Reading time: three minutes

After working hard on your exams, you deserve a break. While it’s important to rest, you can also use this time to get ahead in your legal career. So, here are a few suggestions on how to make the most of the time during your holidays to not only boost your CV, but also give you some direction for the next few months.

1. Get a part-time job

Working a part-time job is beneficial for various reasons. Firstly, if you find that you’re struggling with your finances, summer savings can really help in your second year (like when you’ve almost used up your maintenance loan). However, employers also look favourably upon part-time jobs as they exemplify productivity, time management and strong interpersonal skills, all transferable for a legal career. Further, part-time jobs have varying hours and contract types, for example casual work if you need more flexibility. There’s something for everyone. I’d recommend retail for first-time workers but you could also get involved in tutoring, administrative work and more; Indeed.com is a great website to find local opportunities. 

2. Apply for mini-pupillages and insight schemes

Whether you’ve decided to become a barrister, solicitor or neither, these schemes are hugely insightful for different legal areas. The schemes will help you to make a more informed decision about the career path you’d like to take – it pays off to take the time to consider every option and identify whether you find them enjoyable. This’ll help you start your second year and later applications more confidently.

3. Find a legal internship

If you already know which area of law you’d like to specialise in, seeking an internship in that sector can be very helpful for training contract or pupillage applications. However, these are very competitive so you should make sure your CV is up to date and the relevant information is presented in a clear way – take your time putting your CV together. A cover letter may also help you stand out, even if it’s not required. You should aim to give a personalised and well-crafted application to whatever you’re applying to.

4. Read more

While students may be sick of reading after their first year, it’s important to remember that reading in itself is a highly rewarding task. Scientific studies show that reading frequently stimulates the brain, reduces tension and the list of benefits goes on. Therefore, summer is the perfect time to improve your relationship with reading as it’s no longer an obligation. I recommend choosing texts that relate to your possible modules next year, especially the optional ones. This can help with any decisions you have to make but it should also be enjoyable as you only need to read what interests you. 

5. Relax!

Be kind to yourself. You should spend most of the holiday by actually having a break from your studies, whether that’s practising self-care, meeting up with friends and family or just going for a walk in the sunny weather. You want to feel refreshed and rejuvenated when you come back to university, so make time to do the things that make you happy.

It should be noted that no employer would expect you to do all of the above nor spend your whole summer working. Make sure you’ve taken on a manageable load and remember that this is relative to each person. It’s easy to feel guilty about not working and also push away any thought of doing just that. Perhaps write a list of what you want to get done in the holiday as this will help you hold yourself accountable. I hope these suggestions have been helpful and that you all have a great summer!