Applying for a Training Contract and Work Experience with your CV

YOUR FUTURE IN LAW
Applying for a Training Contract and work
experience using a CV
Most of the larger firms will tend to use application forms, particularly online, and it is, on
the whole, the small or medium sized firms that will ask for a CV.
Your CV should not just be a long list of everything you have ever done; it needs to be
tailored towards law and to the type of firm that you are applying to. There is not much
point in just updating an old CV that you have used to apply for another type of work. It is
crucial that your CV is carefully targeted towards working in the legal profession.
It is important to note that there is no such thing as one „perfect CV‟ format. You have to
choose a format that sells you best; it is no use in just slavishly copying the format your
friend uses. You need to use a layout and headings appropriate to you, your
skills/experience and what you are aiming for.
You will need to consider:
1 A personal profile at the start of your CV. This introduces you and summarises
your enthusiasm, ambition, experience and skills right at the start of the CV.
2 Detailing the skills needed to do the job you are applying for. What sort of
person will they require for that type of work? Consult the firm‟s recruitment
information if they produce any.
3 The type of firm. If you are applying for a corporate law firm then they will be
particularly interested in your experiences/knowledge of business. On the other
hand if you are applying to a high street firm that deals with family or welfare law
then they will probably be more interested in your people skills and your ability to
relate to people from all walks of life.
The next step is to think about yourself and identify which parts of your life the firms are
going to be most interested in.
Which parts of your life demonstrate the skills they are looking for?
Do you have any unique selling points that make you really stand out?
These are the things you should highlight and give the most space to on your CV.
Generally for most law students the areas of importance will be:
Your law degree/LPC – make sure you sell the modules you have chosen and any
specialist projects, reports, research or assignments that the employer might be interested
in. Different firms will be interested in different aspects depending on their practice area.
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Academic ability is important, so:
If you have good grades make sure to list them. This includes the grades for your
degree/LPC modules (so long as they are good). List the best grades first;
If you did alternative qualifications to „A‟ Level e.g. Access, GNVQ Advanced/BTEC
national you could mention in brackets that it was an „A‟ Level equivalent;
If you know the equivalent A‟ Level point grades include them, although this is really
only important if you are applying to corporate/commercial firms;
If you did „A‟ levels and got good grades then make sure you list the grades;
If your „A‟ levels are not so good, but your GCSEs are As/Bs then it is worth listing
these grades in full as evidence of your academic ability.
A Skills profile is a useful way to highlight the skills and qualities that you will need to do
the legal work you are applying for. You may have developed these from your course,
from work experience and from extra-curriculum activities.
Legal work experience should be highlighted under a separate heading. If you are
already working in the field make sure you make the most of it. If not then try and draw on
as much as you can from any vacation placements/pupillages/shadowing/marshalling/open
days/visits to European courts. Detail:
what you were involved with
what you observed
any legal research you did
if you went to court etc (get „technical‟ if you can)
If you didn‟t do that much you can always word it in terms of „I observed‟/„this experience
gave me a good understanding of/a knowledge of‟ etc.
Remember to target it and draw out the things that the firm you are applying to would be
most interested in and list those first. Don‟t hide away the best bits at the bottom of a list
of bullet points or the end of a paragraph.
Other work experience is also important. Particularly if you are doing a job that is in
anyway relevant e.g. nursing would be relevant to work in personal injury/medical
negligence field, Police work would be useful for criminal law work, CAB work would be
useful for welfare law, call centre work for an insurance company would be useful for
RTA/insurance work and so on. Even jobs that you might think are not directly relevant to
law will still give you experience that is useful e.g. if you work in business, are involved in
customer service, or directly helping people in some way. Consider also the tasks that you
do as part of your job e.g. a lot of face to face contact with the public, interviewing
(questioning) people to gain information, advising people, explaining complex procedures
or information in a simplified way, giving formal presentations, attending business
meetings, general administrative skills, using databases, researching information. Think
about the skills that you use e.g. negotiating, time management, analytical skills. All these
skills/tasks/experiences will be of value to law firms.
When writing up the details of your jobs don‟t just write out your job description, try to tailor
it to the law firm by concentrating on the aspects of interest as discussed above e.g. direct
relevant experience/knowledge and/or relevant skills/tasks/experiences.
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You could also say how the sector you are working in would be useful e.g. „this job gave
me a good understanding of the (retail sector/manufacturing industry/banking/insurance
work) which would be useful in company/commercial/insurance legal field‟.
Remember you can include voluntary work under work experience as it includes all work
not just paid positions.
Achievements/Skills/Positions of Responsibility/Interests these are important and
could distinguish you from other candidates with the same law degree/LPC, particularly if
you have limited work experience. Don‟t just write out a long list, try to group things
together
You could include sports (especially important if you were a captain of a team/team
player in a successful team), musical interests, Young Enterprise (some evidence of
business knowledge is important particularly when applying to corporate law firms),
Duke of Edinburgh‟s Award scheme, voluntary work with the church or mosque,
drama, student representative, society and club membership, travel, theatre, cinema
etc. Don‟t claim to have an impossibly long list of extra curricular interests. Stick to
the ones which have substance and which you are confident to speak about. Don‟t
forget about things like mooting, debating, and any competitions you may have
entered and awards you have won.
You could also make reference to ways in which you keep up to date with legal
developments e.g. reading The Times, The Gazette, The Lawyer etc or if you are a
student member of the Law Society and attend any local/national events.
