Reality check - experience
updated on 26 November 2012
You need a combination of work experience (both legal and otherwise) and extracurricular activities to become the all-rounder that firms/chambers want to hire. One without the other isn't enough; having both strings to your bow is what will help you demonstrate, in a quantifiable way, that you are a complete human being and worth the firm's investment. It's important to get on a vac scheme/mini-pupillage (or more than one) to build up that crucial legal experience, so apply in good time. You could also approach your local high street law firm to see if there is any room for you to undertake a shadowing day or short placement.
You also need to market your non-legal experiences well. Even waiting tables at a restaurant develops transferable skills like coping in a pressurised environment, presentation and client interaction, but some applicants just don't make the most of, or even recognise, the important transferable skills that they have acquired from seemingly unlikely avenues. Other experiences, like playing for a sports team, teach teamwork and leadership, while being able to play a musical instrument shows that you have other interests and talents outside the law - and that you're not just a walking textbook.
Tomorrow, your online presence…
