Common mistakes on application forms.....

[Velikilawyer123]

A CV is a very different type of application.

You don’t really talk about what you learnt/how that’s driven your career motivation in a Work experience description in a CV, you just focus on your responsibilities and outcomes.

Ah ok, so the CV should be kept short and sweet with the main focus on responsibilities and outcomes, while the work experience section of an applicaiton should be longer, with the skills I gained and how they could be applicable to the role of a trainee.

What if I'm drawing on my experiences to answer "why law" or "why me", and now I'm just repeating much of the stuff I mentioned under work experience?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Ah ok, so the CV should be kept short and sweet with the main focus on responsibilities and outcomes, while the work experience section of an applicaiton should be longer, with the skills I gained and how they could be applicable to the role of a trainee.

What if I'm drawing on my experiences to answer "why law" or "why me", and now I'm just repeating much of the stuff I mentioned under work experience?

Yes - it will also be different as the CV will be in bullet points while the application with be in prose. Sometimes you won’t need to be explicit in terms of the skills you learnt (that may be obvious to your audience) or how they transfer to being a lawyer (because it may be legal work).

Yes - you have to ensure there isn’t repetition. It’s why you have to ensure you consider your whole application and not just its component parts

 

[Alice G]

Ah ok, that makes sense, thank you!

What about when you're sending in your own CV, which doesn't have a strict word count but is usually supposed to be 1-2 pages long? Having 250ish words per experience there might eat up a lot of the space on the CV (for example my current CV has 7 experiences, each is about 50 words long, and it nicely fills up 2 full pages together with the other standard sections like education, achievements, additional info, etc.). Would you go shorter there?

Different rules apply for CVs, you need to be much more concise and stick to what your role was and what you did. Bullet points rather than prose are fine in a CV

 

[Jaysen]

A quick test to determine whether your mention of a deal adds value to your application:

If you can replace the deal with any other deal, and your point still makes sense, your reasoning is too generic.

This will cross out any points about:

- Market defining transactions
- High profile work
- The firm's reputation
- The chance to work with the best lawyers

 

[Mary12]

Hi @Jaysen - would you say that a 'market defining transaction' is a bad thing to mention? Or just if you don’t sufficiently back it up/link it to you?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi @Jaysen - would you say that a 'market defining transaction' is a bad thing to mention? Or just if you don’t sufficiently back it up/link it to you?

Just saying it, then yes. Putting it into context and explaining the rationale as to why it’s relevant to you, then no.

 

[Alice G]

Another common mistake is not reading the question properly. Look at and highlight all the elements to a question so you can be sure you’re fully answering the question. If a firm asks you ‘what does exceptional client service look like for a future facing lawyer’, you need to make sure you a) address what is exceptional client service in each point you make and b) don’t forget they’re asking you to root this into what it means to be a future facing lawyer. The firm here is trying to get candidates to discuss the changes happening in the legal sector and how exceptional client service is going to evolve as a result. Don’t just discuss what your understanding of exceptional client service is because this isn’t what the question is putting to you.

 

[Alice G]

I’ve also seen a lot of advice/advise errors.

Lawyers give advice to their clients. (Noun)

Lawyers advise their clients. (Verb)

 

[Velikilawyer123]

Yes - it will also be different as the CV will be in bullet points while the application with be in prose. Sometimes you won’t need to be explicit in terms of the skills you learnt (that may be obvious to your audience) or how they transfer to being a lawyer (because it may be legal work).

Yes - you have to ensure there isn’t repetition. It’s why you have to ensure you consider your whole application and not just its component parts

Different rules apply for CVs, you need to be much more concise and stick to what your role was and what you did. Bullet points rather than prose are fine in a CV

I was always unsure whether CV should be prose or bullet points, thanks for clearing that up!

 

[Alice G]

If you're uploading a cover letter, personal statement or CV, please read carefully the instructions the firm gives you. If they say to download a template and copy and paste your words into that template then ensure to do this. If a firms asks you to upload a cover letter and not to sign your name, be sure to omit your name on the letter. Always read everything really carefully when you are going through an application form, do not skim and assume you have understood what they're asking you to provide and how to do so. Even if you applied before, it does not mean the firm has not updated its form and instructions from the year before!

