While the majority of my TC apps were made in one application cycle from 2019-2020, I had made a couple unsuccessful applications before this cycle as well. This thread elaborates on what I did between these two application cycles to strengthen my applications and invites others to share their experiences as well!
- Filled gaps in my information about the profession- the biggest takeaway I had from making those couple applications in the preceding cycle to '19-'20 cycle was that I was basing my applications on what I presumed working in commercial law would be like. I didn't have first-hand accounts about this mostly because I had no connections within the profession. The way I remedied this is by scheduling regular sessions, at least every week or twice a month, with my career counsellor at my university, who had been a solicitor and was able to provide me with a real-world picture of what working in commercial law takes and is really like. A lot of the information filling happened through chance when kind people in my life introduced me to their connections. It was through chance that I had a perspective-altering one-hour call with a connection of one my tutors that helped me understand the difference between US and UK firms, practice areas and what solicitors at different levels are engaged in. For these chances to happen for you, you've got to be open to the help people and ask for help within whatever network you have, big or tiny. Most people will likely not come through but that one person who does can really help improve your understanding of the profession and subsequently increase the quality of your apps.
- Worked on my commercial awareness- my focus in the interim period shifted to understanding the meaning of the numbers used in business news and how they impact law firms, lawyers and their clients. This required prioritising quality over quantity, and even if I read only one news piece a day, I would ensure it came from a reputable source that broke down business news in a way that allowed me to understand numerical changes discussed in an article, what industries would get impacted by a particular new story and how law firms would need to react to this impact. I'd also spend time putting myself in the shoes of lawyers and clients to understand what their needs and strategies would be to ensure that I was not only consuming business news but personalising it to my perspective.
- Understood what kind of firms fit my requirements- With how competitive TC apps can be, the conversation often shifts from what applicants want to what firms are looking for, which is although understandable, but also unfortunate because the opportunity to evaluate what kind of career an applicant needs can be missed. As an international applicant, I spent time understanding which firms were best placed to meet my visa requirements and, crucially, whether these firms met my criteria for the kind of commercial legal work I was looking to be engaged in during my career. I also laid a special emphasis on diversity and inclusion and secondment opportunities, as I realised how valuable these aspects of working at a law firm could be for my personality and career development. These realisations did not happen in isolation- they came after months of interactions, attending open days and webinars and introspection, and proved to be tremendously valuable for raising the quality of my applications.
- Improved my writing- I used the careers service at uni and the Application Review Service at TCLA to hone my writing skills. I especially worked on my ability to articulate and focused on picking the right examples that demonstrated my competencies and motivations for a career in a law at the firm. The biggest challenge for me was understanding how to best utilise my word count to express what I needed to- this was difficult and unfortunately required a few unsuccessful applications for me to realise where I was going wrong and what exactly I needed to do to improve. Note that you most likely cannot meaningfully improve your writing alone, on your own- this requires another (or several) pair of eyes to inform you about how your writing is being received by a reader and the best way to get this guidance is by having family/friends/your careers service, or anyone you trust, to go over what you've written.
