Paralegal CV - What kind?

[dinoorchestra]

Hey everyone,

I had a question regarding CV's for paralegal positions because I am very confused at this point. Do you include the skills you've gained in CV's you send in for paralegal roles or should these CV's be purely factual (only including the "job description" of your activities)? I do not have any friends or contacts that I could ask about this so I am a bit lost. Some insight would be super helpful.

Thanks.

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

I suggest more factual evidence rather than highlighting skills. If you focus on your responsbilities, usually the skills become evident anyway.

Try to avoid repeating job descriptions though. Instead try to think about highlighting your impact/success in the role. What did you achieve in those responsibilities rather than just listing the responsibilities out (like what would be on a job description).

 

[dinoorchestra]

Thank you—that is extremely helpful! I'll try polishing my CV and removing the skills from it.

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

You can write skills into work experience descriptions though. Examples include:

- Meticulously planned five people’s daily schedules to deliver the event

- Collaborated with five colleagues to deliver the project

- Created an innovative solution by designing an efficient administration system that reduced workload by 20%

- Actively listened to clients to ensure tailored advice could be provided to them.

- Utilised attention to detail to spot an error in a contract that once corrected saved the company £100,000

 

[dinoorchestra]

Okay, I think I am slowly getting it! You mean work experience sections, such as for law firm applications, right? Or is there a "rule" for when it would be helpful in a CV for me to add my skills to my work experiences and when I should not do it?

I was also wondering about mitigating circumstances. I understand that they have to be added to the CV if you want them to be considered, but where? I am worried that if I put it at the bottom of the CV, the CV will be dismissed before the mitigating circumstances are considered.

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Okay, I think I am slowly getting it! You mean work experience sections, such as for law firm applications, right? Or is there a "rule" for when it would be helpful in a CV for me to add my skills to my work experiences and when I should not do it?

I was also wondering about mitigating circumstances. I understand that they have to be added to the CV if you want them to be considered, but where? I am worried that if I put it at the bottom of the CV, the CV will be dismissed before the mitigating circumstances are considered.

This applies to CVs or online applications - embed your skills into your responsibilities rather than highlighting them seperately.

I wouldn't put details of mitigating circumstances on a CV unless it is a brief reference to your academic results, see example below in how this could be presented.

BA Economics, University of Manchester 2000-2004
Third year: 70% average
Second year 64% average
First year: 54% average (extenuating circumstances)

 

[dinoorchestra]

I got it—thank you a ton. I have now finished updating my CV with the guidance you provided, and it feels more solid now. Much obliged!