A2Z S5 E18: Resumes

Résumé Guidance for Law School Applications

Dean Z recommends making your résumé clear, conventional, and easy to read. Give admissions officers enough context to understand your experiences and how you have spent your time.

Formatting and length

• Follow the résumé instructions for every school you apply to. Check both the school’s website and its LSAC instructions.
• If a school does not specify a length, a two-page résumé is acceptable. Most applicants should avoid three pages unless they have an unusually long career or are making a major career change.
• Use a simple, readable font and a restrained black-and-white design. Avoid photos, unusual fonts, and colors.
• Put your name prominently at the top, along with your email address, phone number, and location.
• Do not include an “Objective” section; admissions readers already know you are applying to law school.

Suggested sections and content

• Education: Usually place this near the top when applying for a degree. List undergraduate and any graduate or professional degrees, along with significant honors or awards. GPA is unnecessary because it appears elsewhere in the application. Do not include high school.
• College activities: Include these as brief bullets under Education or in a separate section if you have room.
• Experience: List positions in reverse chronological order. Make the employer’s name clear, and briefly explain what an unfamiliar organization does before describing your work there. Use concise bullets or short paragraphs.
  • Include employment dates by month and year.
  • Include the location and note when a role was remote.
  • For part-time or other non-full-time roles, indicate the approximate hours worked.
• Volunteer work and extracurricular activities: Include meaningful paid and unpaid activities. They help admissions officers understand you beyond your jobs and keep your résumé consistent with activities mentioned elsewhere in your application.
• Interests: Include specific interests to show another dimension of your personality. For example, name the types of books you read, the places or styles of travel you enjoy, or what you like to cook, rather than listing only broad terms such as “reading,” “travel,” or “cooking.”
• Skills: Include this section selectively. Generic skills, such as Microsoft Office, may take up space without adding much. Languages can be useful to list; consider whether each skill is relevant to law school or adds meaningful information.

Interview preparation tip

Before interviewing with an employer, make sure you know how to pronounce its name. Dean Z relays a tip from a career-planning office: call the firm after hours and listen to its recorded greeting, repeating it as needed. Call at a time when it is unlikely anyone will answer.

Speakers and sources

• Dean Z: The episode’s speaker, sharing résumé advice from her perspective at the University of Michigan Law School.
• The head of career planning: The source of the after-hours phone-call tip, mentioned by Dean Z but not heard directly.
• Dustin: Thanked by Dean Z at the end, but not heard directly.