DO YOU HAVE THE KEY SKILLS EVERY RECRUITER WANTS?
There are a handful of core competencies that most firms want to see in their recruits. Here we explain (in a light-hearted way) how to identify whether you’ve got them and, if so, how to provide evidence of their existence. Read on for a review of the attributes you’ll need to succeed. It’s simple, really. Most employers want broadly the same thing in their employees – a set of skills that help to form a perfect legal professional. The trick to landing a training contract is giving recruiters what they want to see. So let’s build up a profile of what a successful lawyer might look like. Inevitably, different roles within the profession will place varying emphasis on the following skills, but you can be confident that all are extremely desirable – indeed, essential – when you are being assessed for suitability. Here, we take a look at the many ways you can use your life experiences to sell yourself to recruiters, and demonstrate that there are plenty of ways to identify skills and attributes that you have and that employers want. That’s the other key point: you need to deliver evidence that you possess the skills you claim to have. Academic ability You want to be a lawyer. You’ve got to have a decent academic record. Hopefully, you’ll be doing work that genuinely makes you think. You need to have the analytical ability to process information, draw inferences and make conclusions. How to demonstrate : The main method is your school and university performance (ie, results) – probably the very first thing that a potential employer looks at. They had better be good; don’t shy away from highlighting your strengths. Another tack is the ability to talk coherently and compellingly about current
affairs, which means showing that you have background knowledge, can understand context and draw rational conclusions.
you really know what they mean – many people make the mistake of using obscure words in the wrong context in an attempt to sound intelligent. The Economist ’s much-respected style guide advises that, when writing, you should avoid annoying rhetorical flourishes and try to use the language of everyday speech as much as possible. How to demonstrate : Running a campaign involving lots of written and oral evidence; examples of blogging or student journalism in which you present complicated ideas simply; debating and mooting; and the quality of the writing in your CV, cover letter and application form. Teamwork and leadership You’ve already proved you can form an intellectually rigorous, detailed, difficult argument and communicate it to others. But you also need to demonstrate your willingness to cooperate and collaborate. In the law, teams are everything – while there is much solo work to be done, even the lone wolves perform within the context of a team in which everyone contributes to the whole. You must be committed to working this way. Again, you’ve probably done more of this than you think – teamwork is how society works. Remember we are talking about teamwork AND leadership; show where you have led, but also show where you have bowed to the will of the group. How to demonstrate : Well, being in teams. Sports teams are the obvious ones, but any communal activity where different tasks contribute towards a whole can be used: orchestras and bands; clubs; Duke of Edinburgh activities; science projects; or communal debating. Commercial awareness This old favourite keeps on tripping people up, even though it is really an exercise in common sense. It boils down to understanding people’s or
Drive and determination This job involves lots of work,
including time-consuming tasks and pressure. This should all be grist to your mill as you reveal your superb track record of getting things done. How to demonstrate : Achievement of the highest order, ideally involving physical discomfort (eg, marathon running, open-water swimming, tractor pulling or playing the bagpipes). If there is anything you’ve done in the past that you can’t quite believe you managed to do, mention it. Accuracy and attention to detail Lawyers are all about the detail and the fine-tooth comb. Their job is to spot and resolve mistakes. Proofreading comes naturally to them, but they still check and recheck, endlessly. Show that you have gone to the mat with a morass of material and come out on top. How to demonstrate : Talk about a massive computer program that you have written featuring thousands of lines of code, any one of which could have stopped it working. Use examples from your work experiences (eg, stock taking, data input or party planning) and from your extracurricular activities (eg, organising a sports team or league, or playing in an orchestra). accomplished, driven and attentive if you can’t then let others know what you are thinking or suggesting. We all communicate, all the time, so you should not be short of examples. The key to good written and oral communication is clarity. People should be able to instantly understand what you are saying or writing, so keep your sentences simple and uncluttered. Avoid using long, technical terms unless Communication There’s no point in being
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