Law School Resume Question Forum

[lawschoolletsgo]

I have noticed on numerous applications that there is a 3 page limit for resumes. Is 3 pages what they are looking for? I have a standard one page resume that would be acceptable for job applications, etc... Should I elaborate and include more involvement on more than one page for law school purposes?

Thanks.

[ltbenn]

absolutely one page.
two pages is appropriate if you have a ton of work experience and/or a phd with tons of published articles etc.
three pages is uncalled for.

[emkay625]

I have noticed on numerous applications that there is a 3 page limit for resumes. Is 3 pages what they are looking for? I have a standard one page resume that would be acceptable for job applications, etc... Should I elaborate and include more involvement on more than one page for law school purposes?

Thanks.

For most people 1 page is sufficient. It's not a CV. Unless you have 10+ years of work experience, you really only need a page.

[hokie6260]

absolutely one page.
two pages is appropriate if you have a ton of work experience and/or a phd with tons of published articles etc.
three pages is uncalled for.

Mine is 3 pages and I don't feel it is "uncalled for." I have years of military and law enforcement experience and needed all 3 pages to get it on there.

[ltbenn]

absolutely one page.
two pages is appropriate if you have a ton of work experience and/or a phd with tons of published articles etc.
three pages is uncalled for.

Mine is 3 pages and I don't feel it is "uncalled for." I have years of military and law enforcement experience and needed all 3 pages to get it on there.

certainly didn't mean to offend - but I'd strongly recommend trimming it down (whether that means limiting the number of bullets describing a position, or perhaps merging different jobs into one catch-all line...)
keep in mind, as i think someone posted above - unless the school specifically asks for *all* job experience (and some do), they're looking for a summary-like resume that they'll spend about 40 seconds looking at.

I have six years of military experience, two degrees and five years of work experience - one page.

[A. Nony Mouse]

I don't think a law school resume is really analogous to a job resume - whatever you want schools to consider, you should include, and I don't think length is as much of a concern (unless the school has a stated page limit, of course). Again, totally different from applying for a job.

[Widdle_Dumpling]

I think Spivey answered this, and I might have read a bit in Asha's blog) or it might have been somewhere else, idk) but the hard 1 page cutoff "you're not a special snowflake" rule doesn't apply in law school. 2 pages is completely acceptable, and if you can fill the space I'm sure 3 pages is fine--they would say to limit it to one page if that's what they wanted you to do. Just do whatever they tell you and you'll be fine.

[PoopyPants]

absolutely one page.
two pages is appropriate if you have a ton of work experience and/or a phd with tons of published articles etc.
three pages is uncalled for.

Mine is 3 pages and I don't feel it is "uncalled for." I have years of military and law enforcement experience and needed all 3 pages to get it on there.

Hence "if you have a ton of work experience." Attention to detail, shipmate.

My military experience and publications make a single page impossible. For the K-JD with no publications and minimal work experience, a single page is perfectly doable.

[OLitch]

absolutely one page.
two pages is appropriate if you have a ton of work experience and/or a phd with tons of published articles etc.
three pages is uncalled for.

Mine is 3 pages and I don't feel it is "uncalled for." I have years of military and law enforcement experience and needed all 3 pages to get it on there.

certainly didn't mean to offend - but I'd strongly recommend trimming it down (whether that means limiting the number of bullets describing a position, or perhaps merging different jobs into one catch-all line...)
keep in mind, as i think someone posted above - unless the school specifically asks for *all* job experience (and some do), they're looking for a summary-like resume that they'll spend about 40 seconds looking at.

I have six years of military experience, two degrees and five years of work experience - one page.

I agree.

I have 4 years military experience, two degrees, and 10 years of work experience. One page was enough. Chances are that law firms will want a single page resume for OCIs.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Chances are that law firms will want a single page resume for OCIs.

Yes, but

I don't think a law school resume is really analogous to a job resume - whatever you want schools to consider, you should include, and I don't think length is as much of a concern (unless the school has a stated page limit, of course). Again, totally different from applying for a job.

[CanadianWolf]

OP: In answer to your question, a "limit" is not a "suggested length". A one page resume is fine so long as it doesn't end with:

"And, without question, my most noteworthy accomplishment to date remains:"

[Hildegard15]

Post removed.