Competing for a training contract: how to stand out

Wenying Li, senior careers and skills tutor and acting Cambridge Programme leader at BPP Law School, talks about the ways in which students and graduates can make themselves stand out to potential employers.

Since the start of the recession, many students and graduates wanting to pursue a career in law have found it even more difficult to break into a historically competitive sector. Although the economic upturn has led to more mid-level qualified lawyer positions and (occasionally) more training contracts being made available, the backlog of LPC graduates without a training contract means that it is still a challenging profession for students to break into.

This should not deter those who truly want to pursue a legal career, but it does mean that, more than ever, aside from excellent academic qualifications, students will have to invest time in building skills and gaining experiences that will make them stand out from the crowd.

Other than obtaining substantial legal work experience, students should also make a concerted effort to obtain commercial work placements. The most common reason for a law firm to reject a candidate nowadays is "insufficient commercial awareness". Students need to ensure they not only are able to talk knowledgeably about the financial news and financial concepts at interview; but also are able to demonstrate that they have gained non-legal work experience that will help them understand their future clients’ businesses and the commercial context in which they operate. Whether this be in marketing, banking, business management or accountancy, having experience in a commercial environment is one step in proving to a law firm that a student is able to provide advice that is both legally accurate and makes sense commercially.

In addition, undertaking work experience in a range of sectors means students will be able to speak with conviction on an application form or in an interview about why their experiences influenced their decision to pursue a career in law and what convinced them that it was the profession for them. 

Nevertheless, students have only one chance to impress in an interview or at an assessment centre, and it is important that they can perform under pressure on the day.

It is well known that as training contracts have become scarcer, the recruitment process has become tougher. Now, many top law firms require potential trainees to have multiple interviews, as well as attend a range of intensive assessment days that test their skills to the limit.

Often, graduates are put to the test either by being asked to conduct a mock client interview, or negotiate a scenario with other competing candidates, or deliver a presentation to QCs, partners or senior barristers and associates on a specific topic.

That’s why our GDL course has an optional 'skills in practice' programme to prepare students for this demanding recruitment process, as well as for life as a trainee generally. The programme offers students the chance to participate in four out of eight two-hour workshops that include client interviewing, negotiation, advanced presentation skills and commercial awareness. Moreover, our LLB course has a compulsory ‘professional skills in practice’ module that similarly prepares students, with tutorials that cover some of the above, as well as team working, problem solving skills and self management.

If students are facing a "chicken or egg" situation, where they find that legal employers are unwilling to give them a work placement unless they can demonstrate they have previous experience within the sector, then volunteering in a legal department of a charitable organisation or in an established pro bono scheme with their law school can help them escape this cycle. Not only is this valuable on the CV, but students get the chance to practise their legal skills and knowledge while helping people who do not have access to professional advice.

At BPP, our legal advice clinic provides students with the opportunity to offer legal guidance on issues surrounding family law and housing law disputes. BPP also offers projects with the Leasehold Advisory Service where students summarise leasehold property valuation tribunal decisions which are then posted on the website, or assist at drop-in advice sessions running at the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. These pro bono schemes give students the chance to gain experience advising clients while working with a fully-qualified lawyer and also provide them with the knowledge needed to speak with authority on a few practice areas - something which will certainly be noted by a potential employer in an interview situation.

Over and above all this, the three most important questions that students need to answer well to stand out at application form or interview stage are: why law? why us? why you?

The first is the one that students often find the most difficult to answer. When candidates are asked, "Why are you interested in being a lawyer?" the answer they give frequently boils down to, "Because being a lawyer is so interesting," without much elaboration as to why it is interesting.

The answer can be a chronological one or a conceptual one. Potential employees will have to demonstrate a passion for the field and be able to explain the reasons for that passion, substantiating these reasons with legal work experience undertaken, or lawyers spoken to, or research into this career otherwise conducted.

It comes down to two simple things in order to provide a unique and personal answer that will help students stand out. Firstly, thinking about why they would not be happy pursuing any other profession will help students develop coherent reasons about what makes a legal career unique and why they want to pursue it. Secondly, be honest; the most truthful answer, edited to be a more circumspect version, is always the best.

Wenying Li is the senior careers and skills tutor and acting Cambridge Programme leader at BPP Law School.