Break Through The Bar

The application form is your first shot at written advocacy- advocate for yourself well!

If you are applying to an inn with a paper sift- this stage is crucial!

If you are applying to an inn that interviews everyone- don’t get complacent, this forms part of the assessment just as much as the interview.

Your interview often centres around your application- give them something to talk about and be interested in.

THE PLANNING

Before you start, write down the criteria from the inn- you will need to showcase all elements of this throughout your application.

Then, write down all of your key experiences and see which demonstrate that criteria best

Once on the application form go through all of the questions and mindmap your potential answers- put down everything that you can.

There may be some overlap between questions and so you will need to see what fits where best.

THE PLANNING : KEY TIPS

• Share your most persuasive stories and best experiences
• Match criteria to the question to ensure you are ticking their boxes
• Be creative with your examples: they dont have to just be legal experiences. Examples could be from education, volunteering, personal life. Show them who you are- be unique.

GET STARTED

Once you have got a good idea of what you want to include, just start trying to get it written down- the hardest part!

Write freely, don’t try to limit your word count- do this later on.

Get everything you can down and use it as the main draft to work from.

WRITING STYLE

Once you have got a good idea of what you want to include, just start trying to get it written down- the hardest part!

Write freely, don’t try to limit your word count- do this later on.

Get everything you can down and use it as the main draft to work from.

TAILORING IT

Now that you will have an idea of what to include, start tailoring your answer and structure it effectively.

UTILISING STAR:

STAR stands for situation, task, action and result/reflection. It is particularly useful for questions that ask you to give an example focusing on one topic.

The majority of your answer should focus on the actions you took. Make sure you support every single point with evidence.

If you took a specific action, explain why you did it. The analysis is what will make your answer stronger- why did you choose your specific actions?

The result/reflection can also be one sentence. Make sure it’s the logical answer to your situation, task and actions.

Equally, if there was a learning curve and something you would now do differently in hindsight, include that (it shows growth!)

TAILORING-

Once you have written a full application, start being critical of it and get the word count down (the word count is usually lower than you would like for each question!)

Things to consider-

Are you being specific and concise?

Are you being too descriptive?

You want to demonstrate, not describe.

You are too limited in the word count to waste it on description!

Are you giving evidence and examples?

Do they fit to the criteria of both their selection process and for skills and attributes of the bar?

FINALISING

Ask for help!

You will skim over your own mistakes, an extra pair of eyes is always beneficial.

You can:

• someone you can trust, who knows you well to see if its showing your full potential

• ask careers services 
• book an application review with myself 🙂 

SUBMITTING

Leave plenty of time for submitting, it is too important to leave until the last minute!

Fill out your details correctly, be careful inputting your grades and qualifications. Mistakes can be easily made, you want to show you have made the effort across the whole form.

Once it is submitted, make sure you save the final form.

You can use this in your preparation for the interview

Once its gone, breathe a little!!