Getting Personal

As I mentioned in a post following my visit to U of R, I've been working on getting my resume into shape. My employer provided a resume workshop last week. One of our recruiters came in and gave us specific advice about how we should present ourselves to potential employers. Most resume tips are not geared toward scientists, so it was nice to have somebody come in and give us some good insight on how a resume is reviewed. He had some good tips and even offered to take a look at our resume once we had incorporated a few of the ideas that were offered in the workshop. I took him up on his offer, and he gave me a few tips that I thought were pretty minor but actually made a big impact when I incorporated them.

That's all well and good for employment, but what about law school. I am debating whether or not to include a personal section. It would be pretty small, it would basically just mention that I've been married for 10 years and have two kids. I don't have time to hike, run marathons, or pursue a passion for French cooking. I like NASCAR (it killed me to watch the Nationwide race from Richmond on TV tonight rather than actually seeing it live. I know people knock NASCAR, but the races are a very intense experience. You can see how much the cars are sliding around through the corners, it is very loud, and you can smell the gas and burning rubber. I highly recommend going if you're ever given the chance. And spend the money on renting the Sprint Vision or whatever they call those things. Listening to drivers and crew chiefs talk about the car brings a whole new dimension to the race. You can't listen to Bill Belichek tell Tom Brady which play to run (not that the jargon would make any sense anyway), but you can hear Kasey Kahne (my favorite driver) tell Kenny Francis (his crew chief) how much his car sucks.) but how lame would a statement about being a NASCAR fan look on a resume? I have given serious thought to mentioning that I won an NFL pick-em pool last year, but I don't want to give the impression that I'm a degenerate gambler. (It's just an office thing, no big deal.)

I used to workout, but I gave that up to study for the LSAT and write personal statements (and blog posts). I only travel for work (nothing sucks more than riding an elevator with people headed to the beach all day when you're heading to a pharmaceutical plant on the southern coast of Puerto Rico for 12 hours or so). I don't know any other languages (although if I keep getting sent to Puerto Rico that might change), and I have a yard service so it's not like I garden or anything like that. I'm always reading a book (I'm reading Jacques Barzun's From Dawn to Decadence right now), but I think being an avid reader is a pretty generic statement on a resume. I think the family thing is thin, but it is something substantial. I don't really have any other hobbies because I have kids, so the fact that I am a parent explains why I don't have any other activities. I'm leaning towards putting it on because I want the adcoms to know that I am married with two kids and there is no other place in my application to mention this simple fact. I'll put it on and see how I feel about it in a couple of weeks.

This personal thing is a little strange for me. I'm so used to being very professional in looking for jobs that including information like this is almost uncomfortable. I feel like I'm getting too personal on a document that is about my professional experiences and achievements. I will approach law school like a job I have had a hard time taking down that wall. I dealt with it in my personal statement too. I think I have managed to handle it in a way that lets them get to know me, but it's still a very awkward situation for me.