Common mistakes on application forms.....

[Jessica Booker]

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

What Jaysen said.

9 times out of 10, I’d say someone name drops and it’s just for the sake of thinking it ticks a box in an application. Having a conversation with someone tells me you have had a been inquisitive to find out more, but there are a multitude of ways someone could do this. They don’t have to have a conversation to prove this.

Basically if it comes across more about who you met, rather than about you, it really isn’t worth it in my opinion

 

[gricole]

What Jaysen said.

9 times out of 10, I’d say someone name drops and it’s just for the sake of thinking it ticks a box in an application. Having a conversation with someone tells me you have had a been inquisitive to find out more, but there are a multitude of ways someone could do this. They don’t have to have a conversation to prove this.

Basically if it comes across more about who you met, rather than about you, it really isn’t worth it in my opinion

This is very useful! Thank you @Jessica Booker

 

[Alice G]

Just something to note guys, when answering 'why commercial law?', don't describe what solicitors do and use that as your justification. It isn't enough. You need to look introspectively and explain why you want to do that work, what evidence have you got to support what you are saying?

My 'why commercial law?' answer took me well over a month to work out and refine. If you put in the work now, you will reap the rewards in apps and at interview!

 

[Jaysen]

A few more words I'd generally advise against in applications:

'lateral thinking'
'symbiosis'
'stimulated'
'dynamic'

I find candidates sometimes use these words because they're shortcuts to explaining what you mean/why you like something.

I'd also avoid using too many complex words in a sentence e.g. 'seamless, multi-faceted transactions'.

 

[Alice G]

Hi everyone,

Here is a useful style guide the University of Oxford - https://www.ox.ac.uk/sites/files/oxford/Style Guide HT2016.pdf

It is really helpful for looking up certain grammar rules like capitalisation, I hope it might help some of you.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi everyone,

Here is a useful style guide the University of Oxford - https://www.ox.ac.uk/sites/files/oxford/Style Guide HT2016.pdf

It is really helpful for looking up certain grammar rules like capitalisation, I hope it might help some of you.

I have learnt how to appropriately put times in thanks to this document

 

[Jessica Booker]

I might have already said this but...

Using my and own in a sentence is unnecessary. The "own" is typically completely redundant if you put my in front of it.

 

[Jessica Booker]

This isn't a mistake as such, but something to just consider. Too many people are using their Young Enterprise examples in applications.

They have become the new "Duke of Edinburgh" examples that I used to see too many times 10-15 years ago, where you would get so many examples of a Expedition trek going wrong and the team work skills being used to say how you overcame the trek's challenges.

Now it is Young Enterprise - I have lost count how many "innovative" approaches I have been told about when selling products via young enterprise, or that it shows how you can lead a team, come up with creative solutions, entreprenial spirit, commercial awareness etc. They just get over-egged so much and typically because you have seen so many of them (and interviewed so many candidates who talk about them too) they just become less unique by default.

My issue is that where so many people are using them, they just start to really become bland and predictable. They also tend to be really old examples - things you did 4+ years ago. Undoubedtly you have better examples of the competencies you are trying to showcase that are more modern and reflective of the attributes you have now rather than when you were at school.

 

[Karin]

Just something to note guys, when answering 'why commercial law?', don't describe what solicitors do and use that as your justification. It isn't enough. You need to look introspectively and explain why you want to do that work, what evidence have you got to support what you are saying?

My 'why commercial law?' answer took me well over a month to work out and refine. If you put in the work now, you will reap the rewards in apps and at interview!

I completely agree with this!

In my first cycle of applications, I think I gave very generic answers. Last year, I finally realised how important it is to sit down and brainstorm why you actually want to do commercial law. Think about all of the things that led to your decision to go into law/commercial law and create a story! I recommend taking pen and paper and brainstorming!

It can take a long time (and probably will!), but you will use it on almost every application, in your interviews, and I guess it's just good to know why you actually want to do this career!

 

[M1999]

Just something to note guys, when answering 'why commercial law?', don't describe what solicitors do and use that as your justification. It isn't enough. You need to look introspectively and explain why you want to do that work, what evidence have you got to support what you are saying?

My 'why commercial law?' answer took me well over a month to work out and refine. If you put in the work now, you will reap the rewards in apps and at interview!

