Legal assistants have exciting and busy days while working either for a lawyer, a private business, or a government. They provide administrative assistance to attorneys and other professionals in the field of law, keeping files in order and preparing important documents for trial.
Recent trends show that in the past few years, there have been more job openings for legal assistants in Saskatchewan than workers to fill them, making the prospect of finding work in this field very good. Once you’ve earned your diploma, you’ll want to perfect your resume to ensure you have the best chance at landing a position in the workforce. Read on for tips to create a winning resume.
Create a Detailed and Informative Work Experience Section
Your work experience will make up most of your resume, so you want to make sure it is specific and informative. It’s important to be careful here, as you want to get your point across without being too wordy. Hiring managers don’t want to have to read lengthy paragraphs to get an idea of your experience.
A few statistics can go a long way. Think about including specific data from your education, such as the legal software you’ve learned, a budget you’ve worked with, the number of legal documents you can realistically draft each week, etc. Paired with these stats, you can include tasks you’ve worked on in the practicum session of your legal assistant program to display distinct skill sets that make you a great candidate.
Implement a Summary Highlighting Your Legal Assistant Diploma Qualifications
At the beginning of your resume, you can add a summary of the qualifications you’ve earned throughout your legal assistant diploma program. Since you may not have experience in the field yet, you can include details such as your diploma program, your practicum length and specialization, and specific skills you have that are aligned with those listed in the job description.
The summary is an introduction that lets potential employers know what you’re looking for, what you have to offer, and why you deserve the position. You can state these in a few sentences at the beginning of your resume, and conclude the section with a closing statement that identifies how you plan to use your qualifications to help the company.
Keep Your Resume Less Than Two Pages Long
Your resume will likely consist of four main sections: summary, work experience, education, and affiliations/certifications. While each of these is important, be sure not to load them with too much information, especially if it isn’t relevant to the position you’re applying for. Too much fluff makes your resume difficult/boring to read, and won’t help you stand out to the hiring manager.
Be concise and say what you need to say without going overboard when describing your experience. Try to condense your resume sections where you can, keeping the relevant information but making it easier to quickly find the key points that make you a good fit for the job. A resume that is short and straight to the point allows hiring managers to immediately see your potential.
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