Violet Said:

This is my resume for a paralegal internship minus the personal info and GPA bc not sure. Feedback on this?

We Answered:

I will just say that I read a lot of resumes on a daily basis. I train paralegal interns AND attorney interns. I am not saying my word is the end all be all. What I am saying is this is what I look for and you should always go with what makes you feel comfortable. With that, the following is my constructive criticism:

I would remove the references available on request. I immediately get annoyed when I read internship resumes, paralegal and attorney, that have that phrase. Obviously, if I want a reference, I will ask. Just be prepared to hand one over at your interview. Always have at least 3 copies of your resume and 3 copies of references. I purposely leave my resume on the desk and give negative marks to those that are not prepared to hand me a copy.

I personally don't think hobbies should be on an internship resume. Professional resume, maybe. I would suggest changing your hobbies to "Professional Organizations and Clubs" and only list the Paralegal Club and Paralegal Association. Again, the hobbies are not important. If you hold a leadership position, it would be prudent to list that.

I am not really digging your qualifications section, because, honestly, you do not have any. Qualification sections on a resume are reserved for the listing of actual accomplishments you possess or is a written summary of your actual work experience. You usually either have an objective or a qualifications summary, but not both. My personal preference would be to ax the whole qualifications section and move the computer experience, Lexis experience and WPM somewhere else. The fact that you haven't finished all coursework is a waste of space and redundant.

Languages should be listed with your skills at the top of the page and not in its own section. I am not really liking the order you chose for your resume. I usually like to see education and work experience at the bottom of the resume. Why? For an internship position, I don't want to read where you went to school, how much you've completed, etc. I want to read about what skills you have and what you have to offer us. Your objective already states that you are not 100% complete with school and that the position is your final step. Therefore, it shouldn't be the first thing I see. Since you are not complete, it should be below work experience and above Professional Organizations.

I am not really digging your skills section either. What you've listed are personal descriptive qualities and are usually written in a qualifications or objective narrative. While the skills you have listed are important, they aren't actual skills. You're WPM, language skills, computer skills and such should be listed here. Actual skills I can evaluate you by. Can you use a copy machine, fax machine, scanner, multi-line phone? That is what I need to know. You put "a variety of computer applications." Okay, which ones? It isn't my job to ask you that. Are you familiar with USPS, FedEx, UPS and shipping things?

Don't list your GPA unless it is over a 3.5 or B+ average.

Relevant Coursework should be more detailed. Each class should have a brief description of what kind of material you learned. There is no way for me, or an attorney, to distinguish what knowledge you gained from Litigation class as it stands now. English Composition isn't necessarily needed, nor is it really "relevant". You are applying for a paralegal internship. The only "relevant" education are the law classes that will help you get hired. Did you take a civil litigation class? Did you take a tort class? Family law? Most importantly, what did the class focus on? Something like, "Legal Research and Writing I & II - Conducted research utilizing LexisNexis. Wrote weekly legal briefs on assigned cases." Or something like that. Have writing samples available if you have them.

Work Experience - Cut this section down. You don't need descriptions of what you did because it isn't relevant to work in a law firm. Just put the employer, dates you were employed, formal position you held and city and state of the store.

Achievements? Do you have any? Academic achievements? If not, it isn't a big deal, but I know I love people that graduate with honors, or received scholarships. Shows me you are a good worker which is better than having to TELL me you are.

Most hiring individuals don't make it to the second half of your resume if it is poorly written. If you can't sell yourself in the first 3 inches of the page, your resume is not properly written. What you've posted isn't the worst I have seen or read, but it is very basic. I honestly would have stopped at your relevant coursework and ended the interview because I am not going to take the time to grill you on your education when you had the opportunity to give me a description.

I am hard to impress. This would not have done it for me. Based on this, I cannot determine what you've learned, only that you took courses. I can't determine what skills you have, because you haven't really listed anything I can use. Rethink the order and put yourself in my shoes. What would you want to see?

William Said:

I need feedback for a research project on marijuana?

We Answered:

Although looked upon negatively by society, many Americans use and abuse Marijuana every day. Marijuana is a controversial drug with the public. Falsely listed as a Schedule I drug (meaning a drug of high dependence and of no medicinal value), Marijuana was originally attacked and demonized by the newspaper industry because of it's competitive attribute - Hemp.

