Document 6432856

Transcription

Document 6432856

Step 6:
Writing Legal CVs
and Covering Letters
Contents
Writing legal CVs ........................................................................................................ 3
Introduction ............................................................................................................. 3
CVs: general principles and guidelines ................................................................... 4
Tips for a good CV ............................................................................................................4
CVs: structure and layout ........................................................................................ 5
Personal details.................................................................................................................6
Education, qualification and academic awards .................................................................7
Employment ....................................................................................................................10
Other skills / additional skills ...........................................................................................14
Interests ..........................................................................................................................15
References......................................................................................................................16
Targeting your CV ................................................................................................. 16
CVs for positions other than training contracts and pupillage................................ 17
Example CV: Jane Smith ...................................................................................... 18
Writing covering letters ............................................................................................. 20
Introduction ........................................................................................................... 20
Covering letters: general principles and guidelines ............................................... 20
Layout of a covering letter...............................................................................................21
Sections of a covering letter .................................................................................. 21
Example covering letter (style 1) ........................................................................... 26
Example covering letter (style 2) ........................................................................... 27
Covering letters for different applications .............................................................. 28
Letters for speculative applications .................................................................................28
Letters for anonymous vacancies ...................................................................................28
Letters for legal experience.............................................................................................29
Letters for paralegal and legally related employment .....................................................30
Next steps ............................................................................................................. 30
The Employability Service
Writing legal CVs
Introduction
The curriculum vitae (CV) is the traditional method of application and is still widely used
throughout the legal profession. Even if the organisations to which you are applying use
applications forms, you should always have an up to date copy of your CV to hand, ready for
whenever the need arises: they are often requested when applying for work experience and
they are handy to pass to a contact. If you are sending your CV to a recruiter, a covering
letter should always accompany it (unless of course the recruiter instructs you not to).
Therefore, a good CV and the ability to write a strong covering letter are essential to those
looking to pursue a career in the legal sector.
Before you start
In order to make the most of the material contained in this Resource Book, you should:

Be aware of the type of organisations you are likely to be targeting (Step 1 and
Step 4)

Have thought about your employability and what you have to offer potential
recruiters (Step 2)

Know what you are likely to be using the CV for: for example, to apply for a
training contract or for work experience (Steps 2 and 3).
Overview
In this Resource Book, we look at the construction of a typical legal CV. We start with some
general principles and guidance you should consider when writing a CV, before moving on to
look at completing the main sections. Following the same approach, we then turn to covering
letters.
CVs are widely accepted for all sorts of roles: work experience, mini-pupillage, paralegal
work and more. While we will focus on CVs and covering letters for pupillage and training
contract applications, the key issues will be similar for any application.
Although we provide a good deal of advice on what we believe to be the best way to write a
CV and covering letter, this is not prescriptive: these are your documents so you have to
decide what works best for you.
© The College of Law 2011
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CVs: general principles and guidelines
As with all applications, the purpose of a CV is to show a potential recruiter your
qualifications and experience to date. As CVs only tell the reader what you have done and
not what you could do or want to do, there are a number of issues you need to bear in mind:

It is critically important that you make the most of any opportunities. Without
employment, work experience or a list of activities and achievements outside of
your studies, you will have a hard time convincing a recruiter you have what it
takes. On a CV, style is no substitute for substance.

You must target your CV. You need to adapt your CV wherever possible to each
individual recruiter so that they can see an obvious ‘fit’ with their organisation.
Legal recruiters are very experienced at spotting ‘generic’ CVs, which do not
impress. You need to show you have researched that individual employer, have
a good idea of what that recruiter wants, and you are the right person for that
specific role.

A covering letter is essential to convince the recruiter of your future abilities,
rather than rely on the recruiter being able to extrapolate from past achievements
and infer likely future performance.
Tips for a good CV
Before looking in detail at the writing of a CV, it is worth highlighting some general points to
remember:

Get the length right. A CV is to highlight what you have to offer: keep it to two
sides of A4.

Make it easy to read. The typical recruiter will only spend a minute or two giving
your CV a quick ‘once over’ to see if it merits more serious consideration. You
must make your CV inviting and easy to read: leave ‘white space’ on the page;
make sensible use of formatting and headings; to provide a clear structure; and
use bullet points rather than blocks of text when completing entries on your CV.

Draw the reader’s attention to your key selling points. Careful use of headings,
phrasing and positioning are all important here.

Be professional. The law is a conservative profession, avoid gimmicks: no
artwork, photos or coloured fonts on your CV, and print your CV (if it is a hard
copy) on plain white paper. Ensure you are consistent with headings, use of bold
and so on; and avoid exclamation marks and way-out font sizes.

Get your spelling and grammar right. For a profession that places so much
emphasis on the need for excellent communication skills, you need to get it right.
Spelling, grammar and clerical errors are the easiest and most common mistakes
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on applications. Recruiters have been known to reject an application for incorrect
use of a capital letter.

