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Yeezus

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Question about resume

Post by Yeezus » Wed Dec 17, 2014 3:20 pm

Should my experiences start with the most recent one? If I have some work experience, but it's not even remotely related to anything in law, should I have it first, or can I start with my academic experiences, then put work experience at the bottom? I'm thinking the schools will care more about the academic experiences. Am I wrong?

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hillz

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Re: Question about resume

Post by hillz » Wed Dec 17, 2014 3:26 pm

I did mine like this:

Education (put my study abroad & student orgs under this too)
Work Experience (most recent --> oldest)
Awards & Honors
Community Involvement (my current stuff)
Interests

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ChemEng1642

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Re: Question about resume

Post by ChemEng1642 » Wed Dec 17, 2014 3:31 pm

I think within a category (employment, extra curricular, etc.) it should be reverse chronological - but the order of the categories is up to you. I would generally say "skills" and "clubs" and such are more towards to the bottom and "employment" / "volunteer" things are more towards the top. It depends on your work experience though - if it's a real full time job I would say that goes on top. If it's only something like "desk attendant for a dorm" then you might want to put the more relevant things first.

I personally put my employment first even if it wasn't law related because I felt it was more relevant in defining me as a potential candidate - does that make sense?
Last edited by ChemEng1642 on Wed Dec 17, 2014 5:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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hillz

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Re: Question about resume

Post by hillz » Wed Dec 17, 2014 3:40 pm

btw, Yeezus, you might want to look at the sample resumes Harvard has up: http://www.law.harvard.edu/prospective/ ... urces.html

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LET'S GET IT

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Re: Question about resume

Post by LET'S GET IT » Wed Dec 17, 2014 4:41 pm

Definitely disagree with the poster that said to post items chronologically. For applying to LS, it is ok to put experience or education first. Since you say your experience isn't overly impressive, I'd put education first. But definitely order things from most recent, to less recent.

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ChemEng1642

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Re: Question about resume

Post by ChemEng1642 » Wed Dec 17, 2014 5:32 pm

LET'S GET IT wrote:Definitely disagree with the poster that said to post items chronologically. For applying to LS, it is ok to put experience or education first. Since you say your experience isn't overly impressive, I'd put education first. But definitely order things from most recent, to less recent.
Oh whoops I meant reverse chronological order - but basically I meant don't do it by order of importance

Yeezus

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Re: Question about resume

Post by Yeezus » Sat Jan 03, 2015 1:20 pm

Should I include a description of the job if the title is self explanatory? I'm trying to keep my resume to one page, though I've heard conflicting opinions on whether or not resumes longer than one page are acceptable.

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LET'S GET IT

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Re: Question about resume

Post by LET'S GET IT » Sat Jan 03, 2015 1:40 pm

YeezusPiece wrote:Should I include a description of the job if the title is self explanatory? I'm trying to keep my resume to one page, though I've heard conflicting opinions on whether or not resumes longer than one page are acceptable.
I've always been told to never assume anything is self explanatory, however I do agree with keeping it to one page if at all possible.

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Re: Question about resume

Post by Yeezus » Sat Jan 03, 2015 1:49 pm

LET'S GET IT wrote:
YeezusPiece wrote:Should I include a description of the job if the title is self explanatory? I'm trying to keep my resume to one page, though I've heard conflicting opinions on whether or not resumes longer than one page are acceptable.
I've always been told to never assume anything is self explanatory, however I do agree with keeping it to one page if at all possible.
I just wonder how there's anything about, say being a pizza maker that requires any explaining, especially since it has less than nothing to do with law school and it would take up valuable space on my resume.

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LET'S GET IT

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Re: Question about resume

Post by LET'S GET IT » Sat Jan 03, 2015 1:52 pm

YeezusPiece wrote:
LET'S GET IT wrote:
YeezusPiece wrote:Should I include a description of the job if the title is self explanatory? I'm trying to keep my resume to one page, though I've heard conflicting opinions on whether or not resumes longer than one page are acceptable.
I've always been told to never assume anything is self explanatory, however I do agree with keeping it to one page if at all possible.
I just wonder how there's anything about, say being a pizza maker that requires any explaining, especially since it has less than nothing to do with law school and it would take up valuable space on my resume.
Have you had better jobs since? How long ago was it? I would consider leaving it off entirely.

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Re: Question about resume

Post by Yeezus » Sat Jan 03, 2015 1:55 pm

LET'S GET IT wrote:Have you had better jobs since? How long ago was it? I would consider leaving it off entirely.
Well I've been working as a medical biller for the past year or so, which is not that much better I guess. I've only been out of UG for 2-3 years, so leaving that job off could lead to a gap on my resume, since I had it for almost a year.

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LET'S GET IT

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Re: Question about resume

Post by LET'S GET IT » Sat Jan 03, 2015 2:25 pm

YeezusPiece wrote:
LET'S GET IT wrote:Have you had better jobs since? How long ago was it? I would consider leaving it off entirely.
Well I've been working as a medical biller for the past year or so, which is not that much better I guess. I've only been out of UG for 2-3 years, so leaving that job off could lead to a gap on my resume, since I had it for almost a year.
It sounds like you really want to make it two pages. That is totally fine for LS admissions, just know that when you start applying for legal jobs (even summers), it has to be one page.

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