Career Planning & Professionalism Do’s and Don’ts for 1L Resume Writing

Do’s • DO use your Philadelphia address in your header, unless you are from a smaller market and are looking for work there, in which case you can use your hometown address.

• DO use your Penn Law email address in the header.

• DO include law school honors and/or activities as your law career progresses. Examples of activities to include: pro bono projects, student groups, and volunteer work.

• DO list the names of other schools you attended, followed by any degrees you received or expect, and the date of those degrees (not the dates you attended), in reverse chronological order.

• DO include your important honors, awards, and scholarships under each school section, as well as activities or sports, especially those in which you had a leadership role.

• DO include volunteer or unpaid work experience in your Experience section if it is substantial. List all experience in reverse chronological order.

• DO include an Interests section. Employers like to get to know you as a human being with many dimensions!

• DO print your resume on good quality white or cream paper.

DON’T Don’ts • refer to your Penn Law degree as a Juris Doctorate. It is a JD or Juris Doctor and should be written with the word “Expected” or “Candidate.” Example: J.D. Candidate, May 2022.

• DON’T include a Penn Law GPA or class rank on your resume, as it is against the law school’s policy and we do not calculate GPA. For college, describe honors rather than listing your GPA (e.g. cum laude or “Dean’s List five semesters”).

• DON’T include your high school unless you have a very specific reason for doing so.

• DON’T include all your undergraduate accomplishments. It’s best if your Education section ends less than half way down the page to leave room for your Experience section. Pick the most prestigious and the best known awards to include.

• DON’T go over one page unless you are applying for public interest jobs.

• DON’T over-format, over-crowd, or use less than 10-12 point font.

Check out sample resumes and contact us at [email protected] for any questions or to have your resume reviewed by our office. SAMPLE RESUME FORMAT: Resumes for jobs in the legal field typically follow a specific format. This shows a model “Resume Format” with a description of each category.

NAME Street Address City, State Zip Telephone number Penn Law Email address

EDUCATION

University of Pennsylvania Law School, Philadelphia, PA J.D. Candidate, May 2xxx Honors: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Activities: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb

Undergraduate School Name, City, State Degree, summa/magna/cum laude (if applies), date of graduation Honors: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Activities: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

EXPERIENCE

Name of Organization, City, State Date Job Title Use action verbs that describe skills relevant to lawyering, write about WHAT YOU ACTUALLY DID on the job.

Name of Organization, City, State Date Job Title Use action verbs that describe skills relevant to lawyering, write about WHAT YOU ACTUALLY DID on the job.

Name of Organization, City, State Date Job Title Use action verbs that describe skills relevant to lawyering, write about WHAT YOU ACTUALLY DID on the job.

LANGUAGES List languages, include degree of fluency.

INTERESTS List interests – be specific. This allows employers to get to know you as a person.