Navigating the Application Process
Date: 7/Dec/2007
This is where the rubber hits the road. By this stage you should have a good sense of the direction God wants you to take. Now it‘s time to sell yourself in the written part of the application process. Don’t underestimate the work involved here, this is intended to test your written advocacy skills.
The Christian Conundrum
It’s worth mentioning at the outset the confusion many people have about whether or how to make reference to their Christian faith.
We strongly advise you to make it clear in your application that you are a Christian, since it is an integral part of who you are. The best way to do this, however, is not overtly but, for example, through your extracurricular activities, e.g. “active member of ABC Christian Church”.
Training Contracts
When to Apply
It is common practice to apply two years before the start of most training contracts. Further information on training contract deadlines is available HERE.
How to Apply
Medium to large firms are likely to have their own application form (hardcopy / online version). Others may ask you for a CV and a covering letter. To find out visit the firm’s website.
Covering Letters
This is very important to get right. A good covering letter should explain who you are, why you are applying, why you will be an asset to the firm and its aspirations, and what you have done, expanding on the information in your CV. Here are some more tips:
- Adopt a simple and formal tone.
- Use short concise paragraphs, each with one main topic.
- Keep the letter to one page.
- Ensure the letter is addressed to the correct person with the correct title.
- Tailor the letter to the aspirations of the firm, pointing out why you would fit in well (i.e. use a basic template that can be adapted to suit different firms but not a blanket letter).
- DO NOT excessively praise the firm’s excellence or reputation: they know this already and are bored with reading it in applications.
- Explain any explainable weaknesses in your application, such as bad exam results due to illness.
- Pay attention to detail. Avoid ALL spelling, grammar and formatting mistakes.
- Use good-quality paper.
- Ask someone involved in law to read your letter and give you feedback.
Don’t even dream of writing what one person did in his covering letter to a City firm. He described himself thus: “I am the David Beckham of law, the Asian sensation, I am the artist and you are the canvas.”
Sample covering letters can be found in Mark Boardman‘s excellent publication ’Training Contract Winners‘, available for £4 (including P&P) from Mark’s website: www.legal-lifeline.co.uk.
Further advise and insight can be found by clicking HERE.
CVs
There is no standard format for a CV as such, although it is important to make sure it is not more than two pages long. Avoid gaps in chronological details as this could result in all sorts of speculation as to what you were doing. Avoid large paragraphs of unbroken text. Make sure the document is formatted well, i.e. appropriate use of bold/italic, correct/consistent font sizes, etc. Again, it goes without saying, avoid ALL spelling and grammar mistakes. Always make sure someone else has checked through your CV for errors before sending it off; don’t forget that approximately 80% of candidates never get past the paper application stage.
It may help to adopt the following structure:
- Personal contact details (full name, correspondence address, date of birth, mobile phone number, email address, etc.).
- Education (secondary school/grammar school, university degree and results, LPC provider and results highlight subjects that you did well in that relate to the practise areas of the firm you are applying to).
- Work experience (highlight some key skills learned on vacation placement schemes).
- Employment (previous employment).
- Extracurricular activities (any evidence of team commitment or leadership qualities are always helpful).
- References.
Sample CVs can be found in Mark Boardman‘s publication ’Training Contract Winners‘ and online templates are available HERE, (go to the ’Legal Placement’ career sector-specific download at the bottom of the linked web page).
Application Forms
These are tricky and time-consuming to complete. Before drafting answers it is important to think about what the interviewer has in mind. What type of applicant are they looking for? What skills and abilities are they seeking? It may help to start by taking some time out to brainstorm your answers to these questions and consider how some of your past experiences might demonstrate the skills and abilities lawyers need.
All the criteria outlined for Covering Letters and CVs are relevant here too. Remember to tailor your answers to the specific firm. However, many application forms ask very similar questions you may want to cut and paste from a basic template saved as a word document.
Here is a sample question and answer from ‘Training Contract Winners’:
What has been the most difficult thing you have done to date? What has been your biggest achievement to date? Why?
"During the summer vacation of 2000, I organised two international work placements for myself, one in Hong Kong, the other in Sydney, Australia, and combined these experiences with visits to countries in South-East Asia, including Japan and Malaysia.
From the outset, I found it a considerable challenge in planning the trip, securing the international placements from London, arranging travel/accommodation in advance and finalising my tour around Asia.
I felt the three-month trip was a tremendous success; completing the work placements and touring the countries I had set my mind on visiting."
For further guidance on completing online application forms, please click HERE.
Pupillages
When to Apply
Pupillages should be applied for 1-2 years in advance of the start date. You should seriously consider applying in your final year of studying the LLB.
How to Apply
Most chambers are part of an online pupillage application system OLPAS (www.pupillages.com) which permits you to apply to a total of 24 chambers per year. Two applications seasons are co-ordinated in Summer and Autumn. Applicants can apply to 12 chambers on each occasion but note that more pupillages are available in the Summer season.
Key dates:
- Summer season start - 8 March 2008
- Summer season closing date - 1 May 2008
- Autumn season start - 28 August 2008
- Autumn season closing date - 29 September 2008
Some Barristers‘ chambers, however, are not part of OLPAS (although their details are recorded on the OLPAS website) and prefer to receive applications by CV and Covering Letter. Accordingly, application deadlines vary for these sets so study closely the information available on the OLPAS website as well as the chamber’s own website.
OLPAS Forms
Start by registering with OLPAS and printing the whole application form. Copy the main questions into a word document. Consider the guidance outlined above in relation to training contracts. Brainstorm the sort of person the chambers you are applying to is looking for and then draft your answers. Our top tips to make your application form stand out are to use capital letters for headings and bullet points where appropriate (these can be copied across from MS Word). Edit the form online but make sure you print it out and edit it thoroughly before sending it as you are likely to spot more errors this way.
CVs and Covering Letters
Read and digest the advice set out above for training contracts, as most of it is equally applicable to pupillage applications.
Don’t forget that the aim of a CV is to convince recruiters, i.e. members of the particular chambers you are applying to, that your skills, qualifications and experience match their requirements.
