Rabiya Khawaja, LLB2 student at City, talks us through opportunities worth grabbing….

In today’s competitive era, students must find ways to stand out from their fellow students. As the level of competition increases year by year, many recruiters look for students that have a vast array of experiences alongside their academic success. Here are some of the things you could get involved in:

Writing Blogs:  this is a great way to enhance writing skills, you learn to adapt your writing for specific audiences. This is a fantastic opportunity to research specific subjects or reflect on your own experiences. Writing blogs help enhance your communication skills and helps your ability to form arguments and conclusions, such skills are highly sought after by law firms (maybe you fancy writing for Lawbore too?).

Attending Law Fairs: it is never too early to start networking. Attending law fairs allows you to understand what law firms offer, it is also good to mention when applying to the law firms in the future. This is also a chance for you to ask any questions regarding requirements or advice. The university offers a wide array of networking events with many law firms taking part.

Open Days: many firms offer a few days of insight into their firm for students to grasp their values as well as the overall environment. It gives students the chance to see whether the firm appeals to them, but also it allows the firm to see if you are what they are looking for. Open days can be extremely useful when applying for vacation schemes or training contracts as it shows you have already made the effort to learn about their firm alongside having some experience in their work environment.

Free Advice Law Centre: volunteering at law centres is a great way of developing new skills. You are face to face with the practical implications of the law and how it affects people. You will learn to interview clients, how to extract the relevant information and how to help them. As well as helping you gain experience and skills, there is a deep level of satisfaction that arises from being able to help people. Most of these law centres depend on the help of volunteers and there is a great sense of unity among the volunteers.

Local Law Firms: although many local firms are far from the glamour of the city firms, they are a great way of starting your way up. Local law firms are small and often focus on areas of law such as personal injury and housing. The lawyers at these firms will provide a lot of information and may spend a lot of time guiding you. These firms allow you to experience a niche area of law with lawyers that have years of expertise in their field.

Mooting: advocacy skills are essential and mooting is the best way to demonstrate this skill. Mooting is a bit like a mock trial, you will be expected to address the participants as you would in court. Your university will offer a range of mooting events for students to partake in. Take a look at what you can get involved in at City.  Additionally, it enhances your problem-solving abilities as well as your ability to take what you have learned from your lectures and apply them to facts.

Gateway Advisor: at Citizen Advice, you can apply to become a gateway advisor. The role entails registering new clients and being able to refer them to the correct departments based on their queries. You are the face of the bureau and learn many skills such as being able to extract the relevant information for you to make your decision. Interested? Dip into the Citizens Advice Volunteering page.