Emphasise your abilities. Ensure that the evidence and examples of the abilities
sought by employers are easy to find. When writing your CV, think about what
the criteria of the recruiter might be: teamwork, organisational skills, attention to
detail, analytical skills, problem solving, commercial awareness, etc.
CVs: structure and layout
There is no single ‘right’ CV template: you need to decide what works for you. We will focus
on a ‘standard’ legal CV, but using your experience and judgement should enable you to
develop this into a more personal CV to suit your own needs and situation.
The core sections of a CV are:
Personal details
-
Your name and contact details
Education and training
-
Usually arranged in reverse chronological
order, so most recent first
Employment and work
experience
-
Possibly with sub divisions highlighting legal,
commercial or voluntary experience
Other skills
-
Usually a brief mention of other specific and
relevant competencies you have to offer
Non-employment
experience,
extracurricular activities,
etc
Referees
-
This covers everything else: the things you do
outside of work and study
-
Two referees: usually one academic and one
employer
When it comes to the ordering of the CV, personal details are usually included at the
beginning of a CV, and referees at the end. Traditionally, the second section of a CV would
be education, followed by work experience and employment. For current students this
approach is likely to be the most suitable. However, if you are currently working full-time
while studying part-time or you have a significant amount of relevant recent work experience,
you may have a good case for putting it before education in order to play to your strengths.
With the exception of your personal details, everything on your CV should be there for one
reason: to show the employer you have the right skills, knowledge, competencies,
personality and potential for the job. This is why it is essential that you have done your
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research so you have a good understanding of the employer, the job in question and what
you have to offer.
While there is a typical structure, you do not want to be viewed as a typical candidate. When
writing your CV make it work for you. Give more space to whatever provides the best
evidence that you are the best candidate, and emphasise the positive elements of you CV. It
goes without saying that everything on your CV must be true and factually correct, but this
does not mean you cannot play to your strengths, emphasise the good and play down the
bad.
Personal details
This section is simply to allow the recruiter to contact you. Ensure the information is accurate
and use the minimum amount of space needed.
John Smith
Home address:
17 High Street
New Town
Surrey
GU4 8BY
Tel: 01483 888888 / 07980888888
Term Address:
(24 Aug 2011 – 30 Jun 2012)
222 Narrow Street
London
EC5 7BW
Email: [email protected]
Name
You do not need the title ‘Curriculum Vitae’ on the CV, so use your name instead. If you are
known by a different name to your first, it is common to highlight this by including it in
brackets underlined on your CV, for example Jacob (Jack) Smith. Also, if you have a name
that is not gender specific, to avoid any confusion when the recruiter writes to you, it can be
helpful to prefix you name with a title for example Mr Chris Smith or Mrs Chris Smith.
Contact details
Make sure your contact details are correct as a mistake in your email address may mean you
never receive that offer of an interview. It is sometimes better to give a personal email
address rather than an education address as you may lose access to your email account at
the end of the course: it can be several months between an application being submitted and
invitations for interview being sent. It is for this reason, too, that you should attach dates to
addresses if your postal address is not your permanent place of residence. Ensure your
email address and any voicemail recordings are appropriate for a recruiter to use.
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Nationality
Unless requested, there is no requirement to provide this information. However, if you do
have the right to live and work in the UK, but your CV may suggest that this is not the case,
for example if you have studied for a long period overseas, then it may be worth mentioning
your nationality or your right to work.
The personal profile
If you look at guides to writing a CV, you will sometimes see a suggestion that you include a
personal profile. The CV is your document and it is your decision but, in most cases, we
would advise against their use as they are often badly written (at best) or cringe inducing (at
worst). For example:
“Hard working, dynamic individual, with excellent commercial awareness seeks entry into the
legal market to achieve goals and drive through change”
Recruiters want to see evidence, and it is usually better to use the space on your CV for
providing hard facts rather than unsubstantiated assertions. Furthermore, you are likely to
send a covering letter with your CV, which can convey messages far better than a two line
profile.
However, there are occasions were it might be in your interest to say something at the top of
page one. For example:

there may be elements of your CV that are separated but you think would
strengthen your application if seen together, for example ‘obtained 1st class
degree, while also training for the Commonwealth Games’

You may want to roll together experience separated across different employers,
‘over 8 years experience in key negotiating roles’ or emphasise many years of
relevant work experience.

If there is something at the back of your CV, which you think is important but may
be overlooked: your ‘Olympic Gold Medal, rowing, 2008’ in the extracurricular
activities section
Therefore you may have good reason to include a profile but, perhaps, think of it as ‘key
(factual) points” rather than vague and unsubstantiated assertions.
Education, qualification and academic awards
On a CV following the traditional layout, the education section is the first opportunity you
have to impress. While different recruiters will have different criteria for the academic
attainment of candidates, all recruiters will be interested in your academic performance.
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Education and Qualifications
2010 – Present
The College of Law, Bloomsbury – LPC
(Electives: Commercial Law, Employment Law and Private Client)
2009-2010
The College of Law, Bloomsbury - GDL (Commendation)
2006-2009
University of Leeds - Politics (2.1)
2004-2006
Alderwood College
A-levels (2006): Politics (A), History (A), Economics (A)
1999-2004
Althorp Secondary School
GCSEs (2004): 10 subjects including Maths and English
of which 5 Grade A* and 5 Grade A
Academic Awards
2009
Hailsham Award: for third year dissertation
2006
Twinings Scholarship to attend Alderwood College
The standard approach with education is to list your qualifications, with dates and place of
study, in reverse chronological order, putting your most recent qualifications first.
The Legal Practice Course (LPC)
For the LPC, provide the dates of study and the institution’s name and location, as recruiters
(especially outside London) often look for a connection with their area. If you have already
completed the course, give the award.
At The College of Law, we offer different routes or ‘pathways’ through the LPC (the
corporate, general and commercial, and legal aid pathways), and you will also take a number
of elective courses. If your choice of pathway or electives fits the work of the organisation to
which you are applying, then it makes sense to include them.
The Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC)
For the BPTC, provide the dates of study, the name of the institution and the location. On the
BPTC, you will take a number of options: if the ones you have chosen match your target
chambers, then include them.
Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL)
If you have not studied a qualifying law degree, you will undertake the GDL after your first
degree. Again, provide the dates of study, the name of the institution and its location. As
soon as you graduate, update your CV with the grade awarded as this will show potential
legal recruiters your aptitude for law.
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Degree
Your degree is arguably the most important qualification on your CV, and you can present it
in a number of ways. You need to choose what is best for you and for the recruiter you are
targeting.
The basic information should include: degree course title, dates of study, name and location
of the institution and the class of degree or predicted mark.
However, there are various options available to you. For example, you may choose to:

Include all courses and all grades (and you may be asked to do this by some
recruiters, especially the larger ones). The advantage of this is that it can show
consistency of academic performance, particularly important if the recruiter
places a lot of weight on high academic attainment. Listing all courses will take
up a lot of the limited space on your CV but, if it is one of your strengths or the
recruiter requests it, then you need to find the room. You can shorten the course
titles: ‘International organisations, the west and the new world order’ would take
up a lot of space, so call it ‘International organisations’. In general, recruiters are
not that interested in particular titles, but if it helps your application you should at
least mention the area of study. If the subjects studied will be of little interest to
the recruiter, but you want to list the grades, you could summarise for example:
Year 2 grades: three 1st and one 2.1 class marks
Year 1 grades: two 1st and two 2.1 class marks

If you know the percentage mark for your examinations, using this along with the
classification can be a useful approach if you were at the top end of a
classification: eg 2.1 (69%) or 2.2 (59%).
If you have not yet graduated showing your performance so far can be just as
important, so list the grades for any examinations you have passed.

