Is this PS subject ok to use? Forum

[ArtVandalay]

I have read that it is not a good idea to "restate your resume," but I was wondering if a PS describing an experience I went through with a student org was ok? - even though the leadership position I had is obviously on my resume. This experience involved a difficult situation in which I stepped up into a leadership position in a time of need and helped to keep the student org afloat and get to its current point right now of thriving again. I feel that this would help to showcase my leadership ability and willingess to work with others and sacrifice personal things for the betterment of a group of peers. Is this subject stupid for a PS or a poor choice because it is about somewhat something on my resume? Thanks!

[Killingly]

I'm wondering essentially the same thing. I was planning on writing my PS on two places I worked at (a juvenile court and a group home for girls [many of which I saw at the court]) and how it related to my own life experience of being in the system as a child and how that in turn helped me to decide to study law/public interest. To put it a bit more elegantly, the PS would outline how I was lucky enough to escape the fate of the juveniles I later ended up working with, and how that inspired me to continue to help/advocate for them by breaking into the legal field.

Like the OP said, the work experience is listed on my resume. But, my life experiences obviously aren't and require a discussion of those work experiences to make sense. My resume shows a vast array of work where I was involved with underprivileged, abused, neglected, troubled, delinquent kids, but I wanted to use my PS to tie it all together.

AV, unless someone says it's a completely terrible idea, I'd say go for it. My resume and "personal life" are interrelated and I feel that one requires a discussion of the other. As long as you (and I) are using the PS to make links/explain/elaborate on things in our resume that would otherwise go unstated...I think we should be fine.

[ArtVandalay]

Thanks, thats how I feel too. Anyone else have any input?

[Dany]

You guys are misunderstanding what people mean when they say "Don't restate your resume." Going into narrative detail on something that is important to you is fine, and if it's that important to you, why wouldn't it be reflected in your resume? What you don't want to do is have full paragraphs detailing all the clubs you've joined, or a laundry list of leadership positions. You would be surprised at how many people do this. (For example, "My work with the pre-law society, the community service club, student government - for which I was chief justice on the honor council, and the mock trial team have all prepared me for law school.") I think detailing a meaningful experience on your resume is a great idea for a PS, and it's what I did. I talked about volunteer work I did then tied it into my background and how it shaped my personality.

Basically, using something from your resume isn't an issue. Rattling off clubs, organizations, and awards with no narrative is.

Edit - typing on my iPod so I apologize for the jumble this post is, as I can only see a few lines at a time.

[cinephile]

Sounds like a great idea. It's not really restating your resume, because here you can go into detail and demonstrate how you showed leadership skills, revitalized the organization, etc. in a way that a line on a resume doesn't show. And it sounds like you're using this a jumping off point for discussing how you will use this leadership/sarcrifice later in law school and in your career.

[ArtVandalay]

Thanks for the input! Any ideas on how a leadership experience like this that involved personal sacrifice for the benefit of others could be translated into how it will effect me in law school and then my career in my PS?

[FantasticMrFox]

You guys are misunderstanding what people mean when they say "Don't restate your resume." Going into narrative detail on something that is important to you is fine, and if it's that important to you, why wouldn't it be reflected in your resume? What you don't want to do is have full paragraphs detailing all the clubs you've joined, or a laundry list of leadership positions.

[ArtVandalay]

You guys are misunderstanding what people mean when they say "Don't restate your resume." Going into narrative detail on something that is important to you is fine, and if it's that important to you, why wouldn't it be reflected in your resume? What you don't want to do is have full paragraphs detailing all the clubs you've joined, or a laundry list of leadership positions.

Yeah I got that the first time and understood it...

[FantasticMrFox]

You guys are misunderstanding what people mean when they say "Don't restate your resume." Going into narrative detail on something that is important to you is fine, and if it's that important to you, why wouldn't it be reflected in your resume? What you don't want to do is have full paragraphs detailing all the clubs you've joined, or a laundry list of leadership positions.

Yeah I got that the first time and understood it...

oops! didn't think confirming an answer would have been a waste of your time (my inference from your question) no need for sass

As for connecting to your career, talking about "helping others"--at least, to me--sounds cliché and boring, even if that really is what you were planning to do in your career.

EDIT: just reread your post to figure out what benefit you were talking about and realized that "time/work sacrifice" in order to continue having a club running for the "benefit of your peers" doesn't seem too life-changing for you to write about it in connection to your career aspirations and reasons for going to LS. (but that situation sounds oddly familiar...i've read it somewhere before)