By this, do you mean it’s not enough to say what solicitors do & how your past experiences have led you to have an interest in that? I’m really struggling on refining this answer at the moment. I feel like it’s too generic to say I like the client facing nature of the work or the advisory nature etc. But I don’t really know how else to go about it!

 

[Jessica Booker]

By this, do you mean it’s not enough to say what solicitors do & how your past experiences have led you to have an interest in that? I’m really struggling on refining this answer at the moment. I feel like it’s too generic to say I like the client facing nature of the work or the advisory nature etc. But I don’t really know how else to go about it!

Take it one level further.

why do you like client facing work?
Why do you like the advisory nature?

Then you are starting to get to refining your answer.

 

[Lumree]

By this, do you mean it’s not enough to say what solicitors do & how your past experiences have led you to have an interest in that? I’m really struggling on refining this answer at the moment. I feel like it’s too generic to say I like the client facing nature of the work or the advisory nature etc. But I don’t really know how else to go about it!

What helped me was to take a step back and properly reflect on what I wanted from my career in general. Sitting myself down and asking ‘what do you want from your career’ led me to very generic words like ‘challenge’ and ‘client facing’. But then I asked myself why I enjoyed these things, which tied in with what I’ve enjoyed from my experiences to date. Once I clarified that, I asked myself ‘how will commercial law give you that fulfilling career,’ and that’s when my understanding of what a commercial lawyer does, and motivations to do it myself, made more sense.

It takes time, but working from a very broad starting point helped me as I could more easily establish my motivations and how they aligned with a career in law. It’s a case then of structuring your answer to ensure those motivations come across, rather than just reiterating what a lawyer does. After all, a recruiter knows what a lawyer does. They’re not interested in hearing that, they want to know what motivates you to become one.

I’d encourage you to try the exercise and see if it works for you! Start broad, without even thinking about the law, and then hone in on why commercial law.

 

[Jessica Booker]

I'd avoid language like "aroused" on an application form. Given its multiple meanings, aroused it can just be a bit awkward....

 

[Jessica Booker]

I think I might have said this already but I am seeing it a lot recently...

My own personal preferences
Thier own contractual requirements

Own is completely redundant in both of the above instances and most sentences where you are identifying someone and something that belongs to them.

 

[M1999]

Take it one level further.

why do you like client facing work?
Why do you like the advisory nature?

Then you are starting to get to refining your answer.

Thank you! So would it be a good answer to say my experiences of client facing work gave me satisfaction because I was able to.... etc.

 

[M1999]

What helped me was to take a step back and properly reflect on what I wanted from my career in general. Sitting myself down and asking ‘what do you want from your career’ led me to very generic words like ‘challenge’ and ‘client facing’. But then I asked myself why I enjoyed these things, which tied in with what I’ve enjoyed from my experiences to date. Once I clarified that, I asked myself ‘how will commercial law give you that fulfilling career,’ and that’s when my understanding of what a commercial lawyer does, and motivations to do it myself, made more sense.

It takes time, but working from a very broad starting point helped me as I could more easily establish my motivations and how they aligned with a career in law. It’s a case then of structuring your answer to ensure those motivations come across, rather than just reiterating what a lawyer does. After all, a recruiter knows what a lawyer does. They’re not interested in hearing that, they want to know what motivates you to become one.

I’d encourage you to try the exercise and see if it works for you! Start broad, without even thinking about the law, and then hone in on why commercial law.

Thanks so much! This is really helpful

 

[Jessica Booker]

Thank you! So would it be a good answer to say my experiences of client facing work gave me satisfaction because I was able to.... etc.

In principle, this sounds like the right kind of detail/explanation to aim for.

 

[James Kitching]

Hi guys, when mentioning The Big Four in an application, would it be correct to write it as The Big Four or ‘The Big Four’? I am stumped!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi guys, when mentioning The Big Four in an application, would it be correct to write it as The Big Four or ‘The Big Four’? I am stumped!

I wouldn’t worry about this too much, just be mindful that this term needs context. You can’t assume your reader will know what this means.

 

[James Kitching]

I wouldn’t worry about this too much, just be mindful that this term needs context. You can’t assume your reader will know what this means.

Good point, thank-you!