If your grades are less important or less impressive, but you think the subject of
the degree, or even an element of it such as your third year dissertation will be
relevant to the recruiter, then you could provide a succinct summary of the
course, along with an overall grade. For example:
Politics (BA) – 2.2, University of Manchester
The focus of this course was on 20th and 21st century politics. Options studied
include: NGOs and international politics; rights and justice; and campaigning
and pressure politics. Third year dissertation: ‘Palin and ‘The People’’ which
looked at political attitudes towards immigration in the US.
Providing a summary of the course can be particularly useful if it is a subject that
is less will known, or you need to emphasise the academic content of the course,
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for example, if you studied an art degree, stress the art history and philosophy
elements.
Pre-university qualifications
For A-level or equivalent qualifications, and for GCSEs, include dates, the name and location
or your school or college, subjects and grades. For GCSEs, you can probably limit the
explanation to overall number of A* to C passes. If you have a particularly high number of
A*/A grade passes this will be worth including. It is not necessary to list all subjects taken but
it is usual to mention if you have passes in English and maths.
Employment
The second major section on a CV is employment. You have considerable flexibility to
present this information in the way that ‘sells’ what you have to offer, but you can only know
how to do this if you know who is going to read your CV – which is why your research is so
vital.
Headings
Firstly, consider the heading and sub-headings. While this is the employment section, that
does not have to be the title, or the only title, you use. Think about the sort of experience you
want to include (for example, legal, commercial, or voluntary) and what the recruiter would
want to see. The example below shows how the use of appropriate headings can draw
attention to valuable experience, which may be overlooked if presented in a simple reverse
chronology.
Simple reverse chronology
Use of appropriate headings
Employment
Sep 2010 – Aug 2011: Horse and Hounds Bar
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sep 2008 – Sep 2010: Dog and Duck
Jul 2010 – Aug 2010: Carr Solicitors
Jul 2009 – Aug 2009: Bristol Insurance
Mar 2008 – Sep 2008: Waterstones
Jul-2008 – Aug 2008: Kelvin & Col Solicitors
Legal Employment
Jul 2010 – Aug 2010: Carr Solicitors
Jul-2008 – Aug 2008: Kelvin & Col Solicitors
Commercial Experience
Jul 2009 – Aug 2009: Bristol Insurance
Part-Time Work
Sep 2010 – Aug 2011: Horse and Hounds Bar
Sep 2008 – Sep 2010: Dog and Duck
Mar 2008 – Sep 2008: Waterstones
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The skills recruiters want to see
In addition to getting the right layout, the key to an impressive CV is to make your experience
work for you by showing how you have developed the skills and knowledge sought by the
recruiter, especially if your previous experience is not on the face of it immediately relevant.
To do so, you will need the information you gleaned from your research in order to have a
good idea of what the employer wants or is likely to be seeking.
Legal competencies and legal CVs
How do you know which skills and abilities the recruiter wants to see?
To target your CV and make it as suitable as possible for a particular recruiters), make use
of the following sources of information:

Your research into the recruiting organisation

Their advertisement which will state what the recruiter is looking for

The key skills and competencies we covered in Step 2

Your research into the work of lawyers in the appropriate sector and areas of
practice.
Setting out your work experience
For each piece of employment or experience, provide the dates, name of the organisation
and a job title. If the organisation is not well known, provide a brief description (for example,
‘a four partner high street firm’). Similarly, if your job title does not make it clear what you
were responsible for, ensure this is made apparent either by providing a brief description of
the role, or by taking particular care to make this clear when you provide information about
what you did. For each piece of employment or work experience listed, you need to provide
information about what you have done in a way relevant to your future employer. In our
experience, this is the section which seems to cause more problems than any other.
Generally, the recruiter is interested in what you have done because he or she is able to infer
certain abilities and attributes. For example, if you have improved a particular working
practice in your previous employment, then it is reasonable to assume that you will be able to
apply your initiative in the future, for the benefit of the recruiting organisation. This is not
limited to skills alone: the recruiter can make judgements about many things: your
personality, interests, sector knowledge, experience and commitment. For instance, if you
have worked in the property sector for a year, it can be assumed that you have some
knowledge of that market. Be alert to the assumptions a recruiter might draw from your CV,
as you may need to address them specifically. For instance, if you have had a number of
roles within the charity sector, the recruiter might see this as being at odds with your desire
to work in the corporate sector. Knowing this, you can highlight aspects of your experience in
the charity sector which are relevant to a corporate organisation and which begin to show
why you might be more interested in moving to the corporate sector.
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Given the limited space in a CV for each entry in the employment section, make sure you
make the most of it. Do not just describe what you did: highlight the most relevant tasks,
achievements and responsibilities to show those skills, qualities and attributes that make you
a suitable candidate for the recruiter. Although your CV should read like prose, using bullet
points to draw the reader’s attention to the different points you are making can be easier to
digest than a block of text.
For example, your experience:
‘While working at Dawson & Creek I undertook a wide range of paralegal work. In
addition to general reception and secretarial responsibilities, I was mainly involved in
civil and criminal litigation including preparation of trial bundles, taking witness
statements, attending conferences with Counsel and sitting behind Counsel in the
Crown Court. On the civil side I represented a local building society on a number of
repossession hearings in chambers before a District Judge. I assisted with the
preparation of all documentation relating to an employment dispute, and attended an
employment tribunal, taking notes on proceedings.’
Could be summarised, and targeted towards a criminal set of chambers
Sept 2007 – August 2008: Dawson & Creek Solicitors, Brighton
Paralegal (civil and criminal litigation) in busy 6 partner general practice firm

Advocated on behalf of a local building society in repossession hearing before a
District Judge in chambers

Prepared trail bundles in criminal and civil cases

Attended conference with counsel on a charge of…

Took witness statements in the matter of…
When providing details of employment and experience on your CV ask yourself the following
questions for each point you make:

What does this say about my ability to do the job for which I am applying? Does it
show that I have the necessary communication skills, advocacy skills, ‘can do’
attitude, goal orientation, analytical abilities, and so on?

