Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Perspectives: Teaching Legal Research and Writing
Publication Date
Winter 2008
Volume
16
First Page
100
Abstract
(Excerpt)
To succeed in drafting a “winning” brief, you must approach it like you approach any other persuasive piece of writing in everyday life. A résumé is one such type of writing.Although many writers might not realize that composing a résumé is an exercise in persuasion, it is. The résumé’s purpose is simple: to persuade the employer to hire the applicant. Thus, a good résumé will be tailored to the needs of the employer. To achieve this goal, writers of successful résumés will carefully consider the employer throughout the planning, drafting, and revising processes. They will step into the shoes of the employer and evaluate what type of person the employer seeks. Then, they will identify the skills and experiences they have that match the needs of the employer. These are the ones that they will emphasize in their résumé. Not only will they explain them in a clear and concise way, but they will also arrange the information in a way that prioritizes the ones that exactly fit the employer’s needs. This means that every decision—from the placement of information to the selection of words—is a deliberate one, designed to convince the employer to hire them.
Comments
This article originally appeared in Perspectives: Teaching Legal Research and Writing, published by Thomson Reuters. For more information please visit http://info.legalsolutions.thomsonreuters.com/signup/newsletters/perspectives/.