Becoming more and more worried about commercial awareness

[laby201]

Hi all!

As a background, I'm about to begin my third cycle to try and secure a VS. I generally do fine in the written application stages but fall short after that, which I think is predominately down to my commercial awareness.

I've started to read the news frequently, am trying to wrap my head around topics like inflation and have done Bright Network's Commercial Awareness Course to understand the facets of an M&A deal. It's just dawning on me that if I were asked anything in an interview or given a case study, I would really struggle. It takes me a while to fully understand the concepts and even the basics confuse me and if I was asked to do it on the spot, while having to think of what clients and firms would want identified, I would not do well.

If there was anyone in a similar position, is there anything you did to really feel confident about discussing commercial awareness? I'm listening to podcasts and reading the BBC Business section daily, but would anyone suggest anything in particular or just how to feel more confident? Thanks!

 

[I’m_Batman]

Hi all!

As a background, I'm about to begin my third cycle to try and secure a VS. I generally do fine in the written application stages but fall short after that, which I think is predominately down to my commercial awareness.

I've started to read the news frequently, am trying to wrap my head around topics like inflation and have done Bright Network's Commercial Awareness Course to understand the facets of an M&A deal. It's just dawning on me that if I were asked anything in an interview or given a case study, I would really struggle. It takes me a while to fully understand the concepts and even the basics confuse me and if I was asked to do it on the spot, while having to think of what clients and firms would want identified, I would not do well.

If there was anyone in a similar position, is there anything you did to really feel confident about discussing commercial awareness? I'm listening to podcasts and reading the BBC Business section daily, but would anyone suggest anything in particular or just how to feel more confident? Thanks!

Hopefully, @Jessica Booker can offer some insight here and won't mind me tagging them!

 

[axelbeugre]

Hi all!

As a background, I'm about to begin my third cycle to try and secure a VS. I generally do fine in the written application stages but fall short after that, which I think is predominately down to my commercial awareness.

I've started to read the news frequently, am trying to wrap my head around topics like inflation and have done Bright Network's Commercial Awareness Course to understand the facets of an M&A deal. It's just dawning on me that if I were asked anything in an interview or given a case study, I would really struggle. It takes me a while to fully understand the concepts and even the basics confuse me and if I was asked to do it on the spot, while having to think of what clients and firms would want identified, I would not do well.

If there was anyone in a similar position, is there anything you did to really feel confident about discussing commercial awareness? I'm listening to podcasts and reading the BBC Business section daily, but would anyone suggest anything in particular or just how to feel more confident? Thanks!

Hey @laby201, I totally understand your concerns and I was in your same shoes last year when I was applying for my same cycle, being even confused about the meaning of commercial awareness altogether. I think that something that really helped me at the beginning of my journey was starting with really small steps. I listened to the FT podcast or reading the financial times and summarise what I had read and make some notes regarding the legal implications of the specific commercial news of the day. That was really useful to make me reflect on how law firms and the legal sector at large could be impacted by a specific economic or political situation. I also got given some tips regarding this that I will share as I think they may be useful:

1. Read Business News:
   • Follow reputable business news sources, such as The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and CNBC. Stay updated on current events, economic trends, and major business developments.
2. Industry Research:
   • Focus on the industries that interest you or are relevant to your career goals. Research specific companies and their competitors, market trends, and challenges within those industries. For you it will of course be law, but it could also be finance and business, as these will be sectors you will be dealing with as a commercial lawyer.
3. Understand Key Concepts:
   • Familiarise yourself with key business and economic concepts, such as supply and demand, market analysis, pricing strategies, financial statements, and economic indicators like GDP, inflation, and interest rates. This is difficult to do but what I would suggest is to keep a notebook with the definition of each of these key things. Investopaedia is a great starting point to understand these definitions.
4. Study Company Reports:
   • Review annual reports, investor presentations, and financial statements of publicly traded companies. Pay attention to revenue, profit margins, and other financial performance metrics. This is something that you can start doing later down the line when you feel like your commercial awareness is top-notch!
5. Attend Workshops and Seminars:
   • Attend business-related workshops, seminars, and conferences to gain insights from industry experts and network with professionals. This is really useful as it gives you the chance to learn from experts in the field. What I did was signing up to some law firms' email threads about specific sectors I was interested in such as technology, data privacy, M&A and that worked really well cause you learn directly from what the firms you are interested are working on.
6. Online Courses and Books:
   • Take online courses or read books on business and economics. There are many free and paid resources available that cover a wide range of topics.
7. Engage in Discussions:
   • Engage in discussions on business topics with colleagues, friends, or online communities. Sharing perspectives and debating ideas can help you gain different viewpoints. TCLA is a great way to start this but you can use whatever resource available!
8. Analyse Case Studies:
   • Analyse business case studies to understand how companies have faced challenges and made strategic decisions. Try also to connect what you think with the legal implications as this will be fundamental to your success during interviews!

I hope these tips will be useful and I wish the best for your application journey!