Interests On Resume Forum

[Anonymous User]

Thoughts on "poker" or "avid [insert sports team here] fan"?

[MyNameIsFlynn!]

Thoughts on "poker" or "avid [insert sports team here] fan"?

My reaction is yes to sports-related, no to gambling-related as it may not go over well with some folks

[nickb285]

..

[Tiny Dancer]

A career service adviser told me to put something other than interests at the bottom of the resume. In his opinion, the interest section detracts from the more important substance of a resume and you end up talking about fun stuff rather than what you'd bring to the table as an associate. He said that the interests section is more useful to people without any real work experience. Thoughts?

[Cicero76]

A career service adviser told me to put something other than interests at the bottom of the resume. In his opinion, the interest section detracts from the more important substance of a resume and you end up talking about fun stuff rather than what you'd bring to the table as an associate. He said that the interests section is more useful to people without any real work experience. Thoughts?

There isn't a single resume in our career services guidebook that doesn't have an interests section.

[skw]

A career service adviser told me to put something other than interests at the bottom of the resume. In his opinion, the interest section detracts from the more important substance of a resume and you end up talking about fun stuff rather than what you'd bring to the table as an associate. He said that the interests section is more useful to people without any real work experience. Thoughts?

Your career services rep is wrong. I have 12 years if work experience. I had an interests section and found it useful in both screeners and call backs. Interviewers remember you better if they can connect with you on a personal level and/or there is something interesting or unique about you. Also, after grade/journal/moot court pre-reqs are met, firms are looking for fit. They assess this by whether they can have an enjoyable, normal conversation with you. The interests section is one way in which interviewers engage with you in such a conversation. Dedicating a line or two to a well thought out interests section is a no brainer.

[Tiny Dancer]

A career service adviser told me to put something other than interests at the bottom of the resume. In his opinion, the interest section detracts from the more important substance of a resume and you end up talking about fun stuff rather than what you'd bring to the table as an associate. He said that the interests section is more useful to people without any real work experience. Thoughts?

There isn't a single resume in our career services guidebook that doesn't have an interests section.

I think I'll just put an interest section then. Thanks!

[AnonAssociate]

I do OCI and callbacks. I hate interest sections. I will like you better if you don't have one. Do with that what you want.

[igo2northwestern]

I do OCI and callbacks. I hate interest sections. I will like you better if you don't have one. Do with that what you want.

Appreciate your comment in the sense that I think it's good for people to know that there are those who disagree. But I'm sure you're in the minority, among those who either don't care about the section or think it's helpful/humanizing.

[jbagelboy]

I used to have all the software/programming languages I could use (STATA, Access, R, Python, ect) as the last line on my resume after foreign languages. Then when I got to law school they told me to remove that and replace it with my pleb "interests."

The regression from 'professional' back to 'student' was rough.

[Anonymous User]

I actually threw poker on mine, with the approval of career services. Poker's fairly popular, so there's a decent chance that your interviewer will at least have tried it, and even if they're not a poker player it's enough of a pop culture thing (movies, televised tournaments, etc.) and a social thing (student groups, friendly games, etc.) that it won't be looked at the same way as if you put "spending time in casinos."

I sure hope it's not too big a turn off, seeing as it's part of my actual resume and not the interests section lol. To be honest I knew it would turn quite a few people off, but I'd have a 4 year unexplained gap otherwise, and I think I've got a better chance being completely honest and hoping at least one employer loves it rather than being evasive and safe. It's also for that reason that I don't have an interests section. There's always a unique fallback topic for the interviewer to turn to.

[Holly Golightly]

When an interviewer happens to share one of your legitimate interests and sees it on there, it can make the interview a hell of a lot easier. I would much rather shoot the shit about the Blackhawks for 20 minute than try to brag about myself and talk about inane shit with canned answers.

[Nebby]

Hoping one of my screeners likes astronomy.

[shifty_eyed]

Nobody ever shares the one interest that they always ask about, and I have nothing good to say about it. I need to work on my spiel.

[Nebby]

Nobody ever shares the one interest that they always ask about, and I have nothing good to say about it. I need to work on my spiel.

What is it? Quilting?

[shifty_eyed]

Nobody ever shares the one interest that they always ask about, and I have nothing good to say about it. I need to work on my spiel.

What is it? Quilting?

Similar

[Nebby]

Nobody ever shares the one interest that they always ask about, and I have nothing good to say about it. I need to work on my spiel.

