CV or not CV!
That is the question.
The temptation to write your own CV these days is often boosted by limitless free templates online, promising star-spangled glitzy formats, or you may have dipped your fingers into ChatGPT to see what AI can discover about you.
This month: Consider these top 5 tips to writing a good CV yourself
Before you hit the button on any of these, consider these top 5 tips to writing a good CV yourself:
1. Consider your audience, write it for a partner in another law firm. They want to know what you can do from day one for their team.
2. Remember it is a marketing document, you need it to present the positives and be accurate. You don’t have to include any horror stories for completeness!
3. Mention all those ‘obvious’ things that you do, the reader doesn’t know your work load, your clients or what you do for them.
4. Include those ‘other’ responsibilities, marketing, business development, drafting for websites, social media presence, management responsibilities, supervision or formal/informal internal mentoring.
5. Keep it snappy! 2 pages is ideal for a junior CV, a senior CV can be longer but 5 pages is definitely long enough.
I read lots of CV’s every day and overall, what strikes me the most are those that show experiences, skills or interests that make the CV stand out as totally unique to the candidate. These unique points are often extracted due to the encouragement of a third-party assisting with writing the CV.
Our resident CV writer, Sarah Reza, has a proven track record of collaborating with law students and seasoned lawyers to refine their CVs at various career stages.
With a background in both law practice and CV writing, Sarah is uniquely qualified to craft compelling legal CVs and law firm cover letters that capture the attention. Sarah can glean talents and experiences that can really make a CV stand out and often those exceptional abilities are the ones that would be left out by the candidate.
Sarah consistently stays updated on industry trends, legal hiring practices, and CV formatting which ensures the CV’s she produces are up-to-date and current.
Whether you are a law student looking for your first legal job or an experienced lawyer seeking a new opportunity, Sarah is well placed to get your job search off to the best start.
If you would like to have a chat about Sarah producing your CV please do get in touch.
Also this month we are hosting our free online event ‘How to Handle Stress in the Legal World’ Vikki Pratley will give you some take away tips to keep you thriving, not drowning, in your legal career.
