To be successful in your personal injury lawyer job hunt, you should spend a little extra time on your applications. This blog provides several tips that will give you a robust application and increase your chances of getting callbacks, interviews, and job offers. 

Adapt Your Resume to the Role

You should always have an updated stock resume if you’re asked for one on short notice. However, don’t send out the same resume to every job posting. To make your application stand out, read through your resume and make sure it’s relevant to the specific personal injury position you’re applying to.

Highlighting keywords from the job posting is crucial.

For example, if the employer says they’re looking for leadership skills, make sure your resume highlights any relevant leadership experience you’ve had in the past. Similarly, highlight your research and writing experience if you’re applying for a position requiring those skills. 

Remember That Less Is More With Resumes

It’s tempting to be overinclusive on a resume. You don’t want to be overlooked because you failed to mention one of your skills or achievements. However, hiring managers and recruiters review dozens or hundreds of applications for a single role and have limited time to focus on your resume. So, remember that less is sometimes more.

Be concise and highlight significant achievements, experiences, and skills. Remember that your past job title will imply some skills, so they don’t all need to be listed. 

In addition, don’t include every job experience if it waters down your resume. For example, it might be better to leave out positions that are very remote or don’t establish a relevant set of skills in law. 

List Your Achievements, Not Just Your Duties

Either under your specific past employment or in a separate section, list notable achievements in your career. You can include accolades during law school, accomplishments at past jobs, or awards you received in your community. 

These demonstrate to an employer that you excel in different situations. 

Include Interests That May Be Interesting Talking Points

People often leave interests out of their resumes to save space, but they can help make you relatable and memorable. This section should be short and sweet, but it can also be unique for you. Do you love baking, playing sports, or collecting something? One of your interviewers may ask you about these things, which can make an excellent icebreaker. 

Personalize Your Cover Letter For Each Personal Injury Role

Your cover letter is a more formal elevator pitch. You should customize it for the role you’re applying for even more than you did with your resume. 

You want to answer three critical questions in your cover letter: 

• Why should they hire you? 
• Why do you want this job? 
• Will you fit in well with their culture? 

Here are some tips for answering these questions in your cover letter:

• Catch the reader’s attention with a snapshot of your background in personal injury law, the role you’re applying for, and one or two critical skills that make you a good fit. 
• Highlight the work experience on your resume by describing how the skills you gained are relevant to this role. 
• State why you want this role and how it fits your career goals. 

Additionally, you should keep your tone straightforward and down to earth.

Apply Broadly

Job hunting is often a numbers game. While you should apply to roles you’re genuinely interested in, don’t limit yourself to your top choice. Broadly applying to jobs will increase your chances of getting noticed and being called in for an interview.

In addition, if you’re fortunate enough to receive a job offer from multiple employers, you may be able to use that to negotiate better terms, such as salary, start date, or benefits. 

So, apply to your top choice and several other employers you may be interested in. They may also be a better fit for you when you learn more about them. 

Rely On Your Legal Network

Finally, if you know people who work where you’re applying, contact them and ask for insight into the employer. They may be able to help you strengthen your application. They could also put in a positive reference for you. You should ask if you can use them as a reference on your personal injury job application.