Need help building up my resume

What extracurricular activities could I do during the lead up to University (I will start late sep/early oct) that would make my CV stand out.

These can be law specific, for instance where is the best place to look for legal work experience.

Or non-law specific, such as extracurriculars.

No problem about niche work experience, I already have a lot of that.

Literally ANYTHING or ANY suggestion will be highly appeciated.

Reply 1

Albert_burdett

NOTE (Correction):
Not just in the lead up to University but also during my time spent at Uni.

Reply 2

McGinger

You dont submit a CV when applying to University.
You dont need specific work experience to apply for Law.

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Reply 3

Albert_burdett

Original post by RevisionisKey1

Do you have any work experience at all?

As in a normal job? Yes, and lots of it. Have about 3 big well known companies on my CV that I’ve worked for + more.

Reply 4

Albert_burdett

I do not have any legal work experience, but I haven’t even started university yet. I start in September, and what happens a lot of the time is Universities help get you that work experience.

Reply 5

Albert_burdett

That’s what I’m saying, that I can do it at University definitely, I’ve also done 2 pieces of online work experience if that helps too lol. Just to show I’ve went out of my way, also been contacting local solicitor firms, but been getting the same responses

Reply 6

CatusStarbright

Volunteer Section Leader, Clearing and Applications Advisor

Original post by Albert_burdett

I do not have any legal work experience, but I haven’t even started university yet. I start in September, and what happens a lot of the time is Universities help get you that work experience.

I second what McGinger has said; you don't need any legal work experience to study a law degree. What you do need to do is bear in mind that you are going to be studying an academic degree, so I would strongly recommend reading some introductory texts before you go.

Here's a small list of five recommended books for future law students, and I'd add to that the Very Short Introduction books on Law and The British Constitution: https://www.law.ac.uk/resources/blog/5-must-reads-for-future-law-students/. These seven are/were recommended pre-reading by the university I went to. You can get them cheaply on eBay, but don't feel like you need to go out and buy them all - choose the ones that seem interesting and which you haven't already read to include in your personal statement when you applied! Professor Mark Elliott (a leading authority on constitutional law) also has some resources for prospective law students to explore: https://publiclawforeveryone.com/for-aspiring-law-students/

Do note that whilst you will have access to work experience opportunities during your degree, it will be up to you to seek them out and apply for them. Whilst the university may advertise some opportunities and offer application advice, you will need to do the research and applications yourself and pro-actively request the advice/help if you need it.

Reply 7

Albert_burdett

What’s the best method of obtaining work experience for law, without the university helping? Where is the best place to look/ contacting firms for work experience?

Reply 8

Albert_burdett

Original post by Albert_burdett

What’s the best method of obtaining work experience for law, without the university helping? Where is the best place to look/ contacting firms for work experience?

@catusstarbright

Reply 9

CatusStarbright

Volunteer Section Leader, Clearing and Applications Advisor

Original post by Albert_burdett

What’s the best method of obtaining work experience for law, without the university helping? Where is the best place to look/ contacting firms for work experience?

Research firms and work out which ones you want to apply to. Quite a few firms do open days/evenings or first-year schemes that you can apply to when you're in your first year, and then from second year onwards you will be able to apply for vacation schemes (and training contracts/graduate apprenticeships if that's what you decide you want to do). Legal Cheek is a good place to start, but always check firms' own websites for the most accurate information.

Reply 10

CatusStarbright

Volunteer Section Leader, Clearing and Applications Advisor

I should add that you could also reach out to local high street firms to see if they would offer you work experience, but my attempts to do so at the end of my first year were not at all successful.