ULaw careers consultant Linsey O’Donnell offers her expert advice
With training contract deadlines stacking up, the temptation to fire off applications at every firm possible is familiar. Linsey O’Donnell, a careers consultant at The University of Law (ULaw) who spent around 17 years in practice as a family lawyer before moving into careers advice three years ago, would rather you resisted. “My main advice is to stay focused,” she tells Legal Cheek Careers. “Try not to deploy a scattergun approach of just applying for anything with an open vacancy and an upcoming deadline.”
“Taking a tailored, strategic approach to your applications is definitely something I would encourage,” says O’Donnell. “This is largely because it is vital to stand out among the thousands of applications that firms receive. Firms want to see your authentic interest.” For this, there’s a two-stage approach. “It’s crucial to first reflect on your own motivations, and secondly, to do your research into the firms,” she continues. “You simply cannot do that for hundreds of firms while maintaining high-quality applications, so it is absolutely quality over quantity.”
So what does a sensible number look like? “It is hard to put a number on it because you need to think about how many applications you can actually write well,” says O’Donnell, who notes that everyone has different pressures on their time. “That might be a handful for one person, or more for another, but I certainly would not expect it to go into the hundreds!”
Research, meanwhile, means (a lot!) more than just scrolling through a firm’s website. “It is vital to do your research and go beyond a quick Google or a glance at the firm’s online content,” she says. “It might be a recent case featured in the legal press, or using resources like The Legal Cheek Firms Most List to find behind-the-scenes information.” Getting in front of employers matters too, at events such as Legal Cheek Live London which takes place this week on Wednesday 9 September. “You can walk away with highly valuable insights and maybe learn something about a firm that you hadn’t considered before.”
Most applications do not survive the initial sift, and O’Donnell identifies two familiar culprits. The first is the dreaded generic answer. “If you can copy and paste your answer and insert it into another application, it hasn’t been tailored enough.” The remedy is a “point, proof, evidence” structure in every paragraph. “Try to interweave your research on the firm with what you know about yourself and your own motivations, rather than writing a block of text about yourself and a separate block of text about the firm,” she says. That block about you is the bit that gets recycled, and firms can tell. They “already know who they are and don’t need an academic essay on their own background”.
The second stumbling block is more avoidable still: spelling, punctuation and grammar. “Graduate recruitment managers tell us all the time that this is a major hurdle and often leads to immediate rejection,” says O’Donnell. “If you are extolling the virtues of your attention to detail and then make a typo or grammar mistake, it completely undermines your application.” So double-check your work. “In this day and age of technology, spelling, punctuation, and grammar should not be a barrier.”
Integrating your research is also the trick for the recurring “why this firm?” and “why law?” questions. “Make sure you are interweaving your knowledge of the firm and aligning it with your skills, knowledge, and where you acquired them,” says O’Donnell. “This doesn’t have to come from legal experience; it can be from a part-time job or a volunteer role.” As an example, a family law firm will want to understand your motivation for this area, perhaps you have taken a family Law elective, picked up volunteering at a food bank or working with children, that can demonstrate this. “Most firms have a values and behaviours statement on their website, which will tell you what is important to them.”
Rejection, though, comes for almost everyone. “It’s hard for anyone to take,” says O’Donnell, who recommends taking a step back, reflecting on any feedback and booking in with a careers service, which ULaw and most universities extend to alumni. “It’s there and it’s free, so use it.” A consultant can pick over unsuccessful applications and spot the gaps. “If you keep putting in the same formula, it is likely you will keep getting the same result.” Resilience, she adds, “is absolutely key during this journey and throughout your future career as a lawyer”.
Moving on to interviews, consistency counts. “When you submit your applications, keep a copy of them,” advises O’Donnell, warning against inventing a fresh set of motivations on the day. Competency questions call for the STAR technique, covering situation, task, action and result, plus one addition. “I would also encourage adding an additional ‘R’ for reflection. I feel this elevates a competency-based answer by taking a moment to demonstrate what you learned from the experience and how that is useful to the firm.”
Commercial awareness, that other interview staple, is best built as a habit: a reputable news agency daily, plus websites and podcasts offering quick updates. “There are some very easy wins for gaining that knowledge,” says O’Donnell. “Keeping abreast of these issues should be a part of your daily ritual.” ULaw runs a commercial awareness challenge twice a year, which gives students something tangible to point to, and when answering questions, specificity wins again. “I suggest working in a specific deal you have been interested in that aligns closely with what the firm does.”
And when you are invited to ask questions, do ask some. An interview, O’Donnell notes, “is actually a two-way process”. Googled questions land flat because “interviewers hear the same ones over and over again”, but something like “What does a successful trainee look like at this firm?” could demonstrate genuine interest.
As for vac scheme applications, the maths speaks for itself. “On a purely statistical basis, many firms recruit a proportion of their future trainees directly from their vacation schemes,” says O’Donnell. “If you only apply for direct training contracts, there may not be many spots left.” Vac schemes are also a two-way test: O’Donnell has known students finish a scheme and conclude the firm was not for them. Once students are on one, firm expectations are calibrated accordingly. “Firms are not looking for a fully qualified lawyer at this stage; they are looking for someone with potential.” Professionalism, intellectual curiosity and a willingness to learn are what to showcase, and not only in front of partners. “Do not just focus on learning from senior lawyers; engage with everyone in the firm.”
Finally, for those with no legal work experience, O’Donnell is reassuring. Pro bono opportunities and virtual internships count, and some firms without formal schemes consider speculative approaches for shadowing. “If you do not have any legal work experience, please do not worry. Firms are looking for potential and transferable skills.” Teamwork, resilience and working under pressure can all be evidenced from non-legal settings. “Firms understand how difficult it is to secure formal legal work experience. What they really want to see is your potential.”
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