Now that you’re a