Professionalism is Key:  Tips for Law Students

By Anetra D. E. Parks, Esq., Director, Law Career Services

No one wants to hire "PartyGuy77" as their new associate

As you prepare to send your resume out into the world, do a few quick checks.  First, you do not want to have a silly, casual, or goofy e-mail address on your resume.  Even "LawGuy80" sounds a little too informal as you delve into the legal world, a world where professionalism is key.  A few tips:

• Keep it simple and professional
• Avoid any numbers that would give a clue to your age
• Avoid the words girl, guy, sweet, little, party, beer, any off-color words and the like

While "SweetLawGirl81" may be mystified as to why it is not advisable to use an e-mail address like that on a resume, the key is that you do not want to provide potential employers with any sort of preconceived notions about you through your e-mail address.

Maintain an E-mail Address That You Can Keep After Law School

Second, if you are a third-year law student, make sure you have an e-mail address that you can keep up with after you graduate.  At the University of Wyoming, e-mail accounts are purged twice a year – once in February/March and again in October/November.  Jim Osborne, with the Academic Support Unit in the Division of Information Technology says, "If you are third-year law student graduating this May, then your e-mail account will be purged in October ... at the latest November."  To avoid this problem altogether, you may want to set up a non-university e-mail account (for example, with Yahoo, Google, or MSN) solely for the purpose of your job search. 

Professionalism Applies to Voice Mail Messages, Too

Third, just as you want to project a sincere and professional image through your e-mail name, you also want to do the same for your voice mail message for the telephone number provided on your resume.  The last thing you want is for a potential employer to call you up to offer you a job and hear a message intended for your close friends.  Imagine the Attorney General's Office giving you a call back, reaching your voice mail and hearing, "What's Up, Dawg?" with 50 Cent playing in the background.  Granted, this is an extreme example, but what you should take from this is that you are entering the legal world and you want to reflect a positive image to that person who will be signing your paycheck.

A Final Word:  MySpace

On-line social networks are increasingly popular and as law students soon to enter the professional world, you should know that many employers will "Google" potential hires.  Recently, on a networking trip to Washington, D.C., I met with one of the hiring attorneys at a federal agency.  He said that one of the things they will do in reviewing candidates' materials, is conduct an internet search on the person.  He said, "We use common sense in discerning whether the information is accurate or whether it is actually that person," but if the employer finds your page on MySpace and it is obviously you, the last thing you want is for your future employer to read about how you enjoy "swilling beer" after class.  If you do participate in a site like MySpace, make sure your settings are on "private" so that only close friends can view your blog and photos.  Even then, be wary of your friends' pages that might be "public."  In doing a few test searches while researching this article, I was able to find one law student and then link to other law students' pages because they were in that person's network of friends.  Wisely, many of the law students had privacy settings in place and there was nothing disparaging or unprofessional on the various pages.  But, as you can see, the potential is there, and you just want to guard your on-line reputation just as you would guard it in the "real world."