1.  Contact Information.   Is your contact information correct?   Have you included your area code with your phone number?   If you are applying for a position in Boston , have you deleted your “permanent address” if it's in another state?   Is your email account one that you check regularly?   Does your email address sound professional?

2.  Spelling.   Has a friend, career counselor, professor – someone other than you - proofread everything?    Did you make any last minute changes to specific words that require a second look?  

A few possible pitfalls:   don't confuse “counsel” with “council”

                                                        the plural of “memorandum” is “memoranda”

                                                        it's “Juris Doctor” not “Juris Doctorate”

3.  Dates.    Are there any gaps in time on your resume after completing college?   If so, can you explain them?   Have you described time consistently, using either months or seasons?

Completed degrees, list date of graduation:

                     Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, English, May 1998

Law school, list expected date of graduation:

Suffolk University Law School, Boston, MA

                     Juris Doctor Candidate, May 2004

4.  Contact Person.   Do you have their title?   If not, don't be shy about phoning the employer and asking for it, or just check online if the employer has a website.    

5.  Due Date.   Is the employer still accepting applications?   If the job has been posted for a few weeks, it might be worth your time to call and ask if applications are still being accepted.

6.  Fonts.     Be consistent and be sure that the font is large enough to read.

7.  Abbreviations.    Again, be consistent – have you used “MA” sometimes, but written “Massachusetts” other times?   If you received a “B.A.” from your undergraduate university, then you are expecting your “J.D.”

8.  G.P.A. and Class Rank.   Make sure that you accurately reflect what is listed on your transcript.   If you are a first year student, your GPA is not official until the end of the year, so the general rule is not to list it until then.   Once you have an official class rank, add it to your resume if you are in the top third of your class [Class Rank: Top ___%].

9.  Honors and Activities.   List all academic honors received, including LPS honors (“Best Brief, Legal Practice Skills Class”). Be prepared to explain your involvement in any student organization you've listed.    

10.  Originals and Copies.   Use good paper for resumes and cover letters sent to potential employers and make sure that the printer you use prints clearly.   Remember to keep a copy of everything that you send out and know which resume you've sent to each employer.   If you make any changes to your resume before an interview, remember to bring a copy of the new resume and to point out the changes to your interviewer.