Tiny things that get noticed -- and not in a good way
Recent reminders from alumni who read applications:
1. Who gets the letter #1 Make sure that the address at the top of the letter (the inside address) and the "Dear Mr.X" match.
2. Who gets the letter #2 When attaching a letter and resume to an email, make sure that the letter is addressed to the email's recipient.
3. Consider the recipient and your message. You may need more than one resume:
(a) The one-page-focused-on-grades resume for out of town Big City employers making the first cut for grades -- one grad said he had a very hard time with his Hiring Committee whose members looked askance at two-page resumes from a 24-year-old law students;
(b) The one-page, tightly-edited greatest hits of your life resume for employers interested in your grades and your writing or interested in your practical skills and experience;
(c) The as-long-as-it-takes resume that covers all of your public interest and public service for public law jobs and fellowships.
(d) The absolutely-everything-you-have-ever-done resume that should live on a secure place on your hard drive and on a flash drive that you will use for bar applications and for the biograply that you'll need to prepare in a few years when you are running for office or nominated for a judgeship. Trust me when I tell you that you will have forgotten your undergraduate honors when you are over 40.
(e) If you are a second-career lawyer, you may start out as a law student with a page-and-a-half, but you will need to tightly edit and condense your pre-legal career unless it is directly pertinent to the work you plan to do. (Accountants and Working Scientists and Engineers should include some professional details.)