Approach
Creating a CV is one of the most important steps in preparing to make your next career move, as it is normally the first introduction to your potential new employer and it is likely to form the basis of much of what you will discuss at interview.
Length
It is not necessary to keep your CV to two pages. If the information is relevant to your career to date, it should be there, but keep it concise and easy to read. Use bullet points where you can and try to avoid long paragraphs of narrative.
Structure and Content
There is no right or wrong way of setting out a CV, as long at it is professional, consistently laid out and easy to read. However, Sacco Mann’s advice on how best to structure your CV, based on years of experience in the sector, is as follows:
1) Personal details
Name, Address, Contact Details. (Date of Birth, Marital Status, Nationality, Driving Licence, Health etc are all optional).
2) Academics / Education
Chronology of your education - with names of institutions (dates preferred but optional), with grades / qualifications obtained. It is not necessary to include modules, electives, dissertations etc unless they are directly relevant to an application. Make sure that your CV contains your full academic history and that any chronological gaps, including years spent abroad (travelling, sabbaticals, etc.) are listed and explained.
3) Employment history
Employment history should always be presented with your most recent employment first. It is advisable to stress the most relevant experience to the application you are making. Make sure that this section of your CV contains your full employment history and that any chronological gaps, as aforementioned in the Academics / Education section, are listed and explained.
List Employer, Location, Dates, Position held. Beyond this, it is easiest to structure your information in the following way:-
Brief description of the firm (if it is not well known).This gives context to your experience. Eg. number of Partners, areas of work, any specialisms. Include a brief description of your department (size / structure), nature of clients etc.
Next focus on your specific role, describing the nature and variety of your caseload, giving examples of noteworthy and relevant matters, provide plenty of technical detail and value size, if you can. Do you run your own caseload? How many cases do you handle? Do you support or manage others? List any additional responsibilities eg Business Development, Marketing, Seminars etc.
For those more experienced candidates, with approximately over five years' experience in the profession, there should be a part of the CV which demonstrates your ability to manage and develop client relationships, as this is likely to take up a significant part of the interview. It may also be relevant, dependant on your circumstances, for you to you prepare a business plan prior to the interview so you are able to answer any questions about this with confidence.
If you are a trainee, list the areas in which you have gained experience, including a brief description of the department (size / structure), nature of clients etc. For each area, detail the work that you have been involved in, clearly demonstrating where you have worked as part of a team or where you have had ownership of your own files. Also detail additional responsibilities: eg. client entertainment, training, presentations etc.
4) Other employment
List all previous roles, only going into detail where necessary. There is no need to write a paragraph about each piece of work experience. (Whilst this might have been useful in securing your training contract, and can demonstrate how committed you have been to entering the profession, the exact experience has been more than surpassed by your more recent experience.) There may be the need to explain paralegal experience in more detail, dependent upon the relevancy of this and your level of post-qualification experience.
5) Additional Information
IT skills, language skills, professional memberships, training, articles – keep this brief
6) Interests
Hobbies, interests and activities. It is important that you give some thought to the interests section of your CV as a short piece of narrative here can say a lot about you as a person. It is becoming increasingly important for law firms and IP practices to recruit well-rounded individuals who are going to be the client relationship builders of the future.
7) References
These are optional and are usually not taken until after an offer has been made.
If you need any further help or advice and or you would like a consultant to review a working draft of your CV, please do not hesitate to contact us.
