The term "Curriculum vitae" loosely means, "this is my life". Make sure yours reflects your every success and achievement in its best light by using the following tips:


THE DO'S

Assess your marketability

A popular method used among US placement consultants to determine the "marketability" of a job seeker is to calculate his PMV or Perceived Market Value. PMV is a function of academic and professional accomplishments, taking into account the demand for the particular candidate's skills.


The formula devised for calculating PMV is as follows:
PMV = (A-t)+{(B+t) x C},
(where A is the value of your academic record, diminishing in importance over t (time since law school graduation); B is the value of your law firm quality and training, increasing in importance over t; and C is the current demand for your practice specialty.)

Often it is found that it is "C" ie the current market demand for your area of practice, that determines whether your résumé is "hot property" or not.

In any case, the résumé should be drafted with an awareness of your PMV and a sensitivity to what is compelling in your background.

Prepare customized résumés according to the job profile

Most of us tend to prepare a single standard draft of our résumé and use the same while applying for all kinds of vacancies, be it an in house counsel in a corporate house, an associate in an IPR law firm or a legal content provider in a dotcom company.

However, it is the written rule that when applying for highly competitive positions that draw upon certain aspects of your background, you should think about what you have done that is relevant to the particular position. If you are applying for a job with a software company highlight the number of software licensing agreements you've drafted, the copyright issues you have handled etc. On the other hand if it is a job with a venture capital company, give more emphasis to your venture capital deals. This would mean altering your résumé slightly every time you submit he same for a particular job. This would take only a few minutes, but would make a world of difference.