This chapter highlights employability and career learning. The term ‘employability’ refers to the skills, attributes, and knowledge individuals need for successful careers. Many higher education institutions now include employability as an integral part of undergraduate courses. It may feel a little daunting to focus on employability while grappling with the demands of criminology studies, but both challenges can be tackled simultaneously. Developing an understanding of what employers are looking for will lead to more effective and targeted employability development, and taking the time to explore career options will result in better decision-making. The chapter introduces various tools and techniques to use to support employability development and career planning.
Chapter
Scott Slorach, Judith Embley, Peter Goodchild, and Catherine Shephard
This chapter covers the graduate careers employability process, looking at CVs, application forms, and interviews. Considering law firms and other graduate employers, it suggests ways of ensuring that applications and CVs best show a candidate’s knowledge, skills, and commercial awareness. It also provides guidance on approaching interviews and related selection activities, such as presentations, group work, and psychometric tests.
Chapter
This chapter discusses the meaning and types of employability skills. It explains why these are so important and why these must be developed by students throughout their time at university. The chapter describes the performance of a skills audit, i.e. thinking about the skills that one already has and spotting any gaps which might need to be addressed.
Chapter
This chapter discusses two aspects of employability that can help students stand out from other applicants: commercial awareness and networking. It first explains the meaning of commercial awareness and goes on to provide some practical advice on how to develop it, and then explains why networking is important, giving some pointers on how to start networking and how to make the most of it. The chapter provides a brief introduction to LinkedIn—an online tool for professional networking—and concludes with some practical advice on making the most of law fairs.
Chapter
Scott Slorach, Judith Embley, Peter Goodchild, and Catherine Shephard
Each year, over 18,000 students graduate with law degrees. Over 80 per cent of those will have attained either a First-class degree or a 2:1—and they will all be looking for jobs. The statistics reflect that the majority of those who have embarked on a legal career are able to demonstrate a high level of legal knowledge and academic attainment. To be successful in the job market, however, you need to stand out. This chapter covers the graduate careers employability process, looking at CVs, application forms, and interviews. Considering law firms and other graduate employers, it suggests ways of ensuring that applications and CVs best show a candidate’s knowledge, skills, and commercial awareness. It also provides guidance on approaching interviews, both face-to-face and online, and related selection activities, such as presentations, group work, and psychometric tests.
Chapter
This chapter discusses the various components of the applications process, which include advice on compiling CVs, completing application forms, and writing a good covering letter. The components of each application will vary depending on the particular opportunity being pursued—be it a training contract, pupillage, or a job—but each component has something in common; that is, that they communicate the employability skills developed throughout one's studies.
Chapter
This chapter discusses the three main practical legal activities often encountered by law students during their time at university—mooting, negotiation, and client interviewing—;describing what each activity is, what it involves, and how to take part successfully. This is followed by an outline of the employability skills developed by each activity. Each section concludes with guidance on finding opportunities to take part in the activities, both within one's university and by taking part in national and international competitions.
Chapter
This chapter focuses on the contribution of spare-time activities to one's skills portfolio. It encourages students to dissect everything that they do outside of their study time to determine how skills-rich their hobbies, interests, and leisure pursuits are and to explain how these activities can be used to demonstrate the skills valued by prospective employers. The first part of the chapter is structured around the employability skills identified in Chapter 1; the second part goes into more detail of popular skills-rich activities.
Chapter
Scott Slorach, Judith Embley, Peter Goodchild, and Catherine Shephard
This chapter focuses on the additional skills needed to embark on a career in practising law. It discusses personal characteristics; team-working; delegation; meetings; client care; networking; marketing; IT skills; and the use of social media. It also considers the meaning of commercial awareness and how this might be explored at interviews.
Book
Emily Finch and Stefan Fafinski
Employability Skills for Law Students is designed to help you: identify the academic, practical and transferable skills that can be developed whilst studying for a law degree; recognise the value of those skills to employers (within both law and non-law professions); identify any gaps in your skills portfolio; maximise opportunities to develop new skills through participation in a range of activities; effectively demonstrate your skills to potential employers; and improve your employability prospects on graduation from university. It is the only book specifically designed to support law students in developing the employability skills required to pursue their chosen career on graduation. A strong emphasis is placed upon ‘learning by doing’, with each chapter including practical activities designed to give students the opportunity to practise skills and encourage thought and reflection on personal development. Whether you are in your first year or your last, this book will ensure you make the most of your time at university, developing skills inside and outside the lecture theatre so that you are in the best possible position to pursue your chosen career on graduation—as a solicitor, barrister, or a completely different profession. An interactive Online Resource Centre provides a range of practical activities designed to give you opportunities to practise and receive feedback upon the skills you are developing.
Chapter
This chapter first considers one of the key questions that all law students must answer: to practise or not to practise? It then gives an overview of the two traditional branches of the legal profession—solicitors and barristers—before explaining the stages in qualification, the employability skills that are essential in each, and some insight into the likely competition and costs involved. The chapter introduces some of the alternative possible career pathways that can be pursued with a law degree on the strength of transferable employability skills; explains the idea of personal development planning, which gives students a framework within which to build an action plan of activities to enhance their employability skills portfolio; and provides an initial timetable of actions that will support students in achieving each step in the journey towards employment.
Chapter
This chapter considers the contributions of academic activities to the acquisition of key employability skills. Specifically, it discusses each of the academic activities undertaken by law students and explains how these develop key employability skills. These activities include essay writing; answering problem questions; dissertation; other forms of assessment; revision and examinations; and lectures and tutorials.
Chapter
Scott Slorach, Judith Embley, Peter Goodchild, and Catherine Shephard
This chapter focuses on the many additional skills needed to embark on a successful career in practising law, skills over and above the skills that you will have acquired during your time at University. It discusses personal characteristics, including your attitude and approach to your work, professionalism and empathy; team-working and leadership skills; the importance of delegation; how to plan and conduct effective meetings; client care; networking; marketing; IT and technology skills; and the use of social media. Using topical case studies, it considers the meaning of commercial awareness: what it is, how to develop this and how this might be explored at interviews.
Book
Scott Slorach, Judith Embley, Catherine Shephard, and Peter Goodchild
Legal Systems & Skills provides essential knowledge and skills for underpinning legal studies, providing a foundation for graduate employability both within and outside the legal service profession. It develops students’ understanding in three core areas: legal systems, legal skills, and professional development and commercial awareness. The first part of the book looks at legal systems, sources of law, legislation, case law, and legal services and ethics. The next part considers, in the context of academia and practice, how to read and understand law, legal research, problem solving, oral communication and presentations, client interviews and meetings, negotiation and mediation, mooting, advocacy and criminal advocacy competitions, writing and drafting, and revision and assessment. The final part examines employability skills, commercial awareness, business, economics and finance, law firms, and clients.
Book
Judith Embley, Peter Goodchild, and Catherine Shephard
Edited by Scott Slorach
Legal Systems & Skills provides essential knowledge and skills for underpinning legal studies, providing a foundation for graduate employability both within and outside the legal service profession. It develops students’' understanding in three core areas: legal systems, legal skills, and professional development and commercial awareness. The first part of the book looks at legal systems, sources of law, legislation, case law, and legal services and ethics. The next part considers, in the context of academia and practice, how to read and understand law, legal research, problem solving, oral communication and presentations, client interviews and meetings, negotiation and mediation, mooting, advocacy and criminal advocacy competitions, and writing and drafting. The final part examines employability skills, commercial awareness, business, economics and finance, law firms, and clients.
