Does YOUR application STAND OUT from the Crowd?

Law firms receive hundreds of applications and CV's for Training Contracts and work experience placements.

Why should they pick you?

Does your application really stand out from the crowd?

Top Tips on using work experience to enhance your application at www.ultimatelawguide.com

Do you have enough fuel for your Journey?

When I was travelling along the long and winding road of pursuing a Training Contract I often thought of myself on a journey, and making that journey in a car.

I was in the car and the Training Contract was my final destination.

• The wheels were my academic and vocational qualifications- degree, LPC/GDL.
  
  
• The seats were my work experience and commercial understanding.
  
  
• The steering was my reasons for wanting to become a Solicitor.
  
  
• The CD player, surround sound, tinted windows and alloys, well those were all of my extra- curricular activities, skills and interests - the things that made me different and allowed me to stand out from others on the same road making the same journey.

Now everyone has the potential to be travelling in a Bentley, Ferrari or Rolls Royce - to be the first choice student that law firms want - the BEST CANDIDATE.

But Bentleys, Ferraris and Rolls Royce's, however great they might be, are not going to get anywhere without the petrol. The fuel to complete the journey. I needed the fuel for my Training Contract journey, for I thought that I was doing everything I possibly could do, but without the self- belief, the confidence and the persistance, you are unlikely to reach your Training Contract destination.

So, at times when I thought about giving up, I remembered that If I tried hard enough I could be a Bentley/a great application. I had the potential, I just needed to believe in myself and the confidence to make it happen!

Securing a Training Contract with a 2.2 degree

Academic qualifications and results are one of the first things on your application that a recruiter will look at. On paper, before a recruiter has met you, they will have little idea of how good a candidate or potential trainee you might be, but one thing that instantly stands out are your grades and academic abilities and achievements.

It is well known that the majority of major law firms specify a minimun of at least a 2.1 on their websites and in their brochures, but what happens if you acheive a 2.2 classification in your degree? Check out the 'Articles' section on our website http://www.ultimatelawguide.com for our latest article on tackling the application process with a 2.2 degree, with contributions and insider thoughts with Clarke Willmott LLP Graduate Recruitment Manager Heather Cooper.


Do you have a 2.2 degree?


If so, how are you strengthening other areas in your application?