The road to training contract or pupillage success is smoother for some than others, but a few nips and tucks to your CV and a healthy dose of self-confidence can improve anyone’s prospects.

How impressive is your degree?

So you’ve not got a law degree. No big. From the top sets at the Bar to the little-known solicitors’ firms on the high street, non-law graduates are just as able to secure training positions as their LLB peers. In the few cases where employers prefer law grads they will specify this, so unless you hear differently conversion route applicants may proceed with confidence. Many recruiters tell us just how highly they regard staff with language skills and scientific or technical degrees, particularly where their clients’ businesses will benefit. Humanities degrees require many of the same research and analytical skills needed by lawyers, and believe it or not, being able to discuss literary criticism with your clients could come in handy, since clients – just like lawyers – are people too.

It’s a fact of life that many solicitors’ firms and barristers’ chambers subscribe to the idea of a pecking order of universities; at some the bias is undeniably evident. If you worry that your university isn’t one of the best regarded then you should make sure you get the best degree result possible and work on enriching your CV in other ways.

Your degree result is going to be one of the most important things on your CV. Get a First and you’ll impress all and sundry (at least on paper); walk away with a 2:1 and your path to employment will be made smoother; end up with a 2:2 and you’re going to have a tough time. In exceptional circumstances the effect of a poor degree result may be softened by a letter from your tutor stipulating the reason why you underachieved, but this is only going to work when the circumstances are actually exceptional. If you were a star student who suffered a serious accident or illness as finals loomed, confirmation of this (perhaps also by way of a doctor’s letter) might assist. Having spoken to a number of trainees and a couple of pupil barristers who left university with a 2:2, we would never presume to discourage anyone from applying for a training position, but these people all had other very impressive qualities and/or CV-enhancing experiences. Some only presented themselves as candidates once they already had other career experience under their belt. If you find yourself at the back of the job queue, think hard about what you can do to overcome that 2:2 – a year or more in a relevant job, a further degree, a commitment to voluntary work perhaps. Of course none of these factors are a guaranteed fix.

Possibly unaware that they could be applying for training contracts and vacation schemes in their second year, many new undergraduates are lulled into a false sense of security concerning their academic performance in the first year. If the only marks you have to show recruiters are thirds or 2:2s, you’ll not get far. As obvious as it may sound, working for good results throughout your degree is crucial.

Get involved

Resist the urge to become an expert on daytime telly. Jeremy Kyle, the Loose Women and – much as it pains us to say it – Dick van Dyke in the role of Dr Mark Sloan have nothing to offer you. Instead, take advantage of your freedom and the practically unlimited opportunities on offer. Almost every university has a wide range of societies, meeting groups and sports clubs. Pursuing your interests will give an extra dimension to both your university experience and, crucially, your CV.

Some kind of legal experience, whether it’s involvement with the student law magazine or shadowing your aunt’s neighbour’s lawyer friend, is pretty crucial since you need to convince prospective employers that you’re serious about the profession. You can acquire experience later on through open days and vacation schemes, but it’s never too early to start, not least because vac schemes and open days are now devilishly hard to get. Non-legal extra-curriculars can be just as useful to show that you play well with others. It also gives you something to write about when an application form asks ‘Discuss a time when you worked with a group to achieve a common goal.’ Relevant work experience is vital to almost every successful job application, so search hard for suitable positions and use them to test your own ideas of what you would like to do. Many universities run law-specific career seminars in association with solicitors’ firms or barristers’ chambers. Be savvy, go along and find out as much as you can by talking to trainee solicitors and recruiters. Networking is a key tactic you should be employing. Go to our website for further advice.

Many graduates adopt a scattergun approach, applying to as many firms as possible and hoping for the best. Simply sending the same covering letter to 50 firms will not make you look good. Recruiters can tell very easily which applicants have a genuine interest in their firm and which have put in minimal effort. It’s all about the three Rs: research, research and research. Demonstrating your understanding of what the firm is about, what the work will entail and being able to explain honestly and realistically why you want to do it will be among the most important things to get across. Advice on how to do this can be found in the section of this guide that deals with making applications and on our website in the How to get into features for every firm, and our feature on How to research firms properly.

