Top Tips for Pupillage Applications (at 25 Canada Square Chambers and elsewhere)
By Joshua Cullen, First Six Pupil
- Do Polish Your Prose:
Trip up at the first hurdle and you might not be able to finish the race.
There is a cognitive bias known as the Horn Effect whereby a person who seems particularly lacking in one trait, will often be assumed to be deficient in many others. If an application form is poorly presented, it will not succeed. If your spellin and grama are poor – the reader will notice (as I hope you have) – it will force your application to be relegated.
Before submitting your application, read it back to yourself. Wait an hour, read it over again. Wait two hours, re-read it. Print it out, cross through each word and punctuation mark as you read it through. Email it to yourself and read it once more. You're now ready to proof-read.
- Don’t Copy and Paste:
The covering letter and CV (or Pupillage Gateway application form) is an opportunity for you to tell us about yourself, tell us what you learned and to demonstrate why we should interview you. It is important to be strategic about how many applications you send off – too many applications and your cover letter is at risk of sounding generic and templated. Tailor each application, but do not simply repeat the pupillage section of Chambers’ website with a few synonyms.
The covering letter and CV (or Pupillage Gateway application form) is an opportunity for you to tell us about yourself, tell us what you learned and to demonstrate why we should interview you. It is important to be strategic about how many applications you send off – too many applications and your cover letter is at risk of sounding generic and templated. Tailor each application, but do not simply repeat the pupillage section of Chambers’ website with a few synonyms.
- Do Make Use of Resources Available to You:
If you're at University (or have access to postgraduate involvement) join in with mooting, pro bono clinics, journals and debate clubs. Mini pupillages and legal work experience is almost mandatory, but getting stuck in and learning at every angle and opportunity is what will allow you to develop as an advocate, as a professional and as an individual. Engage meaningfully with the Inns of Court and BPTC providers where they offer assistance; be it pupillage advice sessions, mentorship programs or recordings of last year's Pupillage Fair. Read a broadsheet, Google, watch the Supreme Court Live hearings, follow Legal Twitter, listen to podcasts, be commercially aware without sitting down and reading the Economist. Don’t rest on your academic laurels – keep going.
- Don’t Try to Sound Like a Barrister:
Tell your story in your own words - don’t try to ‘sound like a barrister’. We do not have a standard for what a barrister should look like and we don’t believe that there is one for what a barrister should sound like either. When writing your application, be yourself and use your own voice. We are a diverse and flexible set. We value individuality. Do not try to mimic the language or style of a traditional barrister. Do not write your application in Latin. Instead, focus on highlighting what makes you unique and stand out from other candidates.
The most effective court advocates use simple language and structure in their submissions. Using complex language or terminology serves no purpose and is unnecessary. Your cover letter or application form is best viewed in that same way, as a short written submission, and should be both measured and thoughtful. It should communicate clearly how you fit into Chambers, what you bring to the table, and why you should be selected over any other candidate. Write why you want to be a barrister – not why anyone else would. Bonam fortunam.
- Do Use the Lemons Life Gives You:
It is typical for individuals to receive rejections during the process of securing pupillage. It is considered normal for individuals to be unsuccessful on their first attempt. While there may be various reasons for this, it could be that your potential was not fully recognised. This should not discourage you. This does not mean that you will not be brilliant the next time around or in another application. Failure is an inevitable aspect of the professional world and can be difficult to accept, but it is important to remember that you only need one good application.
The application process itself provides helpful experience of life at the Bar (though not necessarily one I would advise including on your CV). You will have bad days. Not every submission you make will be successful. Some of your interviews will go badly. You might be asked a question that you were wholly unprepared for. It is your ability to reflect on these points and learn from them – to be tenacious – that will set you apart. Make lemonade.