Is it the best example of this ability? Is it a fairly recent example?

How good am I? Can I quantify or indicate a level for my achievements or
responsibilities?

Am I using ‘active’ words to tell the reader what I have done: for example,
‘negotiated, ‘organised’, ‘liaised’?

Am I at the centre of the picture? What was my role? (State what you did rather
than emphasise what the team or organisation achieved collectively).

Am I being as succinct as possible?
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Technical expertise or just plain jargon
As a rule, we would advise you to avoid technical terms, jargon or acronyms as the person
reading your CV may have no knowledge of the sector in which you worked, or the
terminology used. Even if you are writing about the legal sector, unless you know exactly
who is going to be reading your CV, be very cautious of ‘legalese’. There is a good chance
your CV will be read in the first instance, by someone who is not a lawyer and in any
event, lawyers themselves are encouraged to use plain English, and need to be able to
explain complicated ideas simply.
However, you need to get the balance right. If you worked in the same sector as the
recruiter operates then using industry standard terminology may be appropriate.
Below is an extract from the website of a leading corporate law firm.
We cover all types of private equity investment and exit: start-up and early-stage
investments, development capital and follow-on fundings, MBOs, MBIs, BIMBOs,
IBOs and LBOs, secondary/re-engineered buy-outs, public-to-privates, exits by
sale to trade/financial buyers, and recapitalisations. We are also highly regarded
for…
To the average reader much of the above is meaningless – but to their clients and to those
at the firm it makes sense and, if you have been working on MBOs (management buyouts) or your abilities are shown through your work on a ‘re-engineered buy-out’, it would
make sense to use the same terminology.
In contrast to the concern above about having to ‘tone down’ the technicalities of your work
experience, you may be more concerned that your experience of shop work or bar work may
not be particularly impressive.
Firstly, do not worry: one person’s shelf stacking is another person’s marketing opportunity. If
you have not done so already, look at Step 2, which covers skills and competencies. Many
jobs do require key skills and competencies: for example, communication skills, customer
service skills, commercial awareness and a ‘can do’ attitude. Once you have considered your
current experience, you may think there is still room for improvement in which case, look at
Step 5.
Even if you have ‘high level’ experience, you may feel it is not particularly relevant to a career
in law. Analyse what you have to offer, think about the skills sought by recruiters and how
you can demonstrate your ‘transferable skills’. For example, if you have experience of
teaching you will have acquired:

Communication skills

Planning and organisational ability
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
Experience of a target focused environment

Performance and credibility in front of large groups
These, and the many more attributes you will have gained, will all be relevant to many
recruiters.
Voluntary work
Voluntary positions can be included in either the ‘work experience’ section or the ‘interests’
section, and where you put it may be depend on a number of factors:

How much time did you spend working as a volunteer? If you were working full
time for a week or more, then it should arguably go in the employment section.

Was it in the workplace? If you undertook voluntary work within an organisation,
particularly a law firm, it fits better within ‘work experience’. If however, you were
volunteering to build a school overseas, then it is probably more suitable for the
‘interests’ section.

Why did you undertake this voluntary work? If it was to gain hands on experience
of the work place, then include it in the employment section. If you did it out of
‘interest’ or for altruistic reasons, then it might sit better in the interests section.

How does the placement of the voluntary work affect the ‘balance’ of your CV? If
you have plenty of ‘employment experience’, but seem a little short on
extracurricular activities, it could be useful to include voluntary work in the
‘interests section’.
No employment experience
It is possible to demonstrate key skills in pretty much everything you do: and if you have no
employment experience, this is what you will have to do until you can get some work
experience (paid or voluntary) under your belt. For example, if you can demonstrate your
teamworking skills through your sporting activities or your communication skills by reference
to your work as a school governor, they are more likely to carry weight than if you have to
use examples from your personal or home life.
Other skills / additional skills
After the section on employment, it is quite common to include a brief section on ‘other skills’.
This acts as an opportunity for you to highlight other abilities that may be of interest to the
recruiter which you have not been able to highlight elsewhere. For example:

Languages: languages are only worth including if beyond GCSE standard.
Indicate the level of competence in speaking and writing.

Driving licence: useful if the work is likely to entail travelling to local courts or
visiting clients in their homes.

IT skills: indicate your level of competence and mention any experience of legal
IT tools, such as legal databases.
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Other skills

IT: Highly competent in the use of Microsoft Word, Excel, Access and
PowerPoint; accurate touch-typing skills

Languages: Fluent in spoken and written French and Russian, intermediate
spoken and written Spanish
The items mentioned above are those most commonly included, but you may have other
things you want to mention, for example, membership of a professional association or
publications in professional journals.
Interests
The penultimate section of your CV is where you account for your time outside of work and
study. Given the range of things you could include here, choose a heading or series of
headings which are suitably descriptive of the contents of this section and which convey the
appropriate image to the recruiter. Probably the most generic term is ‘interests and activities,’
but other headings you might prefer are “extracurricular activities”, “positions of
responsibility”, “achievements” and so on.
If you have a lot of ‘interests’ you may even want to subdivide these according to when or
where they took place (school or university); or group them under certain categories (sports,
student societies, acting, music, etc).
This section is frequently overlooked by those writing CVs, often being considered as an
after-thought. However, from your interests recruiters can get an idea of:

What you are like as a person. What your interests are and what these say about
your personality

Where and how you have applied your skills

How you would ‘fit’ within the organisation

What motivates you.
This section can contain a wide range of activities, from sporting achievements and charity
work, to travel and musical abilities as well as ‘legally related’ interests (voluntary work or
mooting for example). Include your involvement in anything you do and, in particular,
anything you do well.
When you are drafting this section there are a number of factors to consider:

Find a balance between listing everything you have done (which shows a
willingness to get involved) and providing enough detail to allow your
achievements to be recognised.
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
Think about the transferable skills you demonstrated and highlight aspects of
your ‘interests’ which show them to their best advantage: for example, team or
leadership elements, commercial awareness and so on.

