You’re trawling through LinkedIn and see one after another of “those people” with the elusive “Future Trainee Solicitor at [insert name of City law firm]“ headline. Yep, and another one. Aaaaand another one. How do they do it?! And can I be one of them??!! The answer is a resounding YES, if you follow the rules of the game. Here’s Sana Shafi, co-founder of STRIVE, with a low-down of exactly what goes through the mind of a successful applicant when drafting an application for a vacation scheme or training contract.
1) Structure
Please. Structure is everything. Make sure your sentences flow, make sure your paragraphs flow, make sure that everything is a stream without a hint of copy and paste in sight! Keep it clean. If you’re asked a question, please answer the question. If it’s a cover letter, follow the ‘why law’, ‘why the firm’ and ‘why you’ consistently. I like to combine why you with both parts, that way I can consistently evidence my interest in law and the firm without sounding like a broken record.
A good structure also means simple sentences. No flowery statements like ‘ever since the age of one, I have envisaged being the crusader of justice’, because that makes you sound like you forgot which company to send your manuscript to. Use clear and simple language. I know you can use beautiful phrases like ‘stupendously marvellously fantastical experience indeed was my vacation scheme’ however by this stage I’ve lost all interest to get to the vac scheme where you fought off 1000 law firms all bidding for that one client. Which takes me to the next point: don’t exaggerate but don’t undersell yourself either, tread that beautiful line in between and the world shall entertain you more.
2) Be specific
I cannot tell you how many cover letters I have read that say the same generic statement: firm X ‘is an exciting firm to work for due to their exceptional reputation in corporate law’. Seriously? Are you going to impress your date by saying ‘I want to date you because of your gender?’ I presume not and yet the effect is the same. The overall feeling that’s received is that this person couldn’t care less about our firm and what we do, and this is a far cry from the truth. But as with all things in life, making statements aren’t enough you have to show that firm interest is perfect for you by telling the firm exactly what interests you about them and why. You must substantiate every statement. A general rule of thumb is, if you can take out the firm name and replace it and the statement rings true for the replacement firm, it’s too generic and you should start over.
3) Proofread
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m the worst at this and yet it’s so ironic to make statements like ‘I ahve great attention to detail’ (see what I did there?) and then misspelling the firm name or misplacing the comma. This is also an easy way to end up in the rejection pile. What you must understand is that law firms are absolutely snowed under with exceptionally talented candidates from the best institutions. Cutting out 2000 applicants to 50 is no easy feat so of course the easiest way to cut down a few is due to poor grammar, structure, spelling, and anything that’s not specific.
4) Be precise
Do not waffle. Be succinct, be clear and be easy to understand. Get others to proofread your application and see if they understand what you want to say. Say no more than what you want to say and say it in the least words possible. You probably have a 100 things to talk about and you cannot do that without being brutal with the word count. I always teach my students to self assess as if they’re being marked: anything that’s not relevant, anything that doesn’t add value needs to go. I know it’s hard to cut down words but if what you are writing has no value, it may as well not exist because its impact is non existent. It’s a harsh perspective but it’s a necessary one, save your words for the interview.
Your application is the teaser, your interview is the movie.
5) Keep trying
Don’t worry if your first application gets rejected. Or the second or third or fourth. It’s all part of the process. For every rejection re-evaluate. What could have gone wrong? Sometimes I’ll spot typos after I’ve sent it so I tend to expect the rejections in that case for my own rash decisions. What’s crucial is that you keep trying. Keep improving your applications.
And you’ll see that once you get one interview, you will get the rest.
Once you have mastered the application, everyone will want you.
Hopefully you find this short guide used for applications, a guide to the interviews is underway! As always, let me know your thoughts in the comments below and feel free to share it with anyone who may find it useful.