Career advice for the Legal Sector
Career, CV and Interview Advice for Legal Professionals
If you are currently pursuing job opportunities within the legal sector, there are a variety of ways in which you can increase your chances of being a successful candidate in the application process.
1) Be able to demonstrate the correct skill set specific to the legal role
When recruiting legal professionals, employers will look for personal attributes that are specific to the role that you are applying for. It is important that at each stage of the application process that you are able to provide examples of when you have demonstrated these qualities in your previous experiences…
Solicitors - Desired attributes
- Excellent communication skills
- A real team player
- The ability to develop and maintain strong, lasting client relationships
- An objective decision-maker
- A problem solver - with the ability to draw key issues from a mass of information
- Strong intellectual ability
Barristers - Desired attributes
- Excellent communication skills
- The ability to show support and encouragement
- Both a team player and happy to work independently
- An ability to manage your time effectively and prioritise tasks
- Strong intellectual ability
Lawyers - Desired attributes
- Excellent communication skills
- A high degree of commercial awareness
- Strong intellectual ability
- A dedicated and focused individual
2) Ensure that you CV is tailored to the position that you are applying for
A CV is a selling tool for legal professionals and it needs to grab the attention of the prospective employer. Tailoring your CV is key to ensuring that you are using terminology expected in legal recruitment circles.
Tips for writing a successful CV for a legal position:
- Question the relevance of everything that you include, don’t include unnecessary information that has no relevance to the job description
- Make sure that everything that you claim is true. Many recruiters and agencies have screening processes in place - it is likely that false claims will be picked up on in the interview stage
- Don’t leave any unexplained gaps when listing your experiences - show that you have travelled or been out of work for a period of time
- Make sure you highlight key achievements, skills and capabilities
- Make sure your CV is spaced out and easy to read, bullet points are useful for highlighting relevant skills and experiences
- Make your CV relevant to the job you are applying to. Keep a master copy that lists all your skills and attributes but remember to tweak it according to the role you are applying for - list the most relevant elements of the role first
- Check your spelling, grammar and punctuation
3) Make a good impression in the interview room
- Leave plenty of time to arrive at the interview. Arriving a few minutes early will give you time to collect your thoughts and also indicates that you are good at time keeping
- Ensure you have all of the documents that you will need to hand presented in an ordered fashion
- In the interview, listen carefully to the question that is being asked, and try to give concise answers supported with relevant examples
- Speak with clarity and confidence and try not to talk too fast. This can be difficult when you are nervous, but take a deep breath before you start to answer. Practise example questions before hand. See our Sample Interview Questions page page
- Have any questions ready that you would like to ask the employer. The interview is a two-way process. It is important that you establish what the organisation can offer you as an employer, in addition to establishing what you can bring to the organisation as an employee