If you have space, mention how long you held the position, what you actually did,
and whether you were elected or appointed.
Try to avoid ‘passive’ interests that everyone does (reading, socialising with friends, cooking
and going to the cinema), as they will not add any weight to your application. Take a look at
Step 5 for some suggested activities to help ‘beef up’ this section of your CV.
References
At the end of your CV, you should provide details of two contacts who know you: usually one
academic reference and one from an employer. Choose referees who can comment
positively on your prospects as a lawyer, so if you can secure a reference from a legal
employer so much the better.
You must check your referees are happy to give you a reference before adding them to your
CV, and it may be worth checking that they will be contactable for the foreseeable future (for
example, your tutor is not about to take a 12 month sabbatical). For each reference, give
their name, job title, name of the organisation, address, telephone number and email address
Also include a note of the capacity in which they know you, for example, tutor or employer.
References
Dr Jayne White (Personal tutor)
Oldtown University
Oldtown
OT8 9QU
Tel: 0121 777 7777
Mr Chris Smith (Employer)
Managing Partner
Jones Smith Solicitors
77 High Street
London SE19 7JS
Tel: 020 7777 77777
Targeting your CV
We have now covered the basic CV and, as mentioned, it is always useful to have an up-todate copy to hand. However, wherever possible, you should review and refine your CV
before sending it to a recruiter.
While it is unlikely you would be applying to a legal aid firm and a City firm, you can
appreciate how your CV would have to be altered to appeal to each recipient: the recruiters
would be looking for different qualities from you, so your involvement in a Legal Advice
16
V1.1
Centre might change from emphasising client knowledge and communication skills to
highlighting communication skills and a willingness to make a difference.
Even with a more likely scenario applying to different firms or chambers within the same
sector you need to ensure your CV fits. Among corporate law firms, one may stress the need
for ‘intelligent legal minds’ whereas another would emphasise the need to ‘provide workable
business solutions’. Alternatively, one firm may undertake primarily non-contentious
transactional work but another corporate firm may undertake a lot of litigation. For each
recruiter you may need to have different CVs which emphasise different skills or at least
show the same skills in a different light.
CVs for positions other than training contracts and pupillage
As discussed above, you will need to amend your CV for different recruiters, but you will also
need to review your CV if you are applying for positions other than training contracts or
pupillages.
While there is no fundamental difference between a CV for a training contract and one for a
paralegal position or for work experience, there are alterations you might want to make so
that you highlight what the recipient wants to see for the position you are applying for. For
example, in the case of a paralegal position, you might want to draw more attention to:

Practical legal skills: while the transferable skills are important, the recruiter
wants to see that you can get on and do the job ‘today’ – not train you for two
years.

Skills appropriate for the job: if you are applying for a paralegal role then
leadership potential, the ability to manage other or to ‘win’ clients will be less
important than they are for as a trainee solicitor.

Immediacy: the emphasis needs to shift from what you have to offer long term, to
what you can do for the organisation now – legal drafting, legal research, and so
on are the skills you can bring with you.
These are a few of the changes you might make for a paralegal role, but the same approach
applies for any position: consider what the recruiter wants and needs (which will change
depending on the organisation and the job), and try to show you have the skills, experience
and abilities to meet those needs.
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V1.1
Example CV: Jane Smith
16 Meadow Lane
London
SW29 6AB
Phone: 012 345 6789
Mobile: 07712 345 678
E-mail: [email protected]
Education
2010-11
The College of Law, Bloomsbury, London
Legal Practice Course (Full Time)
Electives in Employment Law, Housing Law and Family Law
2007-10
The University of Nottingham
2.1 (LLB)
1st class marks in 4 subjects, 2.1 in 8 subjects
2000-07
Northward School, Sheffield
A levels: History (A) English Literature (A) and Sociology (B)
GCSEs: 4 A* including Maths and English, 2 As and 4 Bs
Awarded ‘Northward Academic Prize’
Legal Experience
Jul-Aug 2010 Tinderwood & Co, London
Work experience in small City law firm specialising in private client and
corporate immigration work
 Updated internal immigration information files on various countries
including China, Norway and Mexico
 Drafted updates which were published on the firm’s website
 Prepared case bundles and liaised with barristers and chambers
 Assisted in billing clients and gained an insight into the commercial issues
which underpin the legal work of solicitors
Jul 2009
Allen and Clarke Solicitors, Nottingham
Vacation placement in large criminal law firm
 Undertook research in relation to criminal cases
 Attended a number of client meetings: developed client and
communication skills
 Responsible for accurate note-taking in all client meetings attended
Jul 2007
Cartwell Solicitors, Sheffield
Work experience in general practice firm
 Attended court with solicitors and gained a useful insight into court
procedures
 Assisted in compiling briefs for counsel
 Demonstrated a ‘can do’ attitude helping with range of general offices
tasks from filing and dealing with suppliers to helping on the reception
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V1.1
Non-Legal Experience
Dec 2007May 2010
Boots the Chemist – Sales Assistant
Vacation and term time work during degree
 Worked within a large team developing good interpersonal skills
 Took on unofficial training and mentoring role for new members of staff
 Worked under pressure, particularly during peak sales periods
Other Skills
IT: excellent knowledge of Word and Excel. Good knowledge of legal databases
Languages: good conversational German and French
Driving licence: full, clean driving licence and own transport
Responsibilities, interests and achievements
Class Representative for the LPC
 Attended meetings with senior members of staff at the College, ensuring the views of my
fellow students were expressed. Able to communicate these views clearly and effectively:
influential in securing longer library opening hours.
StreetLaw (College of Law Pro Bono)
 Organised, researched and conducted a legal workshop at a London school. The
workshop looked at the impact of Human Rights legislation
 Produced a range of materials, specifically designed for 15-16 year olds, to accompany
the workshop.
Commercial Awareness Forum
 Active member of The College of Law Commercial Awareness Forum.
Mooting
 Finalist in the University of Nottingham mooting competition.
Sport
 Member of the University of Nottingham and The College of Law netball teams. Enjoy a
range of sports including running and skiing. Completed the Great North Run in 2009,
raising £1000 for a local charity.
References
Dr A. Reference
Senior Tutor
The University of Nottingham
1 College Road
Nottingham
NT3 1AB
Tel: 01799 123456
Mr B Reference
Partner
Tinderwood & Co Solicitors
2 Work Place
London
SW3 4AB
Tel: 0207 123 4567
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V1.1
Writing covering letters
Introduction
Once you have your CV in good shape, you can turn your attention to the covering letter. As
mentioned previously, this is not an optional extra with a CV, but an essential part of the
application.
We will look in detail at how to write a covering letter to accompany a CV when applying for a
training contract or for pupillage; but we will also highlight a few important points to consider
if your CV is being used to apply for other legal work, for work experience or if it is being sent
in response to an anonymous advertisement.
No matter what the covering letter’s purpose, you will not be able to write a good one if you
have not research the recruiter, and know what you have got to offer: so you should already
have written your CV and looked at Steps 2 and 4.
Covering letters: general principles and guidelines
As with your CV there are some general guidelines you should follow:

Your letter should be a maximum of one side of A4 typed, printed on the same
colour and same type of paper as your CV.

