Paralegal Resume: Essential Guidelines & Bonus Template

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A role as a Paralegal requires you to juggle a multitude of tasks, including doing case research, editing legal contracts and documents, and even office management. So it’s unsurpirising if you haven’t found the time recently to work on your resume. Our professional templates and expert advice can help!

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ResumeGiants » Examples » Paralegal Resume

If you’re interested in the world of law and you have the skills to be organized and responsible, a job as a paralegal could be an excellent opportunity for you.

It’s a great way to challenge yourself, use your smarts, work in a professional environment, and expose yourself to an important and fascinating field.

But creating a solid resume is a necessary first step toward getting that dream job. To do that, you’ll want to have a good idea of what good paralegal resume examples look like, what skills or experiences to focus on, and how to make your application materials stand out from the rest.

Let’s have a quick look to a paralegal resume sample so you take some ideas to start yours without any legal problem.

Resume Example

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[Sam Jones]

[Certified Paralegal (CP) since 2015]

[15 Oceanview Drive, MI 10001 | 213-555-0198 | samjones@gmail.com]

Summary

Motivated and hard-working medical malpractice litigation paralegal with 5+ years of experience. Seeking to utilize skills as a strong research assistant and shape organization, client communications, and trial preparation. Successfully managed over 50 individual clients both before and after trial. Proficient in Arabic.

Experience

Litigation Paralegal

Johnson Law Firm | St. Louis, MI 2015 – 2021

• Analyzed and investigated facts related to cases as requested by attorneys.

• Researched relevant laws, legal articles, and regulations as necessary.

• Drafted and distributed routine correspondence and other legal documents within the firm.

• Proofread and created reports, court transcripts, and other documents.

Education

Associate’s Degree, Paralegal Studies

Southern Missouri Community College | Springfield, MI

2013 – 2015

Earned a cumulative GPA of 3.75 President of Model United Nations Chapter

Skills

• Strong research skills

• Time management
• Attention to detail
• Adaptability
• Communication
• Problem-solving
• Amiability
• Teamwork
• Multitasking

Hobbies and Interests

• Writing
• Reading
• Volunteering at local women’s shelter

A paralegal is responsible for supporting lawyers in various ways, including organizing and maintaining files or paperwork, drafting documents, and doing legal research.

Paralegals are sometimes called “legal assistants” because their primary job function is to provide lawyers with the resources and help they need to serve their clients best. However, their main responsibilities differ. You can check our legal assistant resume guide for futher information.

Specific job responsibilities you can expect from a job as a paralegal, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, include:

• Gather, investigate, and arrange the facts or evidence of a case alongside other legal documents for attorney review
• Assist in case preparation
• Research relevant laws, legal articles, or regulations
• Organize documents in filing systems
• Draft legal documents, such as contracts or correspondence
• Assist lawyers during trials by taking notes, reviewing transcripts, handling exhibits, etc.
• Work with clients, other lawyers, and outside personnel to schedule interviews, depositions, meetings, and more

Paralegal Duties: Resume Tips

The resume of a paralegal should reflect their background, job aspirations and goals, education, work experience, skills, and anything else that shows they are qualified to complete the above tasks.

Remember that your resume has just a few seconds or so to grab a hiring team’s attention, so you’ll want to be sure that your resume is just as eye-catching and intriguing as it is practical.

Regardless of your experience level, it’s essential to keep the goal of your resume in mind throughout this entire process: to make yourself the most attractive and desirable candidate you can be.

To do that, you’ll need to have a good idea of what potential employers are looking for, how to structure your resume, and what’s best to include. So let’s take a closer look.

According to the BLS, most candidates looking to become a paralegal have:

• Either an associate’s degree in paralegal studies or a bachelor’s degree in another subject
• A certificate in paralegal studies

Some employers will only require applicants to have an associate’s degree, but most ask for a bachelor’s degree. Since few postsecondary institutions offer bachelor’s degrees in paralegal studies, it’s most common for students to pursue a different degree and then opt to get certified.

Only paralegal education programs approved by the American Bar Association can provide official certification, so if it’s something you choose to pursue, be sure you’re using services you can trust. Many professional associations or organizations can offer this sort of training.

Aside from education, there’s not much to worry about in terms of qualifications. Of course, certifications and work experience will undoubtedly serve to strengthen your resume, but it’s also possible to become a successful paralegal without these things.

It’s important to let your relevant experiences showcase your value as a candidate regardless of your experience level or background. Keep in mind the sort of things employers are often looking for in a potential paralegal, like:

• A willingness to learn and try new things
• Attention to detail
• A professional and good-to-work-with personality
• Strong organization and communication skills
• Flexibility and an ability to multitask

Can You Be a Paralegal With No Experience?

