Career Center: Three Ways the Holidays Can Boost Your Résumé

For most of us, the holidays are synonymous with family, fun, and fruitcake. Work, at least for a few days, drops off our radar. However, the down time received during the holidays is the perfect time to break out the old résumé and, in fact, improve it. Whether or not you are looking for a new job, keeping your résumé current will help you avoid headaches in the coming months should you decide to make a move.

Here are three ways the holidays can help update your résumé, provided by the recruiters at Lateral Link….

Pro Bono Work
Pro bono work is a great way to give back to your community while also boosting your résumé. The ABA Model Rule of Professional Conduct Rule 6.1 states that lawyers should provide at least 50 hours of pro bono legal services per year. 50 hours seems small, but it can be difficult to squeeze in if you are billing 2,000 hours or more at your firm. However, during your down time this holiday season, consider fulfilling this ethical obligation and give back to those who otherwise cannot afford legal advice. ‘Tis the season for giving, right?

Make Your Year-End Review Count
During the holidays, most of us receive our year-end review. This review shouldn’t only be thought of as a trip down 2011’s memory lane. Use this time to hone in your experiences and come up with a strategy that will move your career forward in 2012. Spend time creating a plan for who you want to work with and on what types of matters. Also, reviewing your work will refresh your memory as to what you actually accomplished in 2011. This leads into our next point, update your résumé!

Update your Résumé
How long has it been since you sat down and fully updated your résumé? For most of us, updating our résumé is at the bottom of our priority list. Why not take a peek at it during the holidays, while you might actually have some down time? Take an hour or so to look back on the year’s accomplishments. Make sure your résumé reflects your special skills or in-depth areas of law you dealt with in the past twelve months. Although you may not be actively looking for a new job, updating your résumé now will save you the hassle of having to update it a later date when your work product may not be as fresh in your mind.

For additional career tips and resources, head on over to the Career Center, sponsored by Lateral Link.