How To Write A Legal Secretary Resume
When drafting a legal secretary resume, it is best to follow a traditional resume format. The legal professions remains a conservative one; therefore, the format of a legal secretary resume should be similar to those in the financial sector or other segments of the economy that more formal than others. What does a traditional resume format look like?
First, the legal secretary resume should follow a chronological format, starting with one’s most recent experience and moving to older position. A
functional resume is not recommended for a legal secretary resume, and choosing that format may very well result in the resume being discarded. This is not the time to get too creative with one’s employment history and skill sets. The best manner to present a legal secretary resume is to follow a traditional chronological format and highlights specific achievements and responsibilities held for each position.
Second, the style of the legal secretary resume should also be more formal. While there is no one-size fits all in terms of formatting a legal secretary resume, there are a couple of rules of thumb you should keep in mind in terms of formatting and editing a legal resume. If you are going to mail a hard copy, the legal secretary resume should be on neutral tone paper, either white or ivory. In terms of font, the resume should have a readable sized font, usually no less an 11-point font, in black, with either Times, Arial, or Verdana. While can play around a bit with style, including some grey variation and other less traditional fonts, the result should nevertheless be very polished and professional. In other words, you need to stick to the basics. See: “
Building Your Lawyer Resume” for more information on how to properly format your legal secretary resumes.
Third, a legal secretary resume should not only list various skills and accomplishments as they related to the tasks required in the position, it should go one step further. An effective a legal secretary’s resume has applied these various skills and experienced to provide positive results. This is achieved by providing specific examples in the resume, usually set off in bullet points. This is what will make your particular legal secretary resume stand out from other.
Finally, do not forget to list all of your licenses and certifications, such as notary public or paralegal. At this level, unlike an attorney resume, technical knowledge of various software programs frequently used in the legal profession for time keeping, legal research, case management and calendaring, forms, and document assembly should also be listed.