sheet or representative matters sheet can sometimes be a helpful addendum.  If there is anything on your resume that can be cut and pasted onto the resume of another candidate, it is too generic.  Fix it!

Q: My career counselor recommended that my resume begin with my experience and end with my education.  Is this a good idea?

A: Career counselors can be extremely helpful, especially if you are considering a career transition outside the law.  It can also be useful to have another set of eyes review your resume and provide feedback.   However, particularly in the case of general career counselors who do not specialize in legal career advice, you should evaluate their recommendations in light of what your selling points are and who your audience is. 

Resumes are marketing documents.  What are your strengths?  What sets you apart from other candidates?  The general rule for resume order is education first for junior candidates, and after two years, lead with experience.  But there are always exceptions to general rules.  If you’re a fourth-year associate who went to an Ivy League college and a Top-10 law school and you’re applying to jobs in New York City, then without a doubt, your education is your biggest selling point – especially if you have been laid off – and it should be placed prominently at the top of your resume.  Lead with your strengths!

Q: Should a resume ever be more than one page?

A: For most candidates, a one-page resume effectively communicates your selling points without losing the reader’s attention.  But again, there are exceptions to the general rule.  If you’ve published extensively, or if your career before law school merits more detailed attention, or if you are a senior associate or partner with extensive deal/case experience and your own book of business, then you may have more relevant information than can fit on a one-page resume.  Relevant is the key term here in deciding whether your background justifies an extra page.  Would an employer care about all the gardening articles you’ve written or the details of your scuba instructor job?  It depends – perhaps if you’re applying for an in-house position at a horticulture company or as an associate at a malpractice firm specializing in diving accidents – but more likely than not, those details are unnecessary.  Quality not quantity!

Most importantly:  If you have a resume of more than one page, do not bury important info on the bottom of page two.  Make sure that the most marketable info is prominently featured.

Q: I was laid off from a Top-20 law firm a few months ago.  When my severance ran out, I took a contract attorney position to help pay the bills.  This isn’t the type of job I want to call attention to when I’m applying to firms – do I need to include it on my resume?

A: When searching for a new job, remember your reputation.  Your resume should show you in the best possible light, but it also needs to be accurate.  Inaccuracies –including omissions – are unacceptable.  It is very easy for prospective employers – and the recruiters who present you to them – to do their own due diligence on candidates via Google searches and LinkedIn.  And word of mouth also remains a powerful tool, since legal markets, even in cities like New York and Los Angeles, are surprisingly small.  If an employer discovers that you’ve failed to disclose relevant legal or other employment history on your resume, the employer may question your honesty and determine that you are not a trustworthy candidate. Attorneys are also subject to the bar’s ethics obligations and can be disbarred for lying on an employment application or resume.  Of course, that’s the most drastic result – but there are many examples of attorneys who have lost their job and their reputation for lying on a resume (sometimes when the inaccuracies were discovered years later).  While this doesn’t mean that you need to include the dog-sitting you did for your neighbors last summer on your resume, it does mean that you should include your full substantive employment history. 

Even though a contract job might not look as pedigreed as an Ivy League law school or Top-20 law firm, employers understand the difficult economic climate and know that candidates have student loans and mortgages and other family expenses that aren’t going to pay themselves.   Also, ask yourself whether it is better to have a one-year gap on your resume or a contract attorney position. 

Q: Should I bother explaining to prospective employers why I was laid off or is the less said the better?

A: It’s tempting to avoid the subject or just shrug your shoulders when asked about being laid off.  But the better response is a proactive one.  Consider the circumstances surrounding your layoff.  Most people who have been laid off have a story that prospective employers need to hear so that they don’t jump to their own worst-case conclusions.  Were you in an M&A or structured finance practice group that the firm eliminated entirely?  Are you a first- or second-year associate who was laid off in seniority-based cuts?  Did your firm lay off 10% of attorneys, but a proportionally higher percentage of junior associates?  Were you laid off in the first round, or the third round? These are just some of the reasons why being laid off does not necessarily correlate to poor performance.  Before applying, consider the circumstances of your own job loss and without belaboring the point, explain these circumstances to prospective employers succinctly and dispassionately.  You’ll help your case if you include a brief explanation in the cover letter. If you’re granted an interview, the firm wants to like you.  They need to hear the circumstances of the layoff but don’t drag the explanation on – you’ll be wasting time that could be better spent on telling prospective employers why you are the BEST candidate for them! Before interviewing, ask a few candid friends to conduct interview prep with you.  The layoff question will definitely be asked – make sure that you have a coherent answer that you deliver in a normal speed and tone.  Answer the question and move on.