Kivon Riley wracked his brain for a way to incorporate his job history in customer support and tutoring on an entry-level paralegal resume. He’d earned an associate’s degree in paralegal studies already but hadn’t had time to find his dream job since he’d had to keep his online tutoring role to support his family.
Since he’d been working the same job for several years after college, he wasn’t sure how to upgrade his resume to land something better—until Kivon found out more through our professional resume templates and guides. He was soon on the way to his new position at Rutgers & Daniels.
If you’re looking to translate your own skills and experiences to nab an awesome entry-level paralegal job, check out some of the same tips we’ve put together on organizing a resume to find success like Kivon did!
What Matters Most: Your Skills & Work History
You may not have much (or any!) experience as a paralegal just yet, but that’s okay: Recruiters mainly want to see that you have the tools it takes to succeed at the job. Now’s your time to show off how you can leverage your knack for legal research.
Make sure your resume skills relate closely to your new paralegal profession, even if it comes from a different background—you can use plenty of overlapping skills to your advantage if you spin them the right way.
Turn stuff like “research” into “legal research” and “written communication” into “legal documentation.”
Back everything up with quantifiable data, too. Show metrics of your impact, like elevated success rates and reduced client response times.
9 most popular entry level paralegal skills
- Data Entry
- Legal Research
- Integrity
- MS Excel
- Critical Thinking
- Time Management
- Active Listening
- Data Organization
- Attention to Detail
Sample entry-level paralegal work experience bullet points
Okay, maybe not all your skills can say “Paralegal!” if taken out of context. But you can demonstrate the abilities from your skills list in your experience section via context. Show how your active listening skills helped reduce legal data entry errors or assist clients more effectively.
Use each bullet point to share an experience that aligns with entry-level paralegal duties: Pull in accomplishments that involve handling electronic records or improving customer/client satisfaction rates.
Oh, and get specific about your impact with metrics! Quantifiable data like error reduction percentages or customer satisfaction rates translate well and enhance credibility.
Here are a few examples:
- Fostered a collaborative work environment, working with peers and management to meet or exceed 98% of company goals
- Increased number of business-client relationships by 11% through active listening and personalized direction
- Ensured exceptional customer service by responding to 94% of all client questions and inquiries within 40 minutes
- Maximized company lending program value, exceeding target sign-up rates by 49%
Top 5 Tips for Your Entry-Level Paralegal Resume
- Get creative with your experience
- Sometimes, showing off your experience can be tricky at an entry level. But you can bolster your credibility by using volunteer initiatives or college projects that use collaboration, communication, or legal research skills related to your new role.
- Try a career objective
- Not every resume needs an objective statement, but you can use one to sum up how your past organization or customer service experiences translate into excellent entry-level paralegal performance.
- Look professional
- Ensure your polished, professional content is taken seriously by avoiding loud colors or distracting fonts. Recruiters won’t spend much time reading about your amazing client response times if your resume template isn’t reader-friendly.
- Shine through a cover letter
- If you’re extra eager to prove your qualifications for entering the legal field, you can supplement your resume by writing a cover letter: Go into a bit more detail there about how your attention to detail and client needs align you with the new role.
- Focus on growth
- Even if you don’t have an extensive work history, you can still demonstrate an eagerness to grow by making your example points more complex as they become more recent.
Yes: Stay away from “floating” metrics that don’t apply to your main point—or your qualifications for an entry-level paralegal position. If you’re building up to an impressive customer satisfaction rating, you don’t need to mention how many projects you worked on.
Revisit the job description and look for a theme to reflect. If you’re applying to a firm that specializes in environmental litigation, don’t over-emphasize that your previous experience was in a teaching environment: Focus on “transferrable” success metrics instead for your best resume.
Nope: Quality is better than quantity. Stick with the points that best relate to your ideal entry-level paralegal role and don’t be afraid to leave some white space.
