It is about time that I vomited by thoughts onto a page in an attempt to, hopefully, help one or two of you with your pupillage applications this year.
By way of background, I applied for pupillage for the first time, during the bar course and was unsuccessful. I applied again last round and, much to my surprise, obtained pupillage! I am by no means an expert on pupillage applications, but these are a few things I learnt along the way which I hope will help at least one person in this upcoming pupillage round:
Structure – this sounds like a very basic point, but it really isn’t. Structure is super, super important and can make a huge difference to any application. Think about it this way, if your application is well structured and easy to read, then the barrister reading it is more likely to be able to digest it and get to know you. There is nothing worse than a piece of writing that is not structured or easy to read. Make sure that your paragraphs are all indented properly too, that you use consistent headings and subheadings and, my personal preference, is to make one point per paragraph. Break it down so that the reader can easily pick out your relevant skills and experiences, without having to actively seek it out!
Persuasion – This feeds nicely into persuasion. This is, of course, a skill of a barrister and something you need to evidence in your written applications. It is no more complicated than thinking about the skills of a barrister, which of those skills you have, how you have obtained them (i.e., through work experience) and then making sure the reader knows this and is convinced that you have developed that particular skill. How do you convince them you may ask? By showing them, not telling them that you have certain skills. This is done by using examples of work experience, or mooting competitions etc, which you have undertaken and the tasks you undertook that helped to develop a certain skill. Essentially, it is not enough for me just to say I am an organised person (even though I really am pretty organised), I need to show you by referencing my time spent working as a paralegal and what I did within that role to develop my organisational skills. This makes your answers persuasive and impactful.
Evidence – I just put this as a separate point to emphasis it again. Barristers work with evidence every single day. So, please listen to me when I say you need to give them evidence of your skills and experience! It really will transform your application if you can understand and implement this.
Read the question – whilst it is really important that you have undertaken different opportunities and developed lots of great skills, make sure you are not just throwing all of your experiences at the page and hoping something sticks. You still need to be answering the question. The amount of times I have seen someone stray from a question because they are just trying to put down as much as they can about themselves into one question…is often. This really weakens your answers as it makes them hard to follow and it usually means someone is not answering the question properly. I would say, take 2 – 3 points per question and focus on those and make sure they are relevant to the question!
Confidence and self-belief – In my view, being confident and having self-belief is equally y as important as any other part of the application. I say that as confidence really was one of the biggest differences between my first and second time applying for pupillage. It is that very cliché point that, if you do not believe in yourself then who else will? When we are confident, that really does shine through, even on a written application. You do not for a second need to be a fully confident, always self-assured person. I certainly am not but fake it until you make it – that is sure as hell what I am doing! I would advise taking some time before you start drafting your applications to reflect, recognise your strengths and feel confident that you have the relevant skills and attributes that would make you a good barrister. Then you will be in a better position to put that confidently in writing and persuade the reader that you have what it takes to be a pupil barrister (and future tenant) at their Chambers.
Your X-Factor – This is something that people bang on about when advising you as to pupillae applications and, if I am being honest, I never really understood it to begin with. It is, essentially, finding something that makes you stand out, that makes you unique that you can put across on your application. I used to think that only applied to those people who have travelled the world or won amazing competitions. I really struggled with it because I did not have anything that I thought made me stand out. Then, I realised eventually, that my X-Factor didn’t have to be something super impressive and out of the ordinary. I hadn’t climbed Kilimanjaro or contributed to Blackstone, but I came to realise that my X-Factor is my compassion and ability to show professional empathy (which I am pretty sure I achieved through years of working in crappy customer service roles). I know it sounds super unimpressive, but it is what makes me unique to another candidate and so, it is my X Factor. If you can figure out what yours is, it will really help to make your personality come across on your written applications.
This is by no means an extensive list, but these are certainly my biggest tips for pupillage applications. I really recommend having as many people look over your applications as possible. This is important. Also, rewrite them as many times as you need to get it right, whatever you do, do not leave it until the last minute! I have listed below some helpful resources which I used when applying for pupillage – I hope you find them as invaluable as I did. Also, remember that in this day and age there are many people on Linkedin and other social media platforms who would be more than happy to give advice and answer any specific questions you may have about applications.
One last thing – best of luck!!
Helpful resources:
· The Pupillage Bot on Twitter (@PupillageB)
· The Pupillage Podcast on Spotify
· Look up Callum Ross on Linkedin – you will find his pupillage guide. If you read anything – please read this. I owe this guy everything!! An incredibly helpful guide.
Until next time,
The Woman on a Mission
Comments