Marketing yourself in your paralegal resume comes down to finding a balance between presenting powerful statements about yourself and overselling. Make sure that everything on your resume is 100% true and accurate and that you are not coming across as conceited (no one wants to work with someone like that).
Before you sit down to write your resume, you should consider who will be looking at it. Often it is someone in the human resources department at a law firm or corporation and other times it is an attorney (in smaller practices). You should also write your resume with one job in mind. Look through the classifieds (whether online or off) and find the perfect paralegal position for you. Be sure to examine the criteria they are seeking in a paralegal.
When you write your resume be sure to write it around this position.
Your resume will showcase your skills, accomplishments, experience, education, affiliations, and references. Keep in mind that you do not need to include a section for each. The shape of your resume utimately depends on your personal background and your goals.
Brainstorm the highlights of your career so far and make a list under each section from above. When you are ready to put it all together be sure to pay careful attention to grammar and spelling. You want your resume to be written flawlessly. Another point to make is to be sure it looks appealing to the eye. Use bullets, indentations and include wide margins with lines between sections. Your resume should not look crowded.
If you know any other paralegals or people in the legal field, you may want to have the review your resume before you send it out. It is suggested to have it reviewed by at least 3 people if possible (although they don't all need to be in the legal profession).
Best of luck in your next paralegal job hunt!
