From the Career Files: How to Improve Your Résumé This Summer If You’re Applying This Fall

Anna Ivey helps pre-law students figure out how to improve their resume for fall law school applications.

Ed. note: This is the latest installment in a series of posts from the ATL Career Center’s team of expert contributors. Today, Anna Ivey helps prospective law school applicants improve their résumé for fall applications.

Are you staring at your résumé and experiencing a mild sense of panic wondering how you’re going to beef it up between now and the time you submit your applications this fall?

You may be tempted to sign up for a flurry of impressive-sounding activities, but remember that quality matters a whole lot more than quantity. Admissions officers know what résumé padding looks like. In fact, they have a finely tuned antenna for that sort of thing. Any activity where you list your main contribution as “member” — i.e. just showing up — isn’t going to count for much.

You’ll also have to list start dates for your jobs and activities, as well as hours per week, when it comes time to apply. It will be completely transparent if all of a sudden you discover a grand passion for immigrant aid volunteering, or sustainability work, or the inner workings of the Dodd-Frank Act three months before you apply. Track records matter.

Read more at the ATL Career Center…

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