Best Resumes for Attorneys

Rating:
Summary: Good resume advice
Review: This book provides good resume templates. I then used the "Vault Reports Guide to America's Top 50 Law Firms" to send resumes to law firm hiring managers and to prepare for my interviews.

Rating:
Summary: Should be entitled "Simple Resumes for Top Attorneys only"
Review: This is probably the worst book I've ever reviewed on the subject. Sure, it's great if you are an attorney from a top 10 school at the top 20% of your class, but still are not bright enough to figure out the most basic of tactics. True, the gatekeepers for the elite jobs are not authorized to think outside of the box, and therefore resumes based on these tips will appeal to them; on the other hand, there is no reason that these attorneys should have to put more than a cursory search together as these employers will be chasing them. As to the rest of us presumably unqualified professionals, the book is of absolutely no relevance. Based on this, I presume that the authors (legal recruiters) are likewise only interested in finding jobs for the papered best and brightest.

Rating:
Summary: Best Resumes for Attorneys
Review: This should be entiled "Best Resumes for Attorneys at the Top of your Class, (As for the rest of you, we're not concerned)." Hey, everyone knows law is extremely competitive, but shouldn't there be something in this book for someone not in top 20% or above. Every sample resume involves being at the top of your class. Obviously, I didn't graduate in the stratosphere but I am far from being alone, 80+%. Also, I've been able to eke out a decent practice despite this. I've used this book for the past few years and it is helpful because there is a large selection of sample resumes and cover letters to choose from, but I've often chuckled to myself when doing so, because for having such a large selection of examples for so many areas of the law, it just deals with the "elite." It never addresses anyone who might be below this standard. That is why I think that its use is somewhat limited and not realistic.