When pursuing a career in the legal field, aspiring lawyers may be tempted to use the same CV to apply to Training Contracts and Paralegal roles. Crafting a strong legal CV is essential for both roles, but it’s important to understand the differences in what each requires. In this blog post, we will explore some of the contrasting expectations of a paralegal CV versus a training contract CV, and highlight key areas to focus on for each.
Paralegal CV:
Paralegal roles (unless completely entry-level) typically seek individuals with relevant practical legal or transferable skills. It is crucial to draw out these skills from your career history and highlight them prominently. Here are a few key points to consider when crafting a paralegal CV:
1. Emphasise practical experience: Highlight any legal work experience, including internships, placements, or volunteering, to demonstrate your familiarity with legal procedures and terminology.
2. Showcase research and drafting skills: Paralegals often engage in legal research and drafting documents. Detail any instances where you have conducted legal research, prepared case summaries, or assisted in drafting legal documents.
3. Highlight analysis and attention to detail: Mention any experience in reviewing and proofreading documents, or conducting thorough document analysis, as these skills are highly valued in paralegal roles.
4. Showcase office-based experience: A legal job is an office-based job so if you have no experience then look to draw on and highlight transferable skills from administrative or secretarial work, as well as any IT skills, systems or programmes you are confident navigating.
Training Contract CV:
Training contracts are designed to shape individuals into competent lawyers. Unlike paralegal positions, training contracts focus on a candidate’s overall potential rather than expecting them to be the finished product. Here are some key areas to focus on when crafting a training contract CV:
1. Academic achievements: Highlight academic qualifications, including your law degree, relevant modules, and any notable academic achievements such as scholarships or high grades.
2. Extracurricular activities: Demonstrate your involvement in legal societies, mooting competitions, pro bono work, or other law-related extracurricular activities. This showcases your enthusiasm for the law and your commitment to professional development.
3. Positions of responsibility: If you have held leadership positions in university societies, sports teams, or other organisations, include them in your CV. Such roles demonstrate your ability to manage responsibilities and work effectively as part of a team.
4. Work experience: While practical legal experience is valuable, training contracts also value experience in other sectors. Highlight any work experience that demonstrates skills that one would expect in a good lawyer such as excellent communication / customer service, detailed analysis, problem-solving, maintaining attention to detail and or multitasking under pressure, delivering to deadlines and working as part of a team.
Conclusion:
When crafting your legal CV for either a paralegal position or a training contract, it is essential to understand the specific expectations of each role. Paralegal CVs tend to emphasise practical legal skills and experience, while training contract CVs tend to focus on overall potential and well-roundedness. By tailoring your legal CV to align with these expectations, you can increase your chances of securing the role you desire.
If you need help with your a Paralegal or Training Contract Legal CV, please do get in touch with me.