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Silly question about resumes

Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2016 3:07 pm
by jd20132013
How do you all write your clerkship experience on your resume? I'm looking for short ways to write it because my judges had long names and push the entry onto three lines if I write it as

The Honorable [name], United States District Court for the [blah], [location].


Thanks!

Re: Silly question about resumes

Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2016 3:23 pm
by ArtistOfManliness
HON. _________, U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ________

... luckily my judge has a fairly short name

Re: Silly question about resumes

Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2016 3:26 pm
by jd20132013
I was just coming back here to ask if it was kosher to drop the "the" and abbreviate the "Honorable". Both seem obviously okay but you never know with these things... I see you've done it though, and I also see that one of my recommenders did the same, so that's good enough for me.

Re: Silly question about resumes

Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2016 3:56 pm
by hdivschool
I put them on separate lines, e.g.,

U.S. [level of court] for the [jurisdiction]
Honorable [judge name] . . . [location]

Re: Silly question about resumes

Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2016 7:13 pm
by mjb447
I also place on separate lines. As a result, the clerkship as a whole takes up three lines.

The Honorable Firstname Lastname [can include judge title, e.g. district judge, if needed to avoid confusion]
United States [District Court/Court of Appeals] for the [Location District of State/Ordinal or whatever Circuit], Cityname, Stateabbrev
Judicial Law Clerk, Month Year to Month Year

I don't bother describing my duties - I think people generally know what a law clerk does. I also think it's fine to abbreviate or drop an unnecessary word as long as it doesn't create any ambiguity or read as a typo.

Re: Silly question about resumes

Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2016 7:57 pm
by lavarman84
I'm trying to figure it out too. Why put the location down?(city and state) I figured the district was sufficient enough.

Re: Silly question about resumes

Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2016 8:12 pm
by A. Nony Mouse
I always put location for consistency because everything else on my resume has one so it looks weird not to put it for the clerkship. Also some districts have courthouses in different cities.

Re: Silly question about resumes

Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2016 8:23 pm
by mjb447
Probably a matter of preference. I wanted to be consistent with other entries on my resume if possible, and it also worked out that I could include the city and state on the same line as the court information but not much beyond that.

It can also provide a little more information: it lets an interviewer know precisely where in a district or circuit you were stationed (often more important in a circuit, but could also let someone know that you were in Manhattan rather than White Plains or Orange County rather than L.A.) and gives general context for where you were if an employer might not be familiar with it.

Re: Silly question about resumes

Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2016 8:27 pm
by lavarman84
A. Nony Mouse wrote:I always put location for consistency because everything else on my resume has one so it looks weird not to put it for the clerkship. Also some districts have courthouses in different cities.
Gotcha. I don't do it for the same reason. I don't have locations for any of my positions.

Re: Silly question about resumes

Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2016 9:21 pm
by A. Nony Mouse
lawman84 wrote:
A. Nony Mouse wrote:I always put location for consistency because everything else on my resume has one so it looks weird not to put it for the clerkship. Also some districts have courthouses in different cities.
Gotcha. I don't do it for the same reason. I don't have locations for any of my positions.
To be honest, that seems unusual? Maybe it's just that I can't expect people reading my resume to know where any of my experience is.

Re: Silly question about resumes

Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2016 9:44 pm
by lavarman84
A. Nony Mouse wrote:
lawman84 wrote:
A. Nony Mouse wrote:I always put location for consistency because everything else on my resume has one so it looks weird not to put it for the clerkship. Also some districts have courthouses in different cities.
Gotcha. I don't do it for the same reason. I don't have locations for any of my positions.
To be honest, that seems unusual? Maybe it's just that I can't expect people reading my resume to know where any of my experience is.
My background prior to law school was in sports. Thus, the location was usually in the team name. :lol:

And location was unnecessary for my experiences in law school. Frankly, it's just never mattered enough for me to change it. Eventually, I'll change it. Right now, it's unnecessary. Especially since I'm applying all over the country and don't feel limited to any single geographic area.