Fall 2013 Applications? Forum

[rinkrat19]

I too am getting started early. Currently working on my personal statement and LOR. Any recommendations for a nontraditional applicant?

[*]I've been 6 years out of school and have a lengthy resume. Any advice on what kind of items admissions is looking for on a resume?
[*]Some schools list resumes as optional? Should I take this opportunity to omit my resume? (My current career is not stellar. I'm just a HR Manager. Though I am taking a sabbatical this summer to study for the LSAT and travel the world after October. Should I include that in there?)
[*]Any suggestions for the addendum? My GPA was average and I went to a state school.
[*]I also made a drastic career change about a year out of school. My major and current career do not match. Where should I explain that?

Thanks.

--Resume should include NOTHING from before college, unless you were literally an Olympic Gold Medalist or started an actual business that made significant money while in high school.
--There is disagreement over whether a resume can be 2 pages... generally everyone agrees that a new grad should definitely NOT have a 2-pager. I personally feel that people with lengthy careers may need the room. Keep job descriptions brief and don't leave a ton of pointless whitespace.
--A post-grad resume would generally have employment before education, but since this is an academic resume I kept my education section first, even though I had 8 years of post-grad work experience. I needed almost 2 full pages to include all work and volunteering since entering college.
--Include a one line "personal" section. "Interests include kiteboarding, knitting, Chinese calligraphy, fencing, and reading historical biographies." That sort of thing. Try to come up with an honest list that makes you look well-rounded, not obsessive or too weird.
--No, don't omit a resume. You'll be filling out your employment history in the application form anyway, and it's good to have a nice tidy resume in the package too because sometimes the app forms make everything clunky to read and absorb.
--A sabbatical to travel and LSAT study shouldn't go on a resume, I wouldn't think. That's more of a long vacation than a proper sabbatical. If you were volunteering or writing a book, that'd be different.
--No addendum for "average" GPA and state school. There's nothing to explain. Addenda are not required if you have nothing in your file that would need one.
--I wouldn't explain a career direction change, unless you happen to write your PS about it. That's the only place in an app package that it would be appropriate to mention it.

[727813]

Get Powerscore/Manhattan, Kaplan sucks

Not a bandwagon person, but EVERYONE at school says that Kaplan was the worst and that they all ended up using another company and retaking.......Good luck.

Ditto. Our campus Pre-Law Advisor even tells students not to use it.

[727813]

--Resume should include NOTHING from before college, unless you were literally an Olympic Gold Medalist or started an actual business that made significant money while in high school.
--There is disagreement over whether a resume can be 2 pages... generally everyone agrees that a new grad should definitely NOT have a 2-pager. I personally feel that people with lengthy careers may need the room. Keep job descriptions brief and don't leave a ton of pointless whitespace.
--A post-grad resume would generally have employment before education, but since this is an academic resume I kept my education section first, even though I had 8 years of post-grad work experience. I needed almost 2 full pages to include all work and volunteering since entering college.

1. I don't agree with a resume not including anything from before college unless your were in the Olympics. If you had a viable job (including military service) that adds substance to your resume, include it. Obviously, if you were the cashier at Walmart, don't put it down.

2. Somewhere on the YLS website/Asha blog, it specifies that they only want one-page max for a resume. I would suggest you abide by each particular school's requirement, if listed.

3. Defnitely put your academic info first.