Your letter should be clearly laid out with enough ‘white space’ so the letter does
not appear ‘off putting’.

Do not be tempted to reduce the margins significantly just to squeeze the text
onto one page, or drop below a size 10 font (size 11 or 12 is better).

Stick to a standard font which is easy to read, such as Times New Roman or
Arial. If you are emailing your CV, ensure it is saved as a Word ‘doc’ file, which
can be opened by virtually all PCs, or convert it to a PDF if you want to be
absolutely sure that it will look the same when it is received as when it was sent.

Find the name of the recipient if at all possible (try telephoning the organisation).
If the addressee is female, check her preferred title (Ms, Miss or Mrs). If you do
not already know, check the recipient’s correct job title.

We mentioned spelling and grammar in relation to the CV but it is even more
important on a covering letter which is your opportunity to demonstrate your
written communication skills and attention to detail.
Writing tone and style
One of the difficulties of writing a good covering letter is getting the correct ‘tone’. You need
to be
20
V1.1

Persuasive, as you want to convince the recruiter to call you for interview

Polite and ‘personable’ as you want to convey something of your personality

Professional and businesslike.
It will probably take a few attempts to get the balance right but one tip is to think of the way
you would speak in a business setting, and then write a little more carefully.
Layout of a covering letter
Your covering letter should be arranged in the style of a formal business letter:

Your address top right

Date

Recipient’s name and address to the left

Use a standard (usually block) style for paragraphs

Leave enough white space to make the letter easy to read.
Sections of a covering letter
Addresses
Avoid letter headed paper just type your address in the top right hand corner of the page.
You do not need to include you name here. Remember to put the address you are likely to
be living at when a recruiter replies.
16 Meadow Lane
London
SW29 6AB
24th May 2011
Mr Anthony Jones
Head of Recruitment
ACE Solicitors
63 Gower Street
London
WC1E 2AB
The recruiter’s address goes below yours, on the left margin. Include the name of the
recipient, usually in the form of “title – forename or initial – surname”, and their job title.
Include the full address of the organisation but check it is the correct office (many law firms
have multiple offices) and double check the correct spelling of the organisation: this will not
be picked up by the spell check software on your computer, but will be spotted by the
recruiter. Do not forget to include the date.
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V1.1
Addressing Chambers
If you are writing to a set of chambers, pay particular attention to the head of chambers.
Firstly, it can be all that distinguishes one set from another if they are in the same
building and secondly, it is part of the address so if there is a head of chambers, use it.
Mr John Smith
Chambers of Anthony Goldberg QC
9 Temple Walk
Temple
London
EC4Y 7DE
Salutation
Dear Mr Smith,
You should address the letter to a named person: title and surname. If you are not sure of
the preferred title of a female addressee, use the neutral ‘Ms’, and if you are not sure of the
gender of the recipient, you can write ’Dear Chris Smith,’ but, if possible, find the answer
before writing. If you do not know the name of the addressee, despite attempts to find out,
you should write to ’Dear Sir or Madam’.
Introductory paragraph
Use this to set the scene. The only thing you have to say here is why you are writing, and
that you are enclosing a CV. This should be the main thrust, but you may also want to
include:

What you are currently doing

A single key reason for your interest in the vacancy such as previous time spent
in a similar firm or relevant options during your degree

Information to grab their attention: it has to be important and interesting.
I am writing in response to your advertisement in the Gazette for a trainee solicitor to
start in September 2012. Having recently graduated from Salford University, where I
obtained a first in my LLB, I am currently studying the LPC at The College of Law.
Key Messages
The main body of your covering letter should address two key issues: why you want to work
for that organisation and why that organisation should recruit you. You can use your covering
22
V1.1
letter as an opportunity to address other things, such as explaining a blip on your CV, but
they should be secondary to the above points.
Why them
You need to explain why you are applying to that particular organisation, which is where your
research comes into play (see Step 4). When deciding what to include:

Mention the things that are important to you, for example if you want to work for
the organisation because of some particular quality they possess, or work they
undertake, explain why it is important to you.

Mention the things that are likely to be important, relevant and recognisable to
them; in other words, highlight the things you believe the recruiter would consider
important about their organisation. Avoid stock phrases and clichés. References
to ‘leaders in their field’, ‘pioneers’ or ‘top flight chambers’ will be spotted a mile
off.

