How to Write a Paralegal Resume (Samples Included)

What every paralegal resume needs to include is a strong list of professionally presented experience. Let’s take a look at how to do that.

When writing your experience section, keep in mind that it's more important to show rather than tell. Keep your bullets simple, short and straight to the point so that they're easy to read. In each bullet of your paralegal experience section mention the impact you had in your previous positions. Accompany each statement with a concrete example. Instead of saying you’re organized, demonstrate it.

We already covered that your experience needs to be impact-oriented. The next step is start selecting which experience to include in your paralegal resume and how to order it. It's best to keep it chronological, which means starting from the most recent position and continue further down. Also, carefully curate what experience you show (don’t just overwhelm the reader with everything you’ve ever done). The key here is to make tough choices and only include what a recruiter wants to see.

As you can see, the experience required by employers for a paralegal and the experience found in paralegal resumes is pretty balanced. To catch the attention of a potential employer, follow our guide and advice on how to write the best paralegal resume employers have ever seen.

Who likes buzzwords? Nobody! Your potential employer has surely read a thousand times someone writing responsibilities without concrete numbers to back it up. As a result, these resume skills that aren’t quantified largely get ignored or even count against you. Again, the solution is to focus on concrete numbers which demonstrate your impact as a paralegal. So instead of “worked on many cases” write “resolved 100 legal cases within a month” Those kinds of resume action words really stand out and leave a strong impression.

Recruiters and hiring managers read hundreds of resumes every day. That's why you need to make your paralegal resume stand out in the sea of others. That means showing your personality, not just your professional experience. Recruiters and hiring managers are far more likely to remember a candidate who seems like a genuine person and not a robot. You can do this by including your passions, favorite books, or even your life philosophy. These little improvements will make you more relatable.

What are you most proud of? It's a difficult question but including the answer to it in your paralegal resume can make a huge difference. As a paralegal, you might not have years of experience up your sleeve. This section will help you show more about your personality, attitude, and character. You can share a story about overcoming hardship, learning an important life lesson, or just a triumph you had that means a lot to you. Either way, this is one of the best places to make your paralegal resume really stand out.

Writing a resume can feel quite overwhelming. We hope our guide for a paralegal resume will help you with writing a resume to be confident in in 2022.