Be in the know

If you want to become a commercial lawyer you’ll need this thing they call commercial awareness. Try and gain a sense of what’s going on in the commercial world. You’ll be aware that the recession has pummelled most of the world economies and the UK’s legal sector. Be prepared to talk reasonably knowledgeably about the main themes should you be invited for an interview. But what other topics should you be aware of? How about gaining some understanding of the attraction of the BRIC economies and now Africa; the basic issues involved in UK public spending cuts; the greater emphasis placed on regulation in the financial services sector; and perhaps something from an industry sector to which you are drawn. To give just a few examples, there’s a lot going on in relation to energy and natural resources; technology; aviation and travel; and the media. If you have zero interest in all this stuff, what on earth makes you think commercial law is a suitable career? Why not read the Financial Times or The Economist (it has great podcasts too) now and again, or make friends with the BBC website’s business section? BBC Radio 4’s Today programme also puts out a good daily business podcast. The Student Guide has a Facebook page with links to stories that will broaden your knowledge of the business world and major changes affecting private client law. Whichever method suits you best, keep up to date and make sure you’re not oblivious to the world around you.

It’s also important to understand the role of a lawyer as a service provider. Much like a plumber or an accountant, you will be providing a service to a client and your attitude should reflect this. Lawyers must be able to relate to their clients and know something about their businesses. If the firms you apply to have certain specialisms or target certain industry sectors you’ll do yourself a massive favour by finding out about those sectors.

Students looking to go into criminal law should be aware of recent legislation and current issues. Future family lawyers should be able to discuss the major cases that have hit the headlines. Needless to say, anyone interested in administrative and public law issues will have a full-time job keeping up to date with all the various developments. BBC Radio 4’s Law in Action podcasts are going to be a real help. Hopeful crime, family and human rights lawyers should also be aware of important current issues relating to legal aid. Why not go to our website to get started?

Time out

If you’ve itchy feet then let them wander – the career can wait. As well as giving you more confidence, navigating your way around a foreign country will develop your organisational and problem-solving skills and it will give you fertile ground for conversation. Recruiters do appreciate that not everyone has the desire or, more importantly, the money to swan off on a gap year. If travel is the last thing on your agenda, don’t stress about it or feel you’re going to be marked down for being a stay-at-home. You can stand out in other ways.

Employers being allowed to discriminate against candidates on the grounds of age is officially a thing of the past. Nevertheless, some mature applicants still worry that their years will disadvantage them. Remember (if you still can), with age comes experience and probably an impressive set of transferable skills. You already know how to work, your people/client-handling skills are doubtless better developed, and you may even have relevant industry knowledge. We’ve chatted with successful barristers and solicitors who’ve done everything from secretarial work, professional football, journalism, forensic science, physiotherapy and music production to accountancy, policing and soldiering. But when is old too old? If you’re still in your 20s, don't worry your annoyingly wrinkle-free head – you're still a kid. If you’re in your 30s, ask what it is you can offer a law firm that will make your application stand out. And if you’re older still? Never say never. Over the years we have run into a number of 40-something trainees, all of whom were glad to have made the career change. These much older trainees tended to have one thing in common: they brought advantageous industry experience to their firm. Given that each year after qualification a certain percentage of the UK’s lawyers move firms or even drop out of the profession for good, the argument that employers expect 30 years of service from new recruits simply doesn’t hold water. Of greater relevance is the adage concerning old dogs and new tricks, so if your coat is greying, consider carefully how you’d cope with being asked to revert to puppyhood.