It is entirely possible to become a paralegal even without work experience so long as you meet all the other requirements for the job you’re looking into.

Paralegals can work in various industries, so even if one job posting doesn’t seem like something you can take on, don’t lose hope – there are lots of opportunities out there that are ideal for beginners.

Of course, writing a paralegal resume with no experience to pull from is more challenging than it would be to write an experienced paralegal resume, but that doesn’t necessarily mean your chances will suffer.

By formatting your resume in a way that highlights the things you do have to offer, you can create a finished product that still portrays a strong candidate. We’ll talk a bit more about format below.

For these sorts of resumes, it’s not a bad idea to reference some paralegal resume examples. Looking at a sample paralegal resume with no experience can help you better understand how to set up your own, what to include, and how to make yourself stand out.

Generally speaking, a reverse-chronological format is the best way to go for an effective, easy-to-read resume. This resume format lists your most recent experiences at the top and your most dated at the bottom in each section.

For a full-time job position like this, it’s most common to include your job experience atop your education. This way, the first thing a hiring team reads (aside from your introductory material) is your most relevant and recent experiences.

Beneath experience, you should include your educational background in the same format. Be sure to include the type of degree you’ve earned, the field it’s in, and any certifications or awards associated with your education.

Depending on your level of education, you may or may not choose to include your high school experience.

But, if you don’t have work experience to list, don’t fret. Using a combined or skill-based resume format can still work to your advantage.

A skill-based resume format, as the name suggests, puts your work skills at the forefront of a hiring team’s attention. For example, these resumes might list skills before job experience or education and elaborate upon how you acquired these skills and how they can be helpful to the firm.

A combined resume format takes elements from both styles mentioned above and blends them. As a result, it can look different from person to person based on what each individual feels is best to highlight.

For example, someone new to the field with only a college degree and certificate may find it helpful to include a significant skills section on their resume and utilize reverse-chronological formatting for the other sections.

No matter what, be sure to keep your resume around a page.

Too lengthy of a resume is likely to turn off a potential employer or at least cause them to miss vital information about you as a candidate.

Once you’ve decided on a format for your resume, you can begin to craft the actual text you’ll be using. The first part of that is your paralegal resume summary or objective.

It’s important not to confuse a resume summary and a resume objective; the two serve different purposes and are thus advantageous for different types of applicants.

A paralegal resume summary is ideal for experienced professionals who have been in the field for a long time and aren’t looking to make a career change.

On the other hand, a paralegal resume objective is best for an entry-level paralegal resume and those looking to change fields or enter a new position.

Both a resume objective and summary should explain to an employer why you’re the ideal candidate for the job, but how the two accomplish this goal differs.

Resume objectives generally focus on what you can do or want to do. Of course, they still provide relevant details about your background and express your desire for the position, but their goal is to show an employer what you have to offer right from the get-go.

A resume summary, by contrast, is about what you’ve already done. It’s an opportunity to list specific skills and achievements within the field that you’d like your employer to focus on. It acts as an overview of your career thus far, focusing primarily on the highest points, as well as what you hope to bring to the table at your new workplace.

Paralegal Resume Summary Example

Ideal resume summaries will provide specific examples of things you’ve done well in the past and things that set you apart from other candidates.

Avoid overly vague language or simply restating job requirements; try to think of the top few things about you that showcase that you can fulfill the tasks the lawyer will need you to do.

Paralegal Resume Objective Example

Though a resume objective doesn’t have to be lengthy, it should still make it clear what your strengths are, what you have to offer, and what you hope to achieve.

How to Write an Entry-Level Paralegal Resume Objective

Your resume objective should encompass who you are as a worker and what your plans for the future are.

A strong opening is a part of any excellent paralegal resume, entry-level or otherwise, but it’s especially crucial if the rest of your resume might be lacking a bit.

Focus on writing an objective that is specific, concise, and able to successfully communicate your key skills, accomplishments, and goals as they relate to the job you’re applying for.

A lack of experience in the field doesn’t have to hold you back. Find ways to tailor your strengths to what your employer is looking for, and you can still come out as a top candidate.

The first thing you want to include on your resume will be your paralegal certification, where you got it from, and what dates you received it. You should also mention if you are an Advanced Certified Paralegal (ACP), Certified Paralegal (CP), or both, and be prepared to include a copy of your certificate with your application.

With a strong introduction already taken care of, it’s time to move on to the meat of your paralegal resume: the experience section.

Even if it’s not directly related to being a paralegal, past job experience is still important to employers. It demonstrates that you had an opportunity to develop tangible working skills, form connections, and acquaint yourself with a productive working environment.

However, if you do have experience as a paralegal or even ask something related like a secretary, that should be your focus. Don’t waste time or space on things that aren’t relevant to what you’re applying for – you only have about a page, after all.

