Writing a Resume for an Intellectual Property Legal Position
By Sayaka Seino
Intellectual property is a legal field that is seeing a lot of demand and competition recently. Thus, your resume must stand out above the crowd in order to get noticed and get you considered for hire. In order to do this, keep the information you provide precise and concise, highlighting only the skills and experience that are relevant to the position. You can further impress your potential employer by researching the company's vision and mission statement first to match the content on your resume to their needs. Making sure the information you provide is accurate is also crucial. By providing a well-organized, professional resume in this way, you will prove yourself a qualified and competent candidate for the position.

	Protecting creative rights is a legal job that's high in demand due to advances in technology and science.

The legal industry is one of the oldest and most varied industries in the world. One branch of it that has recently been increasing significantly in demand is that of intellectual property. More and more lawyers and attorneys are being sought after to protect people’s creative endeavors. Therefore, it is important to have a well-written resume to get in the field of intellectual property.

The role played by lawyers is quite significant, as it involves amongst other things the safeguarding of people’s rights. Demand for intellectual property lawyers is increasing, but so is the pool of available applicants, making it a highly competitive field. The qualifications required are equally high.

How then do you ensure that you stand out from the rest of the candidates? The way you present yourself to the employer will determine where you stand in the sea of applicants, even if you all have similar qualifications. In order to impress them, be concise in the presentation of your information. Being able to relay a lot in a few words is much more powerful than having a resume packed full of information. Provide a brief history of your educational and professional experience, keeping only the information that is relevant to the position you are applying for. Employers will appreciate being able to find the necessary information quickly and easily.

The best way to find out exactly what skills and qualifications should be highlighted on your resume is to research the firm or company first. By searching the company website and any other literature they may produce, you should be able to get a good idea of their vision and mission statement, thus enabling you to emphasize those skills that really matter to them. There are some skills that will always be important to highlight in the legal industry. These include excellent written and oral communication skills showing that you can effectively relay relevant information to clients, team-building skills to demonstrate your ability to comfortably work with various groups of people, problem-solving skills, ability to make mature judgments, ability to handle clients professionally, and great organizational and strategic skills.

Having clearly put down the skills, your resume must also reflect the educational qualifications you possess. All firms require a certain level of education; therefore this is one of the first and main sections they’ll look at to determine if you are a qualified candidate. Most firms will require a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, and in some cases, a Ph.D. In addition, you must be a qualified advocate, licensed and practicing as such, evidenced by the fact that you have been admitted to the bar of advocates.

Professional experience is also a big factor in whether or not you get hired for a job, and a certain level of experience is usually required. This is what will give certain applicants an advantage over others. Experience working in the same or related field, in this case intellectual property, is extremely valuable and should be a priority on your resume. You can relate work done in other legal fields to the one you’re applying for by highlighting transferable skills that will still prove indispensable.

Be warned that any attempts to give false or misleading information will lead to an automatic disqualification. Even if it is unintentional, employers will do a background check and any dishonest information unearthed will seriously jeopardize your chances of hire. Therefore, keep your resume honest and double-check all of the information to make sure it is accurate.

Intellectual property law is a field that is expected to continue to grow in the future as legal transactions between people and business concerning inventions and new products continue to increase. The sharing of technologies between companies will also lead to an increase in demand as standards will need to be set regarding their patents and other legal issues. The industry continues to change and vary due to advances in technology and scientific research; therefore, writing a professional resume for a position in the intellectual property legal field can be tricky, but with the above discussed tips you should be a competent candidate for the job.