Dealing with disability

Despite the legal profession now being more diverse, for students with mental or physical disabilities things are not straightforward. In the experience of the Group for Solicitors with Disabilities (GSD), many applicants with disabilities have great difficulty in securing work placements and training contracts. There are sources of advice and assistance available, and the GSD has been actively involved in approaching law firms to set up designated work placement schemes for disabled students. The group also provides a forum in which students and practitioners can meet in order to share experiences and provide one another with guidance and support. The GSD’s website is www.lawsociety.org.uk/productsandservices/specialinterest/disabilities.page. Would-be barristers should refer to the Disability Sub-Group of the Bar Council’s Equality and Diversity Committee. You might also be interested in reading this feature, in which we interview a blind trainee at a magic circle firm.

Diversity matters

Long gone are the days of firms and chambers populated exclusively by white men smoking fat cigars. Not only has the smoking ban put paid to the Cubans but women and ethnic minorities are now firmly ensconced in the profession. In the course of our research this year more than 120 firms provided us with lists identifying their trainees. In most, the girls outnumber the boys – something we would expect to see given that more women have gone into the profession than men for well over a decade. The gender balance among new trainees is around 62% female (up from 57% ten years ago). The names on most of these lists also reflect a healthy spread of ethnic backgrounds. It is worth mentioning, however, that female and non-white trainees still have too few senior role models and there are always a small number of legal sector sex or race discrimination claims going through the employment tribunals. On the subject of sexual orientation, we know scores of gay and lesbian lawyers for whom their sexuality is entirely a non-career matter. Some firms are definitely more gay-friendly than others, but happily we do not tend to hear complaints from our sources about how their employers and colleagues view their sexuality. The Lesbian and Gay Lawyers Association (LAGLA) meets monthly and welcomes student members. You can join up for free online at www.lagla.org.uk and read about other affinity groups here.

A number of diversity-related organisations have sprung up and you may see evidence of them at your university. Without doubt anything that encourages genuine diversity in the workplace is to be commended, but before signing on the dotted line with any intermediary – especially if you are asked to hand over any money for their services – make sure you know you are dealing with a respected organisation. Ask if they are affiliated with particular law firms and, if so, how. The topic of diversity covers more than just gender, sexual orientation, religion and ethnicity. If you think your accent or upbringing or a disability could stand in your way then find out if there is anything these organisations can do for you. Addressing the UK’s social mobility issues and the dreaded ‘glass ceiling’ in the legal profession is hot, both in the press and in society generally.

Likewise, if you know your university gets less attention from law firms than, say, Oxford or Durham, then a diversity-related organisation may well be just what you need to get your foot in the door. One reputable organisation is the City Solicitors’ Educational Trust (CSET), which runs summer schools designed to help students not studying at one of the top UK universities, or who might not have excelled in their A levels. More information is available at www.cset.org.uk and we’ve looked at this and some of the other schemes on our website.

Home or away?

London attracts professionals from all over the world, so you can skip this bit if you’re a Brit intending to work in the capital. If you hold an EU passport or have a pre-existing right to live and work in the UK and you are following the appropriate path to qualification, you should also proceed with optimism. Applicants who tick none of these boxes may find doors are easier to push open if they apply to firms with business interests in the country or region from which they come. In all cases, excellent written and spoken English is essential, and you will need a convincing reason why you have chosen to commence your career in the UK. Get up to speed on the latest changes in immigration rules: one of the most recent concerns for firms that recruit non-EU candidates is the UK Border Agency’s more restrictive approach to issuing visas.

Regional firms and sets are sometimes more comfortable recruiting candidates with a local connection, be this through family or education. Quite simply, they want to know that whoever they take on will be committed to a long-term career with them. The picture across the UK is a variable one: some firms clearly state their preferences for local lads and lasses; others tell us that most of their applicants do have links with the region but that they are happy to consider anyone.

Use your time wisely

What with studying hard, keeping up with business and professional news, helping out at the CAB, captaining the university rugby and netball teams, debating, acting as student law society president and attending all the careers events that crop up, you’ll hardly have time for a pint. Ultimately it’s all about finding a good balance. Your years at university are supposed to be fun, but don’t waste valuable time that could be spent CV building.