Be specific and provide detail if you can to show that you know about the
organisation and that there is something that distinguishes it from others.
Overall, you need to show that you have researched the organisation and their areas of
work, and that you have a good feel for what they do. In the next section you will be trying to
convince the recruiter that you are the right candidate for their organisation so think about the
links between your experience and skills and what you are highlighting about the
organisation. If you completed the research activity in Step 2, this should provide you with
relevant information to use here.
Why you
This is where you convince the recruiter that you are the right person for their organisation
and the role for which you are applying. The first thing you need to do is marshal all the
information you have about the qualities they are seeking in a candidate. This information will
come from the vacancy, any personal specification tied to the vacancy, your research into
the organisation and your knowledge of the work they do and the clients they have. From this
pool of information, you should be able to work out the most import criteria. Once you have
done this, you can then decide what you are going to highlight about yourself: what you have
got to offer this recruiter.
As a result of the work covered in Step 2, you should have a clear idea about the qualities
you have to offer a potential recruiter. In your covering letter you need to decide which of
these to highlight and what evidence you will put forward to support these claims. Think
about all aspects of your CV as you could draw attention to your academic success, your
employment or your extra curricular activities. However, remember that if you have
something impressive you want to tell them, you need to make it relevant. For example, if
you have just completed a PhD, this may be impressive but does not necessarily make you a
good lawyer: but if your PhD makes you an expert in some aspect of the aviation industry,
and aviation law is a specialism of the recruiting organisation, then it is of immediate
relevance. If the organisation does not undertake work in this field, then stressing the
23
V1.1
intellectual rigour, fact management, attention to detail or other qualities you have exhibited
on your PhD might be more appropriate.
You can refer to points on your CV that you want the reader to note without repeating the
information verbatim. For example, ‘I have five years experience of working in the insurance
industry, where my work ranged from sales to administration and claims handling’ might be
used to summarise three separate job roles.
As well as emphasising your strengths, you can also use your covering letter to mitigate
weaknesses. There may be areas where you think you will be perceived as a weaker
candidate (for example if you have no legal experience): or it may be that you fall short of a
requirement (such as having a 2.2 degree if a 2.1 is required).
Dealing with ‘blips’
If there is a weakness in your application, you have a choice: say nothing and hope no one
notices or address the blip and try to tackle it head on. It is your decision how you handle it,
but in most cases we would suggest trying to address the issue.
Depending on the nature of the issue, you have several options:

You can use the covering letter to draw together other information to offset the
problem. For example, if you have a relatively modest amount of legal work
experience you could say ’I have developed an insight into legal practice, not
only though my work with pro bono where I advised a client over a tenancy
issues, but also through independent voluntary visits to my local court on
numerous occasions to observe and experience legal practice in action’.
You can use your covering letter to put a particular ‘spin’ or ‘perspective’ on the issue. If, for
example you have a 2.2 and you are concerned that a recruiter will make judgements about
your intellectual ability, you need present an alternative, more plausible, reading. For
example, you can acknowledge the 2.2, but draw attention to the other things in which you
were heavily involved, whether this was working or ‘high level’ extra curricular activities, and
make reference to other academic markers that show your real ability. ‘At university I was
elected president of the Student Union, which took a good deal of my time, and resulted in
me achieving a 2:2 in my degree. I believe a truer indication of my academic ability is the
commendation I achieved in the LL.M I gained the following year”.
Organising the key points in your covering letter
There are two ways of organising this key information in the covering letter. The first, and
simplest, is to follow the structure outlined above: devoting the first section to an explanation
of why you are interested in the recruiter and the second to an account of what you have to
offer. See the covering letter example (style 1), below.
The second way to structure a covering letter is to alternate between what interests you
about the recruiter and what you have to offer – and to do this throughout the covering letter.
24
V1.1
This can be an effective way of reinforcing the idea of a ‘match’. See our covering letter
example (style 2), below.
The final paragraph
All you need to do in the last paragraph of your covering letter is thank the recruiter, and say
that you look forward to hearing from them. You can, if necessary, mention when you will be
available (or unavailable) for interviews or any other ‘housekeeping issues’ for instance if you
will be changing address soon.
Use ‘Yours sincerely’ where you have written to a named individual, and ‘Yours faithfully’ if
you have had to use ‘Dear Sir or Madam’.
25
V1.1
Example covering letter (style 1)
16 Meadow Lane
London
SW29 6AB
24th May 2011
Mr Anthony Jones
Head of Recruitment
ACE Solicitors
63 Gower Street
London
WC1E 2AB
Dear Mr Jones,
I am writing to apply for the training contract at ACE Solicitors, to commence in September
2011, as advertised on The College of Law’s JobSearch website. As you will see from the
enclosed CV I graduated from the University of Nottingham with a 2.1, and am currently
studying the LPC which I will complete this summer.
I am interested in ACE Solicitors because of the breadth of work undertaken, from which
trainees can benefit through the distinctive six seat training contract. I am aware of the strong
reputation your firm has, being ranked highly in Chambers UK in the areas of crime and
immigration. Furthermore your recent expansion is particularly impressive given the difficult
climate in which firms, undertaking a significant amount of legal aid work, are operating.
Finally, having spoken to one of your representatives at a recent careers fair, I was very
pleased to hear about the friendly and supportive nature of the firm, which encourages a ‘can
do’ attitude amongst its staff.
My work experience in immigration and crime, as well as my choice of electives on the LPC,
demonstrates my commitment to working in the areas of law practised at ACE Solicitors. In
addition to commitment, I have the academic ability and practical skills necessary to excel.
Being a Class Representative at The College of Law demonstrates my willingness and ability
to take responsibility, as does my work experience. At Tinderwood & Co, I was responsible
for writing case updates to be published on the firm’s website and for maintaining ‘know how’
documents which acted as an invaluable quick reference point for solicitors at the firm. My
CV also shows the pro-active attitude you expect. In my legal work I volunteered for any
tasks required and in my part-time work, I took on the role of unofficial mentor for many new
starters. Through this work I have developed excellent interpersonal and customer service
skills, which have been use to good effect in my legal work, enabling me to build a positive
rapport with a wide range of clients, including those encountered in a criminal law firm.
Thank you for taking the time to read my application and I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
Jane Smith
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V1.1
Example covering letter (style 2)
16 Meadow Lane
London
SW29 6AB
24th May 2011
Mr Anthony Jones
Head of Recruitment
ACE Solicitors
63 Gower Street
London
WC1E 2AB
Dear Mr Jones,
I am writing to apply for the training contract at ACE Solicitors, to commence in September
2011, as advertised on The College of Law’s JobSearch website. As you will see from the
enclosed CV, I graduated from the University of Nottingham with a 2.1, and am currently
studying the LPC, which I will complete this summer.
I am interested in ACE Solicitors because of the breadth of work undertaken, from which
trainees can benefit through the distinctive six seat training contract. In both my studies and
my work I have shown a willingness and ability to take responsibility, for example being a
Class Representative at The College of Law, and in my work experience at Tinderwood &
Co, I was responsible for maintaining ‘know how’ documents on which the solicitors as the
firm relied.
I am aware of the strong reputation your firm has, being ranked highly in Chambers UK in the
areas of crime and immigration; and am impressed by your recent expansion given the
difficult climate for firms undertaking a legal aid work. The areas of crime and immigration are
of particular interest to me; having gained work experience in both areas; and my continued
commitment is demonstrated by my choice of electives on the LPC: advanced criminal law,
welfare and immigration, and family law.
Finally, having spoken to one of your representatives at a recent careers fair, I was
encouraged to hear about the friendly and supportive nature of the firm, which promotes a
‘can do’ attitude amongst its staff. As my CV shows, I have repeatedly demonstrated the proactive attitude you expect. In my legal work I volunteered for any tasks required and in my
part-time work, I took on the role of unofficial mentor for many new starters. Through this
work I have developed excellent interpersonal and customer service skills, which have been
use to good effect in my legal work, enabling me to build a positive rapport with a wide range
of clients.
Thank you for taking the time to read my application and I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
Jane Smith
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V1.1
Covering letters for different applications
In the previous section we looked at typical covering letters for use when applying for a
training contract or pupillage to a specific recruiter. While the structure and principles stay the
same, there are a few alterations you might consider if you are writing a covering letter for
other purposes. For example:

Letters for speculative applications

Letters to anonymous recruiters

Letters for legal experience

Letters for paralegal and legally related employment
Letters for speculative applications
If you are writing, uninvited, to find out whether a firm might have any training contract
vacancies (note you can not do this with pupillage, due to regulations), the structure and
content of the covering letter will be as we have already outlined. However, it is even more
important to keep your letter brief, focused, clear and concise. The reader is not actively
looking for a trainee, so your covering letter needs to get to the point quickly, and
immediately highlight what you have to offer. When deciding what to highlight you will need
to rely on your research into the firm and other similar firms, as there will be no vacancy
stating what the organisation looks for in candidates.
Letters for anonymous vacancies
You will see vacancies where the recruiting organisation is kept anonymous: this is fairly
common with recruitment agencies, and sometimes positions advertised through the
College’s JobSearch site will be advertised anonymously. There are various reasons:

To ensure applications go via the recruitment agency

The recruiter may have ‘last minute’ gaps which it does not want too widely
known

The recruiter simply does not wish to be contacted directly.
Obviously, anonymity raises some problems when it comes to following the standard advice
for covering letters, and the need to research and target the organisation.
When it comes to addressing the covering letter, you may have contact details at the
organisation dealing with the recruitment (ie the recruitment agency), so it is quite reasonable
to address your letter to this contact, for example:
Dear Miss Carter,
I am writing to apply for the position you are advertising on behalf of an anonymous
recruiter, reference number...
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V1.1
When it comes to researching and targeting your application, the advertisement will contain
some information, otherwise no one would know whether they wanted to work for the
organisation. Advertisements will usually say something about the size or prominence of the
organisation (’top 20 law firm’): will usually mention the areas of law in which a recruit would
work (‘specialising in construction and intellectual property law’); and give a location (a
commercial firm, based in Leeds).
There should be enough information in the advertisement, combined with your knowledge of
what is sought by other recruiters of a similar type, to construct a convincing covering letter.
It is worth remembering that the recruiter will not expect your covering letter to be as targeted
as it would otherwise be.
Letters for legal experience
If you are applying to an organisation advertising a position, you need to consider why they
are offering work experience.
If the position is for you to find out about the organisation prior to applying for a training
contract or pupillage, you need to emphasise, in your letter, your potential to becoming a
qualified lawyer at their organisation (in many respects similar to what you would do for a
training contract or pupillage vacancy).
If however, the opportunity is for you to get practical hands-on experience, then you will need
to show that you are ‘almost there’: you have all the skills and abilities, but you are keen to
apply them in a legal environment. You also need to show that you will be ‘useful’ to the
organisation - if they are not looking to recruit a trainee then the benefit for the organisation
is that you will help out in return for practical experience.
If you are applying for a mini-pupillage, or you think the work experience presents similar
opportunities (that is, the experience is specifically organised to give you an insight into the
profession to help with your career choices) then you need to think about the approach that
will work best. For example, stressing in your covering letter your desire to work in similar
organisations or your commitment to the profession may be what they are looking for.
If you are applying speculatively for work experience, you need to convince an organisation
(which is not necessarily looking to offer such experience) to provide you with an opportunity,
so you might want to consider how you can:

Make a connection – a recruiter is more likely to provide an opportunity if they
can see some ‘connection.’ This could mean applying to local organisations,
finding some area of common interest between yourself and the recruiter or,
more directly, approaching someone whom you have previously spoken to (see
the section on ‘making contacts’)
29
V1.1

Appeal to their commercial interest – make it clear in any speculative application
that you will be useful: that you are willing and able to take on any tasks needed
in return for the opportunity to get legal experience

Appeal to their altruism – if the organisation has a strong ethos, perhaps around
issues concerning access to justice – by showing (and providing evidence to
support this) how you share this view, and it is fundamental to your interest in a
career in law.
Letters for paralegal and legally related employment
If you are applying for a paid legal position within an organisation, all that has been said
about CVs and covering letters is still relevant, however you should also bear the following
points in mind:

You need to highlight your immediate relevance and suitability – unlike a training
contract or pupillage, organisations are not looking years into the future, you
need to do the job now.

How long is the position for? Is it only short term? If it is a short term position,
perhaps a six month contract, you need to show your knowledge of the
organisation, but you do not need to commit long term (as you would with a
training position).

If you have done the LPC or BPTC, you will need to think about how you address
the recruiters concern that you will leave as soon as a training contract or
pupillage becomes available. Obviously this is only an issue with longer term
positions.
Again, as with writing CVs for positions other than training contracts or pupillage, there is no
major difference in the style of a covering letter – but the recruiter will have different criteria
and different concerns, and the job of your covering letter is to address these.
Next steps
In this Resource Book, we have gone into some detail about covering letters and CVs as
these remain important tools for you in your legal careers. Even if you never send a CV to a
legal recruiter, they remain valuable ways of organising your thoughts about your own
experience. Therefore, you should certainly have a completed CV and you should also
ensure you keep it up to date. There is more information about CVs and covering letters
online, along with a handy activity.
30
V1.1
Please note: This information is provided to the best of our knowledge and with the best of intentions
but should be treated as general guidance only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of any
information, position or actions discussed. As every person’s situation is unique, you are encouraged
to make your own enquiries and conduct your own independent research.
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Document 6432856

Transcription

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