Be sure to list your employer’s company name, their location, your job title, and the years you worked in that role for each piece you add to your experience section.

Beneath these key details, you should list significant accomplishments, experience, or skills that you took away from that job. When you do this, be sure to use strong, moving vocabulary, particularly verbs.

Keep your language fresh throughout your resume. Try your best to choose verbs that are specific to the point you’re trying to make to avoid redundancies. Lawyers are typically great with words, and they tend to recognize the importance of good vocabulary and writing skills!

It’s also important to remember that employers know the job you’re applying for better than anyone else, so they’ll be carefully looking for candidates that specifically meet the goals they’ve set for the position.

As a result, it’s best to tailor the language of your entire resume to each job description, but especially your experience section.

Paralegal Resume Template Examples: Experience

A good entry in your experience section might look something like this:

Entry-Level Paralegal: Experience Section

If you’re an entry-level candidate, you’re not going to have much or any experience to list on your resume. And that’s okay!

If you do have any job experience that you think can strengthen your resume, it’s not a bad idea to include it. But, if you feel that your education and skills are more noteworthy, it’s best to shift your focus to them instead.

Any experience you do list should still be written as if it’s important (because it is!) and list specific points you want your employer to know.

Perhaps you weren’t a paralegal specifically, but you worked in a job that required similar skills. You may write something like this:

Especially if you plan to work with a medical malpractice attorney, that sort of experience can be extremely attractive. There are certainly ways to highlight the parts of the job that relate to the daily tasks of a paralegal.

After you’ve listed your experience, you’ll want to move on to your education. It’s key to ensure your paralegal resume education section is organized in a way that makes sense and follows the format of the rest of your resume.

For instance, if you’ve got a college degree and a high school diploma and want to list both, you should list your college degree and experience atop your high school information.

The more recent a degree is, the higher up it should be.

It’s not very typical to list education before experience unless you’re an entry-level candidate or have recently graduated, but that doesn’t mean your education section isn’t still a chance to showcase your strengths.

You may want to list your GPA, any major organizations you were involved in, any awards you won, and any notable accomplishments you made, among other things.

Equally as important as your experiences are the skills you developed as a result of them. A skills section is a must-have for any resume, and including paralegal resume keywords from a job description or your past experiences can make you a great applicant.

For most resume formats, at least, it’s best to stick to around 5-10 primary skills. You can simply list them as bullet points; there’s no need to elaborate or explain unless you’re using something that the average reader might not understand.

Examples of paralegal skills for resume building include:

Once you’ve got the bare minimum taken care of on your resume, it’s time to add some elements that can spice things up. Paralegal resumes that stand out include more than the bare minimum.

As a result, you’ll want to take some time to consider what you personally can include to make yourself the best candidate out of the bunch.

Paralegal Resume Sample “Other” Sections

A good paralegal resume shows your employer who you are, why you’re applying, and what you have to offer. The best paralegal resumes, though, show your employer why they can’t afford to pass on you as a candidate.

To accomplish this goal, you might include sections like:

• Hobbies and interests. What you do in your free time can show what kind of person and worker you are. They also make your application more interesting and more human, and perhaps you and your potential future employer have hobbies in common!
• Volunteer work. This is an additional opportunity to share skills that you’ve learned. It also shows your employer that you’ve got a lot of experience working on different projects and with different people. Plus, it shows that you have a genuine interest in helping out others.
• Special awards or certificates. Your paralegal certification should be at the very top of your resume. Some other relevant awards and certificates may be for skills such as writing, multiple language skills, leadership, and focus.
• Goals. Showing your employer what you hope to accomplish in the short- or long term helps them see you have plans and aspirations and that you’re serious about your future in the field. Just remember that they may be less inclined to hire someone who will only be working with them briefly, so even if you plan to attain other jobs in the future, perhaps specify that you would like to climb the ladder within the firm.

If you’re still feeling a bit overwhelmed by the whole paralegal resume writing process, you’re not alone. Millions of individuals struggle with knowing how to write a resume and do it well.

That’s why there’s an abundance of resources available to make your life easier, including resume builder tools and templates.

These allow you to input information and text with the hard work of organizing, formatting, and editing already completed for you!

Take Advantage of Our Free Paralegal Resume Templates

Whether you’re new to writing a paralegal resume or not, our free, easy-to-use resume templates can help you out. With tons of styles to choose from, you won’t find it hard to choose a look and set-up that works well for your vision.

Our free resume builder takes the uncertainty of how to write a paralegal resume away and allows you to focus instead on the quality of your writing itself.

Using these paralegal resume tips in conjunction with a tool is one of the best ways to save yourself time or stress and set yourself up for success.

We’re committed to helping you get a job you love. We wish you the best of luck in your pursuit to find your perfect paralegal job, and we have faith you can crush it!