Withers Graduate Careers

Jaya joined the HR team in London in November 2007 and is currently responsible for managing the recruitment of trainees and qualified lawyers in the London, Milan and Geneva offices. Here Jaya gives advice on making a good application

My advice on what makes a good application

Attention to detail

Firstly, there is no excuse for poor spelling or grammar. Attention to detail is such a key skill for a lawyer, so checking your application before submitting it is more than just a good idea.

Answer the question

Whilst this seems an obvious point, reading the question is also key. We have recently introduced some questions to find out more about candidates’ skill levels, but it’s surprising how many people do not read the question, and therefore I don't get the information I need to assess the candidates' skill levels.

Use simple language

We are looking for prospective lawyers who can communicate complex ideas simply and easily. We are real advocates of plain English. Therefore overly complicated legal jargon on your application form will not impress us - in the same way that it doesn't impress our clients!

Be yourself

I’m often asked what candidates should write to make their application form stand out. My response is never to write what you think we want to hear; simply be yourself.

Don’t copy from our website!

You’d be surprised at the number of people who copy lines from our brochure to include in the ‘Why Withers?’ section. Why tell me what I already know about the firm I work for, when I’m much more interested to learn something I don’t already know about you? Don’t get me wrong, it’s key to know that candidates have done their research on the Firm, but the trick is to make sure that you are aligning your career aspirations and way of working with the opportunities available and the culture of the firm. I want to be thinking that this candidate sounds like they could do well and fit in here as I read the form.

Be specific

Finally, try to be specific rather than general about yourself. For example, if reading really is an interest, be specific about what you enjoy reading. This gives us a fuller picture of you and shows us that it’s a genuine and real interest, rather than just a line to fill some space on your form.

Be passionate about what you do

Candidates sometimes think that being the captain of the rugby or netball team is the only interest that recruiters like. I want to put you straight on this point; the actual interest is not particularly important. What I am looking for in this section is that you are interesting, have had exposure to a team and have also had sustained interests over a period of time. These skills can be as wide ranging as collecting stamps or being involved in a community group or playing rugby.

Think about what you write

Many times have I seen candidates state that they want to be lawyers because they want to help people. Without further explanation, this does not differentiate your career choice between that of a lawyer and a nurse for example. So, think about the clarity of what you are saying.

Good luck with your application!

Daniel heads up the panel of interviewers and is also the Training Partner taking responsibility for our trainees’ welfare and training once they join.

What I look for in a prospective interview..

I am often asked what I look for when interviewing. It's a difficult question particularly as we don’t recruit a particular type of person. However there is a certain buzz when towards the end of an interview you realise the candidate sitting in front of you could be good for the Firm.

Our interviews are skill based so obviously we are looking to see if the candidate has the right level of skill needed to be a good trainee and whether they have the potential to develop skills which will in turn ensure that they become great lawyers and partners.

The key skills that we are looking for at interview include:

Good communication – demonstrable through what someone says and how they say it. We also test written communication as part of the interview process.

Cleverness – this can be determined by an individual’s use of language, but more often is tested via a business related question or a debate at second interview which tests whether the candidate can think on their feet. We feel that being clever is more than just being academic – it’s also about having social and commercial nous. We particularly look for people who can think on their feet and learn quickly.

Organisation and team working – we need to be sure that as a lawyer candidates will be able to juggle activities successfully, this is often tested by analysing a candidates past activities - how they have organised themselves or worked in a team.

A good candidate at interview is usually one who thinks about their answers, is happy to say they have made a mistake and correct themselves, has confidence in themselves but can show that they are open to learning.