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Here’s part 2 of HK legal Recruiter’s advice for resumes in this region
What content should you put in your resume?
By: HK Legal Recruiter
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As I mentioned in my last post the length of your resume should depend on the amount of experience you have. Similarly, the content of your resume should reflect your experience. The layout of your resume is also important and will depend on your target audience as much as on your own experience.
I realise that these points may seem simple to some readers but I receive applications every day from candidates who could (should!) improve their resumes.
The key thing about content is to include as much relevant information as possible without making your resume too long. You should focus on the key responsibilities and achievements and list you employers in reverse chronological order. Your personal information and education / qualifications should be at the top of your resume. Including an executive summary is fine but make sure your covering letter doesn?t just repeat the same information. The covering letter should address your strengths for the position you are applying for and why you are interested in it.
While both approaches have their merits, on balance I think that a bullet point style is better than whole paragraphs and you should avoid the first person. To ensure the bullet points in your resume invite interview questions keep them short and sharp.
Including a sentence or two to describe your current and previous employers is worthwhile especially if you have worked for B2B companies that are not household names (an especially good tip for inhouse lawyers). Clearly if you work at Clifford Chance and are applying to Linklaters, you can skip the company description!
If you are a transactional lawyer, for example, you should definitely include a deal list as an appendix. You should order the transactions depending on what position you are going for. If it?s a corporate role with an M&A focus, put your M&A transactions at the top of the list.
This tip works for all lawyers and as you become more experienced, your appendices will become longer than your actual resume which will in turn become more of a snap shot of your career history.
The job market has really picked up recently so in my next post I will talk about how best to work with recruiters.
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