On Resumes:

There are four types of resumes that you will find useful, and they are similar to the four types of marketing presentations we discussed.

I have two of the four types on my website at http://adrr.com/smarsh/smresume.htm.

The four types of resumes that you should have in mind are:

• The short (one-half to one page) "this is why I am your best choice" resume. Also known as a "focus" resume.
• The one-two page "standard bullet point" resume.
• The "piles o' stuff" resume.
• The vitae style resume.

One  Most people would not recognize the first type of resume, but it is exactly what many of you did in the "this is who I am" portion of your marketing plans. When you send marketing letters (including your introductory cover letter when appointed as a mediator), when you have biographical material circulated, when you do a web page, when you talk to people, you want two to three paragraphs that define you in terms that your audience understands.

This type of resume is tailored for professional listings, speaker biographical summaries and newspaper articles. It can be very powerful. When you visit web pages for professors at the Cox School of Business, what you read for each professor's profile is the professor's focus resume.

Two The second type of resume is becoming more and more common. You actually are able to present less information in the one to two pages (two pages being the upper limit on modern resumes) you have, but more of the information is likely to be read.

This type of resume does not contain any goal, or position sought (none of the resume types discussed here will do that) unless you have a concise aspirational goal (e.g. Seeking an end to world hunger, Harry Chapin is available for free concerts on behalf of famine relief efforts. With multiple gold records and multiple platinum albums, his average concert draw is in excess of 20,000 people in the usual metroplex or campus setting. The "seeking an end to world hunger" is a concise aspirational statement that explains who and what Harry Chapin was).

I've put one of these resumes for myself on my web site, mostly for the class to look at (though I will clean up the typos shortly). It is relatively short and excludes a great deal of the material on my "piles o' stuff" resume in order to generate some specific focus regarding my litigation practice.

Three The "piles o' stuff" resume has a place. When you draft one, you are looking for two things. One, a place to list all the relevant things you've done. You should exclude all of the irrelevant things you've done. (My "piles o' stuff" resume doesn't include the times I've taught martial arts, my work on commercial simulations and lots of other irrelevant things I've done - anything that distracts from your message should be removed. For example, you may be the best dessert cook in the South, but that doesn't improve your image for dispute resolution.). Two, a way to build a consistent story (and to downplay the matters that are not part of your story). For example, I was self employed for a significant period of time, which is seen as a weakness if one doesn't also have more recent mid-sized (or larger) firm experience. My "piles o' stuff" resume doesn't mention my work history at all. On the other hand, my bullet point/new modern resume focuses on the mid-sized firm I've worked at and made partner with because that is a necessary qualifying experience.

A "piles o' stuff" resume is used in two places. One, where people are actually interested enough to read the whole thing. Two, where you are dealing with people who are only looking to see if you have "piles o' stuff" on your resume. That pretty much describes most people who browse a web site to the resume portion.

Four The vitae style resume is used in several places. The most common is the federal format resume (which goes beyond an academic vitae to require things such as your high school graduation and other minutiae that should otherwise always be avoided).

More and more a vitae style resume is like a bullet point version of a "piles o' stuff" resume with the additional detail of including every presentation or public speaking engagement you have had and every class you've taught, while still excluding "irrelevant" (i.e. likely to be perceived as non-serious or strange). E.g. I still exclude teaching Shotokan, papers I've written on comparative mythology, writing and editing credits in games, etc.

Generally you should keep a rough draft of your vitae style resume (in a folder with misc. documentation) so that you can have a central reference for things that come up. (E.g. you might want to have access to your old GRE or LSAT scores, or that anthropology paper on comparative pre-colonial tribal law if the issue became important. Or, if you have significant canon law experience, that might be important to some clients, something you would exclude for others).

But, What Kind of Resume Should You Have?

Ah, after lots of beating around the bush ....

You need only two resumes. First, you need a focus statement, which should be part of your thirty or ninety second introduction of who and what/why you are. You will use this every time you introduce yourself in person or in print.

Second, you want to have a modern bullet point style resume.

Ok, but You Didn't Answer the Real Question: What Should Be in My Resume?

Ah, the hard question.

You know what is supposed to be in your focus resume.

The real question you have is what should be in your standard resume.

Much of that is the same question as to what should be in your five minute party speech about what you do.

I'm [name]. You can find me at [address/telephone/e-mail/etc.] (Your business card carries this message when you give a five minute party speech).

The following credentials/experiences make me a superior choice for your needs.

Here is more proof I can do the work you need done in a way that will make you pleased with the result.

Tailored to highlight your ability to act as a neutral.

And as to Your Resume in Particular:

Individual feedback provided each class member.

http://adrr.com/arb01/on resumes.wpd is the word perfect formatted file version of this essay.

This Website is by Stephen R. Marsh
Contact Information at:
http://adrr.com/smarsh/