The Law Breaking Sentence

What’s wrong with this sentence in a legal CV?

“During my work experience, I completed a corporate exercise whereby I worked as part of a team drafting [document] by utilising my attention to detail and developing my team-working skills.”

We often write like this in CVs because we feel we need to put in some context and add in ALL the skills. The result, in this case, is a long, dry sentence. A whole CV of this isn’t a dynamic read.

So, what do you leave out of the sentence above?

Let’s presume this sentence comes underneath a “Work Experience” section. So, take out “During my work experience”.

Also, take out “I” in your CV. A CV can quickly be full of “I did…”, “I worked…”, “I studied…”. Mostly, when you take these out, you get to the point of the sentence quicker.

And you don’t need the “utilising my attention to detail and developed my team-working skills” part, either. The action tells us what skills you used. A lawyer reading your CV knows you need attention to detail to draft a document. They also know working as part of a team will develop your team-working skills.

The interview is your chance to talk more about how the action led to personal skill development. And, you have a “Skills” section on a CV too. Focus on the action, facts and evidence when you’re writing about your previous roles in your CV.

So, with that in mind, what would that long, dull sentence become instead?

Try this:

“Completed a corporate team exercise and drafted [document].”

Yes, keep it that short and sweet.

Go through your CV and be your own editor cutting down sentences and taking out any unnecessary padding. It should free up valuable CV space to put in the details people want to read.

Do you agree with our sentence cuts? Let us know in the comments below.