What is it? Quilting?

Similar

Smelting?

[Magnifique1908]

I do OCI and callbacks. I hate interest sections. I will like you better if you don't have one. Do with that what you want.

Lol!

Lol at the crap law students stress about.

So I'll give you some advice from a rising 3L who did not use an interest section. Do with it what you want.

I had 5+ (keeping it vague but less than ten) years of legal experience. I won't pretend that it was anything outstanding or interesting. Just paralegal work (including some work in the niche practice area that I was shooting for at most firms). Between my orgs, journal stuff, education, and work experience, I had no room for an interest section, and I'm not that accomplished that my resume gets a free pass to exceed one page. So I left it off. I don't think that I needed it. I also don't have a problem with starting conversations and keeping folks engaged. Most of my OCI interviews were spent laughing about something offhand after about 3 minutes of typical resume talk. I can't say that this was the main reason that I got callbacks and offers but I'm sure it helped.

It totally depends on your personality. If you really are aspie or have no work experience outside of the Gap and some random undergrad internships, you need an interest section. If you had a reasonable life between undergrad and law school, you can probably afford to leave it off if you really don't have the room for it. Work experience is more important than interests, especially if it helps you articulate an interest in a specific practice area. If you have room for everything, put everything. If not, prioritize.

[CourCour]

Shitting on other law students on TLS. Make the cut, yes or no?

[sergiokun16]

FWIW, just to add my anecdotal experiences to the conversation, I had my resume critiqued by several contacts both from 1L year and family friends (associates and partners at firms of all sizes, including a handful of v30 firms), as well as two career counselors. None of them ever questioned the absence of an interests section on my resume. They all gave me tough, no-punches-pulled critiques on everything else. While I am just a rising 2L who is going through the process like everyone else, I will say it is my opinion that if you are conversational and good at talking with people and reading a conversation, talking points won't be hard to come by. If you are shy or a nervous interviewer, interests might help spark conversation in that regard. Just my $0.02.

[Nebby]

I'm a 8/10 interviewer and generally can carry a conversation ranging from the off-subject and silly tangents common in interviews as well as articulating what my skill sets are best utilized for, but honestly this thread and others have pretty much convinced me that an interest section is probably a safe bet to include on my resume.

I have converted.

[Taus11]

I'm a 8/10 interviewer and generally can carry a conversation ranging from the off-subject and silly tangents common in interviews as well as articulating what my skill sets are best utilized for, but honestly this thread and others have pretty much convinced me that an interest section is probably a safe bet to include on my resume.

I have converted.

Lol how did you come up with your self-evaluation score?

Edit: oops, accidental anon. (Taus11)

[Nebby]

I'm a 8/10 interviewer and generally can carry a conversation ranging from the off-subject and silly tangents common in interviews as well as articulating what my skill sets are best utilized for, but honestly this thread and others have pretty much convinced me that an interest section is probably a safe bet to include on my resume.

I have converted.

Lol how did you come up with your self-evaluation score?

Edit: oops, accidental anon. (Taus11)

Previous interviews.

[UMich11]

A career service adviser told me to put something other than interests at the bottom of the resume. In his opinion, the interest section detracts from the more important substance of a resume and you end up talking about fun stuff rather than what you'd bring to the table as an associate. He said that the interests section is more useful to people without any real work experience. Thoughts?

I think that might have merit as an effort to be conservative - but the fact of the matter is, these people want to see if they can stand working with you at 3am on a transaction or doing research for a pending trial - hell even just working with them during the work hours in general. They want to see you have a life outside of law school/undergrad/work etc. If you put nothing other than LS and what little work you may have and expect to only talk about what your favorite law school class was you might not do too well during OCI/CB.

During my first interview we spent the last 20min talking about why my undergrad football team may do better than the school where I attend LS. Spent less than 2 min talking about LS, same with my SA position right now. If they see something they can relate to and have a conversation, 1) the 20-30 min interview will fly by, and 2) it leaves a positive impression with the interviewer.

I always put it on - even if it might be a repetition of something else on my resume - like business/athletic/academic interests, etc.

[txdude45]

Thoughts on "poker" or "avid [insert sports team here] fan"?

My reaction is yes to sports-related, no to gambling-related as it may not go over well with some folks

My resume has my poker club prominently featured and hasn't caused me any problems thus far. I've even gotten a couple converts to the church of poker isn't gambling.