I Can’t Drive 55 (Or Any Speed Without A Driver’s License)?

Today’s topic is sort of an odd one, but it warrants some thought on how to address “odd” issues.  I was recently on a resume forum where the author was imploring people to put down ALL of their licensures and credentials on the resume.  If you got a high school diploma, put it down.  You have a driver’s license?  That is useful information.  And so he went, imploring authors to insert worthless information into their resume.

Let me be clear, this information does NOT belong on a legal resume.  I have seen attorneys put high school information on their resume and I always ask them to remove it (one attorney insisted he keep it because he had some remarkable credentials that he couldn’t list otherwise – as I recall, he was the class valedictorian, had won some writing competitions and had some remarkable/perfect scores on his SAT or ACT). 

Odd cases aside, you don’t need this on your resume.   Despite how much you thought everything you did in high school was important; it isn’t relevant anymore.

Then out of the blue I received a call from a litigation partner at a top Minneapolis firm.  He asked me (in my capacity as a legal recruiter) if I screened candidates for having a valid driver’s license.  I initially laughed because I thought he was kidding.  He wasn’t joking.

When I told him that we didn’t screen for driving ability, he continued on his rant.  Apparently, they hired an associate who not only didn’t have a car, but didn’t have a driver’s license.  When he asked her to handle a hearing that was in a rural county, she balked because she wasn’t sure that she would be able to get a rideshare back to the city.  He asked how an employer is supposed to find out about a candidate’s “quirks” (his word, not mine) before hiring them.

Suddenly, I realized that having a driver’s license wasn’t something that should be assumed.  

But should the driver’s license be included in a legal resume?  Should you list your license to drive in the same manner you list your bar admissions?  No.  If you have some outlying concern or issue (like not being able to drive,) it’s your responsibility to bring it up in an interview and see if accommodations can be made.  There is no other way this can be handled.  Putting that you have a driver’s license on your resume will make the reader laugh.  Putting that you DON’T have a license will raise a red flag too early.  The burden is on your to bring it up before you get hired.  

Clearly, this only applies in cities where you might be expected to have transportation.  In law school, I clerked for two summers in New York City.  I was asked to travel around NYC for various things, but no one expected that I have my own car in the city.  I also practiced in upstate New York, where it was a different story.  Not having a car there would have been the end of my associate career.

So what was the point of this odd blog post?  It wasn’t really about high school or whether you can drive.  It’s about getting you to think about not only what is in your resume, but what isn’t in your resume.  When you interview, you have the additional burden of telling a potential employer anything that might affect your ability to do the job that is within your control.  If you don’t, your tenure at the position may be strained or short.  Neither is a good outcome.