Today we debate on whether or not the drug should be legalized. Yes, the legalization of Marijuana has its pros and cons, just as any other decision does. For instance, in the past 5 years alone scientists have done extensive research on the medical benefits of marijuana, proving that the benefits are outstanding, such as its beneficial effects in appeasing migraines and lessening pain in cancer patients. Additionally, research shows that America spends millions of dollars a year on stopping the use of this drug.
By legalizing the drug, America could possibly save and re-distribute the money used by the Drug Enforcement Agency for more important things, such as save the whales or save the ozone.

As with any other subject, however, there is also negative effects.[such as employment. Even though it’s not considered a real job, many people do sell marijuana for a living. With it being legal they would basically lose their income (This is a weak argument against, just use the one possibility of younger generations).] A possible downfall of legalizing Marijuana is that it would be more accessible for younger generations.
In all reality on a logical standpoint with America's economy the way it is, with many people out of jobs and hardly making any money, America legalizing marijuana could possibly be harmful to the economy, it could create a wave of drug addicts in society and could possibly anger a lot of the American public. (this is false, if anything it is a boost to the economy because of the people going out to purchase - it creates a cash influx into the economy) One may argue marijuana's possible effect as a gateway drug, a drug that many believe "opens the door" for others to try more dangerous drugs, such as cocaine. Such is not necessarily the case. If one looks at drug users, many "pot-smokers" have not tried harder, more dependent-driven drugs, but looking at the cocaine and heroin addicts, they have used marijuana at some point.

Use the history as a lead-in for your paper, the intro should just be a gloss-over of what will actually be in your paper. the intro doesn't need details, just general facts and it's ok if it's not backed up by example in the first part, because you'll do that when you get to it in the following paragraphs.

look at the ondcp for facts and figures in general. FYI - for the most part, marijuana is not a bad drug, nor does it have many negative qualities. It was attacked because it was a cheaper form of paper (Hemp) and the big papers were losing money. In fact, Harry Anslinger, the chief of the narcotics bureau, at first told the attackers that it was a bunch of nonsense and only changed his story after his father-in-law (or uncle in law) asked him to. (I don't know how big your paper has to be, but if you have time and need more info (Drugs and drug policy) is a FANTASTIC book and has all the info you could need for that.

hope this helps!

Viola Said:

Applying for entry paralegal jobs - salary should I ask for?

We Answered:

But you were never a paralegal which most firms require you have a minimum of 1 year of paralegal experience. Will advise you as I advised one of my best friends who did have a paralegal background, but not enough for the law firm she is presently working at over on Park Avenue South. She started at 28K over 3 years ago and is now earning 35K. The one advantage you have is you have your degree. At most with no experience they will probably offer 30K. After a year and with your degree you can certainly move on and ask for more.

Sara Said:

Paralegal duties?

We Answered:

I graduated in 2007 from a community college and my major was paralegal studies. I got a job a few months after and was the worst mistake i ever made. It was so boring i was counting the hours until i got to leave. I ended up only working for 1 mo. and the boss fired me over the phone. Funny thing is they never trained me in so i didn't know how to put the things i learned from college to real life use. When i did make a mistake my boss and his "assistant" would bite my head off.
It is not creative, you have to do it by the book or the way your boss wants it done.
You would be looking at sitting down mostly and greeting clients. The only thing they had me do was answer the phone and work on indexes.
I would look into the criminal justice aspect.
Hope this helps.

Frank Said:

What jobs can you recommend for a person with a BS in History, an MAT, & 2 years of law school?

We Answered:

Well, honestly, you could do almost anything in business.... Marketing, Sales, etc. Not sure if that is of interest, but I really think you can do whatever you want... just find a direction and go for it!

Also, when looking for your next job, I have a few suggestions on how to Stand Out among other applicants:

1. Have a nicely designed professional resume that was clear and to the point (not Toooo many words) – many people will that this

2. Purchasing a domain name and create a professional looking website where you can list your bio, contact info, references, etc.
I recommend using one of the great FREE website templates at EcoSnap.com (http://www.ecosnap.com)

So here is how the top of your resume could look:
Your Name
Phone # - yourname@yourname.com – www.yourname.com

When I was in job market I did this and I looked Tech Savvy and it really helped me stand out!

It was simple (to design experience needed) and only cost like $6 a month.

It really helped, I even directed a few people I was interviewing to the site during our conversation.

Plus, it was great to leave the interview and say, “if my contact info is ever miss placed, the nice thing is you can also get a hold of me using my website!”

Just a thought on how to make yourself stand out, get a better offer, and look like you are tech savvy.

All the Best!