LegallyIndia.com

The biggest mistake made by applicants is that the CVs are too long, incomprehensible and full of irrelevant information.

"Keep it simple" is by far the best advice I can give all applicants and I can't give it often enough.

The really MIND-BOGGLING and downright stupid mistake that I have seen a lot of in recent times is mailing the CV to multiple law firms.....in the same email. I just cannot understand that....how can anyone not see what a bad idea it is to send the same email and same CV to multiple people at different law firms (with all their email ids appearing in the "to" or "cc" fields)????? Really makes me worry if there is even an iota of career counselling (even informal) in law schools!!!

So....simple word of advice to students and young lawyers looking to apply to a law firm.......if you cant even take the simple effort to type out separate emails to various firms when you are applying to them for a position, don't expect any of them to even take you seriously.....let alone respond.

And......here are a few more tips:

1. Avoid writing a field called "Objective" unless you have something really unique or attention-worthy to state there. Just saying vague stuff like "Objective: To add value to your organization and to grow" etc etc will more likely elicit amusement than interest.

2. Write stuff in your CV only if you are prepared enough to speak confidently (and knowledgeably) on the topic. One of the most annoying things for a recruiter is to find someone who claims to have done work on so many things, only to be found totally clueless on those topics in an interview. If you aren't even sounding like you know your stuff about what's written in your CV, how do you expect a law firm partner to believe you'd be good at anything else?

3. Avoid ingratiating and grovelling language.....it just isn't gonna help you. In fact, with many recruiters, it may actually work against you, as ingratiating communications often cause sub-conscious irritation.

4. Don't ramble. Recruiters are busy people and will lose their interest in your CV if it is not crisp and well-structured. While providing comprehensive info about yourself is important, it is equally important to do so with brevity. And to do so in a certain sequence. Doing so will also create a sub-conscious positive impact about you in the recruiter's mind.

5. Be truthful! You gain nothing at all by falsifying your CV.....it's a small world out there and sooner or later, falsehoods will be exposed. It's better not to get a job than to get fired for misrepresentation. In the professional world, reputation is everything, so don't risk it for the convenience of getting a job easily.

6. Provide meaningful references. And ALWAYS make sure that the people you name as referees have agreed to be your referees. Having a referee who sounds unenthusiastic or surprised to be called for feedback about you may unwittingly end up leaving an unfavourable impression about you in the recruiter's mind.

7. Typos and grammatical errors should be avoided at all costs. Do a spell check, it hardly takes any effort. Your CV is as much a testament to your written communication skills as it is a summary of information about yourself.

8. Last, but not the least, get someone else to give your CV and your cover letter a good read thru if possible. Very often, having an unbiased pair of eyes giving your CV and cover letter a run-thru can help make some very good fine tuning to your CV.

Hope that helps.....for what it's worth.