Try and see what your interests say about your character. Beware if all your
pursuits are solitary ones e.g. swimming, reading - as it may look like you are a
loner and don‟t like to mix socially.
Make it easy to read by using headings and if you have lots to say perhaps use
bullet points. Consider the part you played e.g. the responsibilities aspect. Also
give some sense of scale e.g. if you organised something for charity – how much
money did you raise? How many people did you get involved?
Don‟t forget to include additional skills e.g. language ability or computer skills. Make
sure you give an indication of your ability level e.g. basic French, Conversational
German, fluent Spanish.
Community languages like Punjabi, Urdu, etc are also very relevant so don‟t forget
to mention these too.
The same for your IT skills. Put down level of competence even if you don‟t have
formal qualifications.
Make sure to mention expertise particularly relevant to the job of a trainee solicitor
e.g. legal research, use of the internet, Lexis, Westlaw etc.
Referees
You do not have to put details of your referees on the CV; it is acceptable to write at the
end of your CV that „references are available on request „, particularly if you are writing
speculatively. Whilst at university you should normally have one academic referee, (i.e.
your personal tutor or a lecturer who knows you well), and a professional/work one,
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preferably law-related. If you are working full time it should be someone from your
workplace. Failing that, you could always ask a family friend or another academic.
You must choose reliable people who have agreed to help.
Remember to put down your referee‟s job title, telephone and e-mail address. Always
ask referees before you use them on your CV. You could always send them a copy of
your CV and highlight things you would like them to refer to – it‟s not really cheating and
most referees would probably appreciate such guidance!
Other Points to consider
As first impressions are important it should look good, be well spaced out and
preferably typed on good quality A4 paper.
It is estimated that it takes experienced recruiters less than 90 seconds to read a CV
and decide if that person is a suitable candidate or not.
If your CV is only going to be scan read, make sure that your headings are clear and
that the information immediately underneath is most relevant e.g. when listing your
education and qualifications you should start with the most recent first. Also, when
writing about jobs and work experience don‟t start with the most mundane bits
leaving the most interesting and relevant parts of the job stuck at the end, as they
might be missed.
Make use of italics and emboldening to make headings or information more distinct
but don‟t go OTT with different fonts. Putting particularly important bits of
information in a slightly larger font than the surrounding text will make it stand out
(so the eyes will be drawn to it) i.e. text in font size 12 and important bit in 14.
Try to use a good clear font, make sure you leave plenty of white space so it does
not look too cramped on the page. Avoid large passages of unbroken text – you are
not writing a Victorian novel and large blocks of text will not be read as it‟s too off
putting to someone skim reading.
Enclose a covering letter with your CV. An example of a covering letter outlining the
format is attached to this handout.
As with application forms spelling and grammar must be perfect. Common spelling
mistakes include liaise, driving licence, independent, Legal Practice Course – yes
these are the correct spellings!
If you are having trouble compiling your CV, or you just want someone to check it, you can
either e-mail it to one of the advisers in futures via our webmail system on the website at
www.uclan.ac.uk/eguidance or you can arrange to see an adviser and talk it through with
them. To arrange an appointment ring 01772 895858 or email us on Futures@uclan.ac.uk
P Rankin
November 2006
Revised March 2011
Updated February 2013
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APPLICATION FORMS & CVs – SKILLS PROMPT LIST
advising individuals
calculating numerical data
checking for accuracy
coaching individuals
co-ordinating events
counselling people
dispensing information
editing documents
interpreting data
maintaining records
operating technical equipment
persuading others
preparing charts or diagrams
project management
quickly establishing rapport
repairing equipment
selling products
setting up/running demonstrations
supervising staff
arranging social events
chairing meetings
classifying records
compiling figures
correspondence with customers
delegating responsibility
drafting reports
handling customers‟ complaints
interviewing people
mediating between people
organising people and work tasks
planning agendas
programming/operating computers
promoting events
raising funds
reviewing performance
serving the public
speaking in public/formal presentations
teaching new techniques
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EXAMPLE COVERING LETTER FOR A TRAINING CONTRACT or WORK
EXPERIENCE WITH A LAW FIRM
Recommended format for letters accompanying a C.V.
Your address
Name of Personnel Manager/ Recruitment Partner
Firm‟s Address
Date
Dear Name (use title and surname only),
First Paragraph: The introduction. Say, for example, that you are currently at the
University of Central Lancashire…and give details of your degree subject and expected
class… Say that you are applying for a training contract with NAME, starting when…
Say that you enclose your C.V.
Second Paragraph: Why Them Give reasons why you are applying to that firm. What
sort of work does the firm do and what kind of clients does it deal with? What are the main
specialisms etc. Do not make vague generalisations about the firm‟s “excellent reputation”
or its “first class training programme”. Show that you have researched the firm and that
you know what they do.
Third Paragraph: Why You Give reasons why the firm should consider you. What have
you got to offer the firm? Talk about any relevant experience or knowledge and discuss
why you think you can make a contribution. Refer to the points on your C.V. that you want
the employer to note.
Fourth Paragraph: Any other relevant points, e.g. if you have a year out, say what you
are proposing to do in the time. If there was a hiccup at degree or “A” level, explain the
circumstances, if appropriate.
Final Paragraph: Sign off, saying when you will be available for interview and that you
look forward to hearing from them.
Yours sincerely,
YOUR NAME
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