Resume help (relevant vs. irrelevant experience) Forum

[longpig]

Got a question about creating a resume for law school. I have some relevant-ish experience (social services type stuff) and some very irrelevant experience (animation industry lol). When applying for jobs, I usually list my experience in order of relevance and tailor the resume somewhat according to the type of job. But I've read that law schools don't like seeing large "gaps" in your timeline after graduation, so would it be better to just list my experience chronologically?

[isuperserial]

Got a question about creating a resume for law school. I have some relevant-ish experience (social services type stuff) and some very irrelevant experience (animation industry lol). When applying for jobs, I usually list my experience in order of relevance and tailor the resume somewhat according to the type of job. But I've read that law schools don't like seeing large "gaps" in your timeline after graduation, so would it be better to just list my experience chronologically?

You should do a chronological listing.

[SPerez]

You should do a chronological listing.

THIS. I can't tell you how annoyed I get when I get a resume that's not in any order or in order from oldest-to-newest.

Don't try to make relevant/non-relevant distinctions. There's almost no such thing in law school admissions. Everything you've done in your life is probably "relevant" in one way or another. For example, sure, being a car-hop at Sonic or working the drive-through at McDonald's doesn't involve legal research and writing, but when I see that I know the applicant has experience working with people, putting in a long day's work on their feet, is no stranger to working hard, etc.

You shouldn't have trouble fitting it all into a page, 1.5 pages so include everything.

Dean Perez
Texas Tech Law