Whether you want to be a Legal Secretary, a Paralegal or a Lawyer, the law industry can be very competitive. Because of this, it’s crucial that you do everything in your power to boost your CV.
This is particularly important in the legal industry because lots of law graduates and professionals will have similar qualifications. Therefore, you need to work that bit harder to stand out from the crowd.
By demonstrating your passion for the industry, as well as the role you’re applying for, you could give yourself a competitive edge over other candidates. But how do you go about doing this?
Well, our partner Simply Law have put together a few suggestions for ways in which you can show employers how passionate you are about law.
Use action words throughout your CV
A great way to help a recruiter or employer understand your passion and love for the job is to help them visualise you in the act of working. Plus, this can show how you’ve made a valuable contribution to roles in the past – it’s a win-win!
This can be done by using power words throughout your CV and perhaps in your covering letter as well. The more active and colourful the words you choose, the better. Some of the power verbs and action words you could use include motivated, encouraged, supported, advised and oversaw.
These show that not only are you capable of taking on your daily tasks and responsibilities, but you also encourage others and support your team and/or clients – something which you do because you love your job.
Include a covering letter
Your CV acts as your introduction to a recruiter, but your covering letter is your chance to go into more detail about your key skills, experience and qualifications and really show how passionate you are.
Be sure that you do your research before applying to any role so you can tailor your CV and covering letter. This way, you can take it a step further and demonstrate what you know about the company and why this ignites your passion (and was, therefore, the reason you applied).
For example, you could say something like “I was excited to see that your company deals with {particular cases}, which is what initially drew me to the role as I excelled in this area whilst studying my Legal Secretaries Diploma.”
Optimise your social profiles
Did you know that 91% of employers use social media platforms to find staff? And one of the biggest groups to do this is legal professionals. Professional platforms like LinkedIn give you a chance to showcase your passion without overtly saying it.
For example, you can post content, comment on other people’s posts, join relevant groups and just generally make it clear that you love your chosen industry. You can even write your own articles and share them amongst your peers for extra brownie points.
Ask the right questions during the interview
Remember, an interview isn’t just about the employer deciding if you’re right for their business, it’s also your chance to determine whether you want to work for them.
And by asking the right questions, you can prove to the interviewers that you know what you want from your legal career, and that you want to make sure that they can offer you the role, training and development to achieve this. This shows that you are passionate about your future in law and your career progression.
And these are just four ways you can show you’re passionate about law. Before applying to any role, think creatively about how you can demonstrate your passion during your search, on your CV and covering letter and, of course, during the interview. Use our tips above to get you started.
Article contributed by Simply Law
Author Andrew Fennell is the founder and director of CV advice website StandOut CV. He is a former London recruiter and contributes careers advice to leading publications like CV Library, Forbes and Fast Company.
Image source: Photo by Amy Hirschi on Unsplash