Aus Legal Careers Advance

If you have an upcoming interview at a law firm, here is a list of Don'ts as told by someone who went through the clerkship and graduate application process.   Photo by Issy Bailey on Unsplash So, don't : Come not having done your research about the firm and/or interviewers (if known). Come not having practised your interview skills and your answers to common interview questions. Come not having remembered the content of your resume. Be late to your interview. Come not dressed the part. Come not having your phone on silent or turned off. Not show enthusiasm.  Not smile or not be friendly. Not make eye contact with your interviewers. Not closely listen to your interviewer and not answer the question asked of you. Not be concise and not be "to the point" in your answers. Not slow down when answering and not be clear in your speech. Launch your answer immediately if you are still thinking and not ready to answer. Waffle or come off as nervous. Fidget in your chair. Not ...

Dear [your name] Thank you for your application for the 2023/24 Seasonal Clerkship Program at [firm name].  Congratulations, we are delighted to invite you to a first round interview.  Photo by Sebastian Herrmann on Unsplash If you are one of the very few law students who have received or will receive an email to this effect, congratulations!  Given how competitive it is for clerkship applications (think 1000+ applications for perhaps 100-150 first round interviews and ultimately 30-50 clerkship positions at the larger firms in Sydney), you should be proud of getting at least a first round interview.  The firm has actually been "impressed" by your application (unlike those who were unfortunately rejected).     However, the clerkship process is not over yet and you may or may not end up with clerkship offer(s) at the end of the process.   Didn't receive any clerkship interviews (despite firms politely saying that they were "impressed" with yo...

As seasonal clerkship applications start to close in NSW, many students are frantically proofreading and checking their cover letters before submission. The cover letter is the first thing that the law firm recruitment representative reads before they turn to your resume.  Accordingly, it is perhaps the most important document in your application and is what gets you or costs you an interview at that firm.  For example, addressing the wrong law firm in your cover letter will certainly cost you an interview because it suggests a lack of attention to detail and care (as well as a lack of interest in that particular firm). Photo by Unseen Studio on Unsplash As someone who was able to score a few clerkship and graduate interviews back in the day, here is my checklist of the things that you could consider before submitting your cover letter for clerkship and graduate applications. ALCA Seasonal Clerkship Cover Letter Checklist Checklist item ✓ ...

As seasonal clerkship applications start to close in NSW, many students are frantically proofreading and checking their resumes before submission. A resume enables the recruiter to form their first impression of you.  An error or mistake on your resume (which could be replicated across multiple firms if you use the same resume across the board) can suggest to law firms that you lack attention to detail.  Therefore, your resume can either get you or cost you an interview.  Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash As someone who was able to score a few clerkship and graduate interviews back in the day, here is my checklist of the things that you could consider before submitting your resume for clerkship and graduate applications. ALCA Seasonal Clerkship Resume Checklist Checklist item ✓     Structure of your resume – the key sections: Personal details – your name as the heading and provided contact details (suc...

“First impressions last. You start behind the eight ball, you'll never get in front.” - Harvey Specter from Suits Acing the "Tell me/us about yourself" question As the opening question to most, if not all, interviews, this is arguably the most important question in any interview.   Why?  Well, according to HireVue, it is estimated that 30% of interviewers make their decision about an interviewee within the first five minutes of the interview .  Within the first 7 seconds of meeting you, people will form an impression of who you are . Your answer to this question will provide an interviewer (whether it is an HR representative or a law firm partner) with their first impression of you (and consequently, will set the tone for the rest of the interview).    For that reason, it is important that you can rattle off your answer with confidence (and, to do so, generally requires most people to know exactly what they will say and to practise their answer).  ...

Whether you are an Australian university student in your: first-year thinking about how to secure future internship/clerkship or graduate roles; penultimate year applying for summer clerkship, vacationer or internship programs; or  final year applying for graduate programs or entry-level roles, it is important to understand how you can stand out amongst other university students when there is stiff competition for these roles. There is, of course, no magic formula for the "perfect" candidate.  However, from what I have observed as a law student and as a lawyer (who has seen seasonal clerks and graduates come through), strong candidates tend to have at least some of the following: Strong academic results :  Technical excellence is valued by many, if not all, top-tier and mid-tier law firms.  Unfortunately, the reality is that an obvious marker of "technical excellence" is the average result (e.g. WAM/GPA) achieved by a student in their law degree.  Whilst many f...

As summer clerkship applications loom in New South Wales, thousands of penultimate year and final year law students across the state are in the process of updating their resumes, preparing their cover letters and attending informative student law society and law firm events. Given the limited amount of law firms and seasonal clerkship positions at each firm, the reality is that (for many of you) you will, unfortunately, receive no clerkship offers or miss out on offers from your preferred firm(s). Every year, the competition for summer clerkship positions becomes increasingly fierce. For those who do end up getting an offer or even multiple offers, many congratulations. The rest of this written piece will be irrelevant to you. For those who end up with no offers, it will probably suck (especially if you are genuinely interested in a career in commercial law). As someone who ended up with no clerkship offers back then, I have first-hand experience with that feeling of rejection.  I ...