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Training Contract Applications: 3 Mistakes to Avoid &hellip
Spelling
or Grammar Errors
This is the number one
training contract application mistake to avoid on every
recruiter's list. There are good reasons for this.
It is something that can be easily avoided. Quickly pasting your work into a
word processor for a grammar and spelling check should get most of the job
done. Printing a hard copy and proof reading it, with a pen in hand, will do
the rest. Do this when you are completely cold to what you have written, the
next morning for example.
Making
these types of mistakes shows a lack of attention to detail, which is not taken
lightly by prospective
employers. Given the type of service that Law firms
provide to their clients, attention to detail is especially important. Errors
in drafted legal documents expose cracks in a firm's amour of professionalism.
You can imagine that a client will then start to question the firm's competence
in other less visible but more important areas.
Drafting
errors also provide ammunition for the opposite side and their lawyers. In the
manoeuvreing that happen during negotiations it is much harder to hold your
ground and assert your side of the argument if your work is being questioned
for lack of quality.
In
a profession where a firm's reputation and the perceived quality of its work
are the cornerstones of its business success, unpolished work is a big no-no.
Enough said.
Cutting
and Pasting
There are no shortcuts to a well-written and constructed application. Next to
spelling and grammar errors, cutting and pasting from other sources is not only
a waste of time with applications, but also easy enough to detect.
Copying
and pasting is often betrayed by inappropriate or incorrect information.
Addressing the application to the wrong person or company happens all too
often.
Plagiarism
is also something that is not tolerated by the reviewers. If the work has been
taken from an internet source, a quick Google check will expose the work as
copied in a matter of seconds.
Much
more common is a subtle mismatch between the question and answer - indicating
that you have used a template paragraph for more than one application. A
candidate who does this on something as important as their
law training
contract application may take similar short cuts with the firm's clients. Amen
Inappropriate
Language
Keep in mind that the tone and style of writing should match the purpose. Prose
drafted by you during a
solicitor training contract will be for legal
documents, not articles for tabloid newspapers. Therefore, you should avoid
colloquial language, and stick to a clear and concise manner that is both easy
to read and understand.
While
it is important to have your own opinions, avoid a bias for one side of the
argument that reveals more about your own preconceptions than it displays about
your intellect.
Inappropriate language includes repeating the firm's own marketing literature
back to them. The recruiters will be only too familiar with what is in their
brochures. They will find it somewhat disingenuous if they discover that you
have the exact, word-for-word, qualities that they seek for their candidates.
Comments
Hi, is it okay to apply for a training contract with city firms in your third year of a Law degree instead of your second year?
Thanks
Simmy |
|
Hi Nudz, no - don't worry about that since it shouldn't really be an issue. It is a matter of style rather than technically incorrect. |
|
Hi, I read this and just wanted to ask something. One my applications, I put '2nd' and '3rd' instead of 'second' and 'third'. I realised after I had sent them. Do you think that this is a big mistake?
thanks |
|
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