Three NO's and a MAYBE

Let’s start this blog with a couple of easy things we can knock out on our how-can-I-improve-my-legal-resume journey.  Let’s call this one ‘three no’s and a maybe.”

Here are a couple of things we still see time and time again that just need to stop:

1.      There should be no photo on your resume.  Full stop.  None.  I get that there is a (poor) argument that you may want to highlight something about you.  Maybe you are a diversity candidate. Maybe you are a former movie star.  It doesn’t matter.  Photos are inappropriate on legal resumes.  

Here’s the thing, a reader can still find a picture of you.  These days, it’s as easy as hopping on LinkedIn or a social media site or just Googling your name.  Most law firms have a bio of each attorney on them, so if you are in private practice, it’s as easy as looking up your firm to see a photo of you.  Frankly, it’s too easy to find a picture of you whether you want that or not, so don’t put it on the resume.

And if you are trying to highlight something that would otherwise be inappropriate to highlight (like let’s say you are a diversity candidate,) then you can still find a more appropriate way of highlighting that.  Maybe you were in a student group in law school that highlights diversity?  Maybe you have been involved in some committee?  Maybe you just leave it off your resume completely?  Whatever you do, please don’t include a photo.  Remember that employers are resourceful in finding out as much about you as possible, so it’s likely they have an idea what you look like before you interview.  

2.     Never put inappropriate personal information on your resume.  You’re married.  You’re divorced.  You have six kids and a house that resembles the Brady Bunch.  You are a devout member of some religious organization.  None of these things are appropriate on a legal resume, yet we continue to see them regularly.

The way it’s usually pitched to me is that by stating that someone has been married for 25 years they are showing that they are committed and can work on something for a long period of time.  But here’s the thing, it’s not appropriate.  Employers don’t even want to know (at least at the hiring stage) any of this information.  Show your dedication and stick-to-it-ness through your work history or in some other way.  Keep your kids, your family and religious beliefs out of your resume.  

3.     Never put a phone number on your resume without checking the outgoing voicemail message (and that you still have space in your mailbox).  This seems obvious, but is often overlooked.  At Legal Resume Review, all of our reviewers have experience in the legal recruiting industry.  We’ve all tried to call candidates and experienced the frustration of not being able to leave a message because a voicemail box is either full or not properly set up.  Do yourself a favor and call your own voicemail before sending out any resume and see what an employer will hear.  This goes double if you are using a land line at your home instead of a secure, private cell number.  Aunt Joan may think it’s funny that you have an outgoing message stating that “this call may be recorded for quality and training purposes,” but a future employer may not think it’s so funny.  Lawyers haven’t found their sense of humor yet.  Stick to the tried-and-true professional message.

Oh, and check your messages regularly once you send out a resume.  Even if you need to put a calendar reminder in your schedule, check the voicemail a couple times a day.  

So those are the three NO’s for the week.  Here is the MAYBE:

Should you put things that might be off-putting on your resume, even if they aren’t inappropriate?  Maybe. (But you should be aware of the consequences of doing so).

Let’s say you hold a leadership position at your place of worship.  Should you put that on your resume?  You are an avid supporter of a particular political party.  Should you put that on your resume?  You started a fringe, grassroots movement to legalize something that some people may not understand (opioids, prostitution, bribing politicians, whatever).  Should you put that on your resume?

In all of these cases, my gut reaction is to say no, please don’t put these items on your resume.  You simply don’t know what the resume reader’s predisposition toward those items will be.  Clearly, they shouldn’t discriminate against you if for doing something you have every right to do on your own time, but why test any biases of the reader before they even meet you?  Err on the side of caution.

So for all of these questionable items, just know that if you live by the sword, you may die by the sword.  Maybe the reader of your resume will LOVE that you are involved in a religious or political organization.  Maybe it will spark some great conversation in the interview; but it’s also likely that it won’t and that it might hurt you.  Proceed with caution and, when in doubt, I always advise people to err on being more cautious and leaving those items out of a resume.

One last note, I’m NOT talking about leaving anything job-related out of a resume.  If you WORKED for a political campaign or a religious organization, then by all means put that on your resume.  I’m talking about volunteer positions where you are just trying to paint yourself as a well-rounded candidate.  There is a real distinction.  I would never advise taking a position off your resume completely because it was too controversial (but we can discuss how to deal with that on a future blog post). 

So there you have it – three NO’s and a MAYBE.  Now is a great time to dig out your legal resume and make sure you don’t have any of these mistakes in your document.  

Also, thank you for your feedback since we started blogging.  I really had no idea that there was so much interest in the topic, so keep sending your blog topic ideas.