Many would-be lawyers fall at the first hurdle and don't even land an interview. Freshfields' Simon Johnson reveals how to ensure that your application form gets noticed

If you apply to a law firm for a vacation placement or a training contract, you won't always get asked for interview. In fact, the odds are against you, since most firms will not interview anything like half of the number of those who apply to them. How do you get the person reading your form to put it on the pile marked 'for interview' rather than the (larger) pile marked 'reject'?

The most important piece of advice is this: don't forget about the person reading your form. It could be a partner, or it could be someone who works full-time in recruitment. Think of him or her as a real person (as indeed he or she is). I'm going to call her Jessica. She recruits for Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

All that Jessica knows about you is contained in your application form. So you have to make every word count.

Have I read the instructions?

Application forms aren't uniform. Some firms want information that others don't. Some want it presented in a particular way. Humour them. If Jessica wants your school exam results, dig them out. If she's asked only for university results, don't tell her how you did in your A-levels. She isn't interested.

For the Freshfields application, Jessica asks you to write about yourself. She gives you 850 words to do so and tells you broadly what she's interested in. So she is a bit surprised when candidates simply cut and paste a staccato CV, not written in sentences, into the form, or can say everything they want to about themselves in 300 words.

Some other firms ask specific questions. They are usually after evidence of some particular quality the firm is interested in. You need to read the questions carefully and answer them as precisely as you can. Jessica will be impressed if you do. And if what you write is woolly, or answers a different question from the one you were asked, she will also notice, and your chances will fade.

Have I repeated myself?

Jessica usually has a lot of forms to get through, and doesn't like to waste time. So don't say anything twice. And don't start by saying: "My name is Alex Applicant and I am a third-year law student at the University of…" Jessica will have picked that up already from the top of the form and will inwardly groan when the first thing she reads is something you've already told her.

Why do I want to be a lawyer?

There's lots of information around about what being a lawyer is like. There are opportunities to visit firms and meet representatives from them. So there's no excuse for not having an idea about why you want to do the job. Given how demanding it is to be a lawyer whichever firm you join, why do you think you want to do it?

Jessica is often amazed that some students don't seem to address this question. Try and express this in your own words rather than through cliches like 'it's a challenge', 'I want variety' 'teamwork', or (Jessica gets this a lot at Freshfields) 'I find international work exciting'. Try and say why what you will be doing day to day will stimulate you, and why you think it will be for you in the long term. Jessica likes long-term thinking.

What should I say about the firm I'm applying to?

Some applicants are too keen to show they've read the firm's brochure or visited its website. Jessica doesn't need proof you've done so in the form of namedropping. So if applying to a commercial firm, don't refer to its advice to Shark Plc on Shark's £300m acquisition of Fish Fingers Ltd unless mentioning the deal supports some other point you want to make.

But Jessica is expecting you to say something about why you have chosen to apply to her firm. Is it because you want to join a firm of that size? In that city? Or is it their reputation in particular practice areas? The people you met at a law fair? The working atmosphere you sensed on an open day? Be as specific as you can.

rejectedHow much should I sell myself?

Jessica does not respond well to students who write that their ability to speak a foreign language (for example) will be 'an invaluable asset' to her firm. She takes that as a lack of humility, or common sense, or both. And you will need both to work at a law firm.

On an application form, you have three choices. You can claim an attribute (like, say, that you love working in a team) without any supporting evidence. You can claim the attribute, and provide evidence (you appeared in three different stage productions last year, for example). Or you could just provide the evidence and leave it to Jessica to infer that someone who has done what you've done must be a team player.

Jessica really doesn't like the first of these: it's implausible. She is looking for evidence of your qualities, and you haven't provided any. When it's between the second and the third, Jessica doesn't mind as much, but mostly prefers the third. She's read a large number of application forms, and you can trust her to draw sensible conclusions about you from what you've done.

What should I put in? Or leave out?

Too many applicants think that the only work experience worth mentioning is work in a law firm. This isn't so. Jessica is impressed by a record of work, however low-skilled and seemingly unconnected to law. If you've served in the same shop or worked in the same factory for three summers in a row, Jessica may well detect that you stick at things and have had to learn how to deal with all sorts of people in sometimes difficult circumstances, qualities any law firm prizes. Put it in.

Jessica will notice if there's no mention of your ever having done any work outside your studies. If there's some issue that might represent a problem, spend time dealing with it. If your exam results one year weren't as good as you'd hoped, explain why. Say what you've done to try and do better. Jessica reacts well to honesty and an ability to face up to problems.

If you have an unusual interest, talk about it. Individuality is attractive, and suggests the curiosity that lawyers need if they are to enjoy applying themselves to their clients' problems.

How should I write?

Jessica does not like you to overwrite. If you say that you have a 'passion' for corporate insolvency law or were 'incredibly excited' to read about the legal issues thrown up by the Shark/Fish Fingers deal on the firm's website, she will think something is fishy herself. Or cheesy.

Try to write simply and directly. Keep your sentences short. If you write long or complicated sentences, like this one, you will find that, even with the best intentions in the world, Jessica is going to struggle to follow, become irritated by having to read it twice, and the meaning which you had hoped to convey to secure an interview will be lost.

Avoid cliche. Do not, for instance, 'hone' your analytical skills. Do not 'relish' the chance to work on 'cutting-edge high-profile deals'. Try and find some words of your own.

Jessica does not want formality or undue deference. She wants to 'hear' you speaking as she reads what you have written. But beware excessive informality. You are not writing a text to a friend.

Try and structure what you say. Work out what's most important, and put it first. Write in paragraphs. Headings can be useful.

Don't make mistakes

For a student, 70% plus is a first-class mark. For a lawyer, 99% isn't good enough. Jessica thinks that if you are applying for a job in an environment where you are paid to be meticulous and accurate, embarrassing blunders in your application are a red flag.

Spelling errors go in fashion: this year's favourite is to imagine that the past tense of 'lead' has an 'a' in it. Don't be led into that mistake, or any others. Forms often have an error or two in them towards the end. Jessica guesses that you were in a rush to finish the application because you had some others to do. This doesn't come across well.

To eliminate mistakes, read out what you've written and edit it. Then edit it again. Or get a trusted friend to read it. You do not want Jessica, fair-minded as she is, to be distracted from what you want to say by something unfortunate in the way you say it.

A final point. Jessica absolutely hates it when somebody carelessly incorrectly spells the name of the firm she works for. It's as much of an insult as forgetting the name of someone you've met. A worse one, in some ways, because it's so easily checked. Think of Jessica's feelings, and don't do it.

Simon Johnson is a trainee recruitment partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.