Building a C.V. For Law Graduates and Interview Techniques

While a university education, or the pursuit of any higher education or skills qualifications, are valuable and enriching in themselves, they also act as a stepping stone to a future career. One of the most important documents which will enable you to gain access to a career is your curriculum vitae, more commonly known as your C.V. These take many shapes and forms and there are a large number of books published on how to prepare a C.V. to present your talents, skills and qualifications in the best possible light. Many employers request that prospective job applicants submit their C.V. together with a covering letter, though it is also becoming quite common for employers to provide their own job application form for completion by applicants. Such applications require careful completion and it is as well to have to hand an up-to-date C.V. from which you can draw to make the most effective impression of yourself through the application form. This article considers some of the techniques to use to prepare an impressive C.V. It assumes that, as your passport to your future, your C.V. will be suitable for whatever type of job you apply. However, on the basis that most readers will be seeking a career in law or a law-related job, my comments are particularly focused in those directions.

Irrespective of the format of the first written contact to the prospective employer (i.e. the C.V. or a printed application form), the key objective of your application is to get an interview. To achieve this, your C.V. or application needs to be concise, informative and relevant. To produce an effective C.V. you need to know as much as possible about the firm or organization to which you are applying. If you are completing an application form, then that form in itself will determine the amount of information which the firm requires. Treat invitations to provide further information on a separate sheet of paper cautiously. That does not mean that your prospective employer wishes screeds of sheets of irrelevant detail. Ensure that both your C.V. and the contents of an application form meet the obviously essential criteria for this vital document of being clear, legible, grammatically and linguistically accurate and correctly spelt. While these may seem obvious features employers regularly recount how a very high percentage of applications are either discarded or granted a low priority due to poor spelling and illegibility. Solicitors spend a great deal of each day filling in forms-they will judge your potential in part by how well you complete the paperwork. Presentation is of critical importance- remember the purpose of your C. V. is to secure an interview, and your written application is the only opportunity you will have to impress an employer sufficiently in order to achieve this. The C.V. must be typed unless, and this would be rare, you are asked to submit a handwritten one. The C.V. should be prepared on a word processor which provides infinite variety of choice in terms of layout, font and presentation. Best quality paper should be used. The completion of a pre-printed application form offers less opportunity for individualism but could be completed with a typewriter, provided you avoid endless splashes of tippex, or else completion in black or blue ink, unless otherwise directed by the form itself. Never, ever complete an application form without completing at least one draft of the form, which is best done by copying the original version and having a dummy run. That way you will find out how much space your answers take up and you will be able to play around with the best form of wording to maximize the impact you wish to make.


To conclude

It should be evident by now that the preparation of a C.V. or application form requires much careful thought. It should not be dashed off in a spare moment or during the coffee break between lectures. Failing that, your University Careers Advisory Service is likely to be able to provide you with these books or obtain access to them for you. It is worth reading widely and taking much advice. It is also useful to study the recruitment adverts appearing in the newspapers for qualified lawyers. The description of the types of candidate that employers are seeking to recruit gives you a sense of the skills you need to acquire and be able to demonstrate even at the stage of applying for a traineeship. Here are some recent examples of the types of person that employers of solicitors are seeking to recruit.

Local Government Solicitor: "Confidence to work largely unsupervised, well-developed communication skills, the ability to work to tight timescales and as part of a team".

Local Government: "Ability to communicate effectively at all levels and be able to work with minimum supervision… emphasis on a flexible team approach".

Oil Industry Counsel: "Ability to work in a demanding, commercial environment… good drafting and negotiating skills essential".

Financial Services Sector: "Ability to think laterally, creativity and a flexible approach from a confident individual with strong mediating/negotiating skill".

Telecommunications Industry: "An ambitious enthusiastic solicitor… to help develop a small dedicated team. You should have excellent all round ability and a practical attitude to problem solving. Computer literacy is essential, as the job will involve the development of our own internal systems".

Private Practice: "A forward looking solicitor… with an interest in acquiring management skills and in the development of I.T. in a legal office".

From all these sources you will form your own view of what will work best for you. There is no single magic formula and it is unfortunately true that what will be very persuasive for one employer is perhaps less so for another. That is why it is important to have a C. V. with which you are comfortable and which you can use as both a validation of your past efforts and a passport to your future. In my experience most students undersell themselves rather than offer an inflated view of themselves. It is worthwhile having an experienced career adviser get to know you and help you to bring out the best in your C.V. You need to appear confident without being arrogant and assertive without being aggressive or pushy. It may take some time to polish your C.V. to as near perfection as you can make it, but all efforts are worthwhile and should pay off.

One last observation relating to flexibility. Your C.V. is not set in stone. It will require regular updating. Be prepared to adapt it for the changing needs of the job market and the particular requirements of the job applied for.

The position of those Scots law graduates who will complete the Diploma in Legal Practice and then seek a traineeship in Scotland is considered first. Consideration is then given to the position of those who plan to undertake the Legal Practice Course or Bar Vocational Course en route to the profession in England and Wales, or who are seeking entry to the profession in Northern Ireland. Such a route is not reserved to those in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. Scots law graduates can use their degree as a stepping stone to qualification for practice elsewhere in the United Kingdom. Although the guidance offered is primarily directed at these separate groups of job seekers, the general principles hold good for job seeking in any setting both within and beyond law.

See the following articles for more information:

• 21 Major Interview Mistakes to Avoid at All Costs
   
• The Best Way to Prepare for a Job Search and Interviews
   
• How to Talk About Other Interviews in Your Interviews
   
• How to Answer the Tell Me About Yourself Interview Question
   
• How to Answer the Do You Have Any Questions for Me Interview Question