Demonstrate your commercial awareness to law firms and other employers

'Commercial awareness' is like art - a somewhat nebulous term that means different things to different people. The ability to recognise how to use the law to achieve a client's business objectives is surely something that is mostly gained from experience and learning on the job, but you will also need to demonstrate some commercial aptitude in your training contract applications and interviews if you are to get that chance.

You should bear this in mind when researching firms at which to apply for a vacation scheme or training contract - make sure you learn where a firm's offices are and identify its main practice areas, and what these things indicate about the markets in which the firm is operating. You should also find out basic information such as the firm's profits, any recent or upcoming mergers and so on. Meanwhile, you should obviously keep up with what is going on in the business world through the legal and commercial press, such as Legal Futures and the Financial Times, respectively. Websites such as TED Talks are also a great way of learning about current business concepts and getting you thinking along commercial lines. Doing all of this should stand you in good stead when writing applications and answering questions at interview.

According to experienced businessperson Adrian Furner of Kommercialize, when it comes to an assessment day in which you are given a commercial scenario to negotiate, the important thing to remember is that being a successful commercial lawyer is all about understanding your client's desires. These can usually be broken down into (i) the outcome of your work, which should help to achieve the client's business objectives, and (ii) getting value for money. An example of the first aspect of this would be a small, start-up company asking a law firm to draft a simple, accessible contract that gives it some room to be flexible. The commercial lawyer who actually understands this desire will not then draft a 100-page document which the start-up company will not be able to implement properly without the benefit of an in-house legal team, and which does not afford the necessary flexibility.

Making the client feel that it has got value for money is also particularly important and well worth thinking about - you need to engage with the client's business and objectives, and think of ways to add value to the service you are providing. This involves taking the initiative to identify potential problems (and solutions for them) before the client has even thought about them.

Finally, be aware that in order to get your commercial insights across, you need to tailor the way in which you communicate them to your intended audience. As Furner observed when I saw him speak at a conference, if your client has been running her or his own small business for 30 years and has a set way of doing things, then communicating in the most current corporate jargon may not come across as that impressive. You should also always be mindful that you will encounter very different personalities in the course of your work, which will each likely require a slightly different approach. The recruitment calendar is young and there is still plenty of time to get a good body of research done and your commercial senses up to speed - get to it!