When you have limited legal experience ahead of applying for a Training Contract, it is easy to feel stumped when faced with the dreaded question “so tell me about your recent experience” or some variation of the same. But it does not need to feel or be this way! In this article, I will explore some key skills lawyers need and use real life experiences to show how I was able to secure a Training Contract with limited legal experience at the time.
Michelmores always appreciates the ability of trainees to produce ideas. The following are two small examples of taking initiative, something which is not so easy to demonstrate when you are a junior.
I previously had a babysitting business, which required me to distribute flyers to generate interest. This demonstrated dynamism and I improved this by enlisting my brother when he also turned 14. You may have also shown initiative if you suggested ways for your school to use less paper or proposed inviting a guest speaker to educate people on a specific topic.
You can equally show resourcefulness by resolving an issue. When I had an administrative role at an after-school club parents complained about the price and look of a new uniform, so I set up a second-hand shop to trade old stock at a cheaper price. You may have shown some resourcefulness by setting up a sports club at school or volunteering to help a community group with staff shortages.
So often, I have been approached by applicants who are worried about their commercial awareness. They often want to understand the ins and outs of how firms operate and how they are structured. The reality, however, is that even if you have had work experience in the firm you are applying to, it will remain challenging for you to have a full picture of what is going on behind the scenes.
The importance of a more generic understanding and conveying a sense of curiosity about how businesses work should not be underestimated. It is one thing to be able to recite an article written by someone else and another to present your own thoughts or even questions about the content.
Standing out is about putting forward new ideas and not re-hashing existing ones. When I did the Law and Business elective on the LPC, I practised this skill by reading opinion pieces. On any given broad topic (e.g. working from home, legal sector challenges), I would read oppositional pieces and often focus on those espousing an opinion I actively disagreed with, to make me aware of a broad range of views. Whilst this may sound counterintuitive, it made my thought process more elastic. This is more important than having a fixed mindset so early on in your career.
I also crafted the skill of looking at the same topic, subject or problem from multiple angles (for instance with a SWOT analysis, a diagram, and in a debate format). Being able to constantly reframe how you look at things until they ‘click’ will help you come across as more engaging and organic with an interviewer without feeling the need to overprepare purely on content.
These are all hugely different skills in their own right; however, through hospitality roles, I was in ahead of starting work as a Paralegal, I have developed these skills significantly.
In hospitality, I helped manage events with up to 2,000 people, I had to memorise the person on table 37, be aware of table 10’s nut and shellfish allergy, and make sure members of my team did not give them the wrong plate, while juggling the client’s shifting demands. I also learned invaluable lessons about providing clear communication, preparing me well for dealing with people of all levels once I started my legal career.
This non-legal experience gave me confidence that I could overcome challenging situations. You may have experience in the service industry, maybe have effectively dealt with running out of stock at an event; or experienced tricky customer service experiences when you worked in retail.
Of course, the skills you gain in your studies to glean information from research and analyse (even in non-law degrees) are invaluable. They are more transferrable than you might think and are good examples of displaying the above competencies.
If you have any questions about utilising experience, please contact Sophie Uyttenhove.
