Application forms and interviews: be savvy and interesting in the way you present your experiences

In the past few weeks I have crossed paths with several lawyers, all from different backgrounds and working in different practice areas, who nonetheless have in common two things: the fact that they had all come to law later than most candidates, and the ability to communicate and draw on their eclectic pre-law experiences in interesting and constructive ways that have proven advantageous for them since entering the profession.

A common theme was that previous experiences and adventures in different fields had provided plenty of material for these lawyers to make interesting conversation in their training contract interviews. One had engagingly talked about his foray into researching for TV documentaries, one about his voyaging around the word in the navy and another had ruefully described his years in a doomed guitar band. All said that they had drawn on their life experiences to demonstrate skills which are transferable to law, as well as their personalities.

The recruitment processes in the solicitors' profession and at the Bar are understandably geared primarily toward the largest pool of applicants - candidates more or less fresh from their undergraduate degrees or postgraduate conversion courses. Clearly then, you need to be able to demonstrate key life skills and have interesting things to say when applying, but you don't necessarily have to spend years in another career to be able to do so.

At a recent careers conference I attended at the Law Society, recruiters from top City firms were unanimous in emphasising that one of the most important aspects of applying is the ability to think about your wider experiences and strengths, and present them effectively to show how they would benefit you in a legal role. Make sure that you do so when applying for work experience, a training contract or pupillage: all your extracurricular activities at school and university, plus any jobs you've had, are relevant. Your experience of having had a job as a cleaner, in a shop, at a restaurant or in a call centre may seem completely irrelevant to law at first, but they all require essential life skills that recruiters know are equally necessary to succeed in law - good communication, teamwork and initiative are just a few examples of skills that a lot of employment experiences demonstrate.

Don't just list your previous work experiences and extracurricular commitments. Explain on your application form what they involved and think about the skills you used - make the most of what you have done!