Seasonal Clerkship Resume Checklist

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As seasonal clerkship applications start to close in NSW, many students are frantically proofreading and checking their resumes before submission.

A resume enables the recruiter to form their first impression of you.  An error or mistake on your resume (which could be replicated across multiple firms if you use the same resume across the board) can suggest to law firms that you lack attention to detail.  Therefore, your resume can either get you or cost you an interview. 

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

As someone who was able to score a few clerkship and graduate interviews back in the day, here is my checklist of the things that you could consider before submitting your resume for clerkship and graduate applications.

ALCA Seasonal Clerkship Resume Checklist

Checklist item

✓   

Structure of your resume – the key sections:

  • Personal details – your name as the heading and provided contact details (such as email address, contact number and link to LinkedIn profile)
  • Education
  • Employment history including legal experience
  • Extracurricular and volunteering activities
  • Optional sections – interests and languages
  • Referees

 

Entries are listed in reverse chronological order (starting with most recent).

 

 

For education, listed:

  • your WAM/GPA for university and your ATAR (or equivalent) for high school; and
  • any key academic achievements (e.g. notable rank in subject, HD marks), awards (e.g. Dean’s List) and scholarships.

 

 

For employment entries:

  • identified organisation, job title, date range and achievements;
  • optional - identified if the role is full-time, part-time, casual or pro bono;
  • used active verbs (e.g. prepared, drafted, organised, designed, led, advised, etc.);
  • used past tense for past achievements and present tense for current duties; and
  • provided quantification of achievements (e.g. %, $, numbers, etc).

 

 

For extracurricular entries:

  • identified organisation, job title, date range and achievements;
  • used active verbs (e.g. prepared, drafted, organised, designed, led, advised, etc.);
  • identified relevant transferable skills (e.g. leadership, teamwork, communication, analytical, etc.); and
  • provided quantification of achievements (e.g. %, $, numbers, etc).

 

Focused on main points for each entry (try to limit to 3-5 key selling points).

 

 

Demonstrated qualities and interests which law firms look for (e.g. commercial awareness, customer service, legal research or pre-penultimate programs).

 

 

Demonstrated what makes you unique and different to other clerk candidates.

 

 

Used headings and subheadings for sections and entries.

 

 

Is your resume 2 pages (maximum 3 pages)?

 

 

Clean font (e.g. Arial, Verdana) and readable font size (10-12 depending on font)

 

 

Do entries use bullet points rather than lengthy paragraphs?

 

 

Does the footer include your full name and page numbering?

 

 

Have you proofread (and asked someone else to also proofread) your resume for spelling, grammatical or typographical errors?

 

 

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