How to land your dream Internship at a Top Law Firm |DO’s and Don’ts of Writing a CV and Cover Letter

Internships are the most important aspect of being in a law college and if the student want to turn out into a successful professional lawyer in future. It builds their experiences and gives them an idea of how to work as a lawyer and what skills to develop in themselves to turn out a lawyer.

It might be possible that you have your own favorite lawyer with whom you want to work. You can easily find the way to apply into their chambers. Nowadays as most of them have their own Social media account. You can also find out the email address and contact numbers which will help you to apply for internships in a top law firm. Apart from this there are so many websites which are only for jobs and internships like Lawctopus and JustDial.

Make a good resume and write a good cover letter. And Apply to as many law firm as you can. The best time to get into a law internship is when there is a non-internship season because many of the law firms hardly get any application for internships. And when you have holidays from your college.

When to apply?

According to research, August and September are the months when big law firms do not get much internships applications. Applying off-season internships are better as there will be more chances of you of getting selected, better quality of work because the work will not get delegated and this will give you a chance of getting better work which will test your responsibility and give you opportunities to learn and grow professionally, also this advantage you in way where you will face not more competition and get visible to your seniors and help you in creating a long-lasting impact in their eyes.

Cover letter is the first impression and communication with the organization and the law firm. And as we say, First impression is the last impression. As your HR will see your cover letter first and then the CV. If the Cover letter will be good then, your HR will most likely see your CV and that is why cover letter is your first priority. Make it good enough so that you look a deserving candidate to get selected for the internship.

Do’s of writing a Cover letter:-

1. Mention the kind of work you are interested in:- Students while applying to internship many times forget to mention the kind of work they are looking forward to do in the internship. This can be a valid reason of rejecting you when they don’t find any job role fitting you. Mentioning the kind of work you want to do in that internship will help you in standing out and get a good opportunity. Write what you are genuinely interested in. Also mention about the work you have already done in the area which will tell the HR that you are experienced enough and in giving you a consideration.
2. Mention “What extra” You did:- What to do to get attention of the HR is to make a CV which have answer to all their questions and also which will help in showing your HR a detailed information about you. For An example, You desire to become a Tax lawyer, you might have done some extra courses related to that field, or written some articles about same or attended some conferences regarding the subject. This will give a detailed view of your knowledge of the field and how aware you are. The HR can place you in tax teams if possible.
3. Relevant information:- Mention about the course you are pursuing, in which college you are studying and what year you are in, the subjects you have studied and for what time you need the internship in your cover letter. Make it in Bold fonts and keep a formal tone and a good format. It should not look ugly. This will make the job of HR easy.
4. Proper Formatting:-  The biggest flaw which a student applying for internship do is not understanding the need of a good format. Making cover letters in inappropriate texts will reduce the chance of selection in the internship. Proper formatting while writing the Cover letter and CV is it should be clean and readable, using bullet points and tables and avoiding long paragraphs. Highlight the important and basic information. It should be presentable and concise and effective too. 

Do’s of writing a CV:-

1. Experience column:- Make a readable and proper formatted experience column. Write about the earlier experiences and mention the names of organization you have worked with and most importantly mention what was your role there and what you have learnt from the internship. Write about the projects and areas you have worked there in bullets and in an organized way.
2. Research about the organization:- while applying for the internship in a law firm, it is damn important to do a good research about the law firm before, what are their operations, major projects they are involved in, the USPs, the services they provide, the segment they dominate and then know about how can you add value to their firm by your skills and expertise. How you are relevant to them should be shown in your Cover letter and cv. This will show them on your enthusiasm to learn and to work for them.
3. Mention the Hobbies:- Never underestimate the hobbies column in your CV. CV have given a special place to “Hobbies” for a reason. Though, the hobbies should tell them what relatability you have so that you can be shortlisted for the internship.  Hobbies tell the HR what personality you have and help in engaging to the conversation in interview other than professional approach.

Don’ts of Writing a CV and cover letter:-

1. Never copy and paste:- The best way to do is to make your own CV and cover letter while following the necessary instructions and never using the same cv and cover letter every time. Never copy and paste to others. Make it unique and simple.
2. Avoiding irrelevancy:- while you are writing a CV and cover letter avoid writing irrelevant information about yourself. This will not help you anyway. Don’t mention things you achieved in your school. Make it professional, formal and deserving.
3. Avoiding mentioning skills:- skills are the most important part of any job application. What special you have that will help in getting you noticed and then selected. Like critical thinking, researching and reading which all are important for a legal professional and also for the students.
4. Avoid using wrong tone and style:- The worst part is when we use wrong tone of writing. Make it crisp and formal in tone and never be pushy. Prove that you fit in their internship. And never repeat the same same information again and again.
5. Forget to proofread:- What you write in CV and cover letter, never forget to re-read it again and again. Proofreading at last, will help you in avoiding mistakes before sending the application.