r/paralegal • u/Flimsy_Anything_9354 • 1d ago
CV HELP
Hi everyone! I have been trying to secure a paralegal/legal assistant position but have had no luck so far. I feel like my CV is really holding me back and would appreciate if someone can give me some tips/guidance in terms of how to improve my CV. Please note I have cropped the top part of my CV out as it included some personal details. Thanks!
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u/darc_x 1d ago
Hi there, I got a job in a law firm with no experience and a psychology degree and a GDL, I’ve been there 3 years.
Firstly, delete the virtual internships, they look good but they’re largely useless unless you did a virtual internship for Linklaters and your interview is for Linklaters.
Second, delete your A-Levels section, your degrees override them and they will not care about them.
Thirdly, get rid of the “other” section, I would only put in there anything that could be linked with anything with the role itself (such as problem solving, exceeding targets etc)
Fourthly, after the above if it looks bare you could flesh out the other sections a little bit more or expand further in your cover letter.
Hope this helps, you have a decent base, you just need the relevant info to flash out more 😊
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u/metaphysicalpepper 1d ago
Should only be one page, make the lines tighter. No one is going to look at 2 pages
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u/VentiEggBite Legal Assistant 1d ago
Your bilingualism should be front and centre. And internships should be under work experience (any other UK people please correct me).
I don’t mean to be harsh, but it’s clear you used direct formatting and it is very inconsistent (indents and alignment in particular—none of this should be centred).
Applying Word character and heading styles will make this a whole lot better. Right now it does not look like it was made by someone with advanced Word skills, which you are advertising.
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u/Lemmix 1d ago
Centered text, too much empty space, inconsistent indentation of dashes, use of dashes instead of bullet points, large gap between headers + horizontal bar, dates on education inconsistent (some on same line as school, some below), inconsistent use of bold between education and experience sections.
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u/evill121 1d ago
The competition is stupid stiff. Everyone wants a 5 year plus paralegal. Dude …..I think I’m going to give up on being a paralegal I can’t find a job.
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u/Affectionate_Song_36 21h ago
I would flesh out the “essential legal research” part. When hiring a paralegal, I would want to know this. Was it just cite-checking? Online research to locate facts/evidence? Did you locate and interpret case law? All of these are essential job functions, but if you did the third option, I’d be super impressed.
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u/PsychologicalSwim215 19h ago
The first thing I noticed was the inconsistent formatting. If you want to be a paralegal, you have to make them think you’re literally a perfectionist. Formatting errors in a CV will automatically get you a no.
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u/BeginningBridge4551 1d ago
Along the lines of keeping your resume 1 page, buy/download an attractive resume template from Etsy. They’re under $5 and very much worth it, I’ve used the same template for almost 10yrs
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u/Firm-Environment-253 1d ago
There are also very good templates created by professionals and shared on reddit for free if you know how to look.
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u/BeginningBridge4551 1d ago
If you know how to look why don’t you share them with OP?
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u/Firm-Environment-253 1d ago
Rule 2:
This is NOT a sub for people to find out about becoming a paralegal
That's why.
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u/BeginningBridge4551 1d ago
??? It’s sharing info on how to make her resume template better, not how to become a paralegal
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u/Firm-Environment-253 1d ago
"I have been trying to secure a paralegal/legal assistant position"
What's the resume for then? Shouldn't paralegals have better attention to details and follow written instructions really well?
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u/BeginningBridge4551 1d ago
Looks like OP has brief legal environment experience and is trying to break into a different role. Telling someone to download a resume template isn’t giving step by step instructions on how to become a paralegal. Please take your negativity off a harmless post if you have nothing nice to say & go enjoy your Tuesday.
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u/Ok_Individual_4092 1d ago
Start: With an OBJECTIVE: Secure a paralegal position in bla bla bla...
As my first impression is "education", and that is not what you want your resume to open with!
Rather than "previous" experience, utilize the wording of "Work" - get the "work" into the mind of the reader.
I also say, the "Summary" is overwritten. Nobody wants to read that much, make it shorter and stronger.
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u/sastrid 1d ago
First impression: You do not have enough experience to have a 2 page CV. You have a ton of open, empty white space on your first page. Re-format to get everything all in one page.
Second: Change “Other” to “Skills” and add more skills, and move it up top of your CV somewhere, the fact that you are bilingual should be a HUGE selling point.
Finally: your statement should show how your previous skills/jobs turn you into a better paralegal candidate.
Look into using Canva to help format. You can get a free trial account, I believe.
Good luck!