 

[Jessica Booker]

"For example" is often an unnecessary phrase... more times than not your writing will have more impact without it than with it

 

[Jessica Booker]

This is a very common one....unclear antecedents.

So common, I have just done it!

People have a habit of using "This" at the start of a sentence that follows on from previous sentences but not really explaining what "This" is

For instance:

I attended an open day with Joe Bloggs LLP. I spoke to a trainee who explained about the culture of the firm. This was very insightful.

What is actually unclear here is what THIS is. Is it the open day? Is it the conversation with the trainee?

I attended an open day with Joe Bloggs LLP. I spoke to a trainee who explained about the culture of the firm. This conversation was very insightful.

Just one extra word makes it much clearer and precise. So be mindful of using "This" and check whether there is any ambiguity in your sentence if you are using it on its own.

 

[Jaysen]

This is a very common one....unclear antecedents.

So common, I have just done it!

People have a habit of using "This" at the start of a sentence that follows on from previous sentences but not really explaining what "This" is

For instance:

I attended an open day with Joe Bloggs LLP. I spoke to a trainee who explained about the culture of the firm. This was very insightful.

What is actually unclear here is what THIS is. Is it the open day? Is it the conversation with the trainee?

I attended an open day with Joe Bloggs LLP. I spoke to a trainee who explained about the culture of the firm. This conversation was very insightful.

Just one extra word makes it much clearer and precise. So be mindful of using "This" and check whether there is any ambiguity in your sentence if you are using it on its own.

Love this one!

 

[Jessica Booker]

ACRONYMS....

My absolute pet peeve.

You are assuming your reader knows what the acronym stands for. Sure something that is an acronym but also a brand name, you expect people to know (e.g. FT, BBC) but if you are using legal or business terminology acronyms, 99 times out of 100 your reader won't have a clue what you are on about (some exceptions like IPO or M&A).

I have been reviewing apps recently and have had things like "EMNEs" and "MTN bonds" mentioned in sentences. I haven't got a clue what either of these things are even in the context of the paragraph they are written. And I am not going to take the time to try and find out, so I am just going to basically ignore it.

Remember the person making a decision on your application is probably not a lawyer. And even a lawyer might not know what the acronym is if it isn't within their industry/sector/area of expertise.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Saw this today - it’s very appropriate for writing applications.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Name dropping....

I am not a fan of it generally, but if you are going to do it aim for the following

"I attended an open day and met Joe, Bob and Keith. I learnt about the support trainees get"
is much better than saying
"Joe, Bob and Keith told me about the support trainees get".

You are putting you at the centre of your message in the first version, while the second just makes it sound like you are just repeating what they told you

(PS the above examples are horrendously written, they are not examples of how to write, just how to structure something!)

 

[Jessica Booker]

Also check your word/character limits and make sure you are getting the right definition for each section.

Writing an application with 800 words per answer, when it is actually an 800 character limit is going to be a lot of wasted time/effort.

 

[Jaysen]

I'd avoid generally phrases like 'my task was X' or 'I was responsible for Y'. Instead, we can jump straight into discussing what you actually did.

For example, rather than stating, 'I was responsible for negotiating contracts, liaising with suppliers, and raising sponsorship'. You can say, 'I negotiated contracts, liaised with suppliers, and raised sponsorship'.

By taking out phrases like 'I was responsible for', you play a more active role in the scenario, and we avoid implying that you did something only because you had to do it or were told to do it.

The exception to this is if it makes sense for you to be listing out your responsibilities in your answer.

 

[Andrew M]

Name dropping....

I am not a fan of it generally, but if you are going to do it aim for the following

"I attended an open day and met Joe, Bob and Keith. I learnt about the support trainees get"
is much better than saying
"Joe, Bob and Keith told me about the support trainees get".

You are putting you at the centre of your message in the first version, while the second just makes it sound like you are just repeating what they told you

(PS the above examples are horrendously written, they are not examples of how to write, just how to structure something!)

Wait - name dropping is bad? I thought we were supposed to be using interactions as evidence to support our applications?

 

[Jaysen]

Wait - name dropping is bad? I thought we were supposed to be using interactions as evidence to support our applications?

Name dropping i.e. simply mentioning names in an application form is bad.

If you are using mentioning names in an application with a purpose i.e. you are discussing how what you learned from X led you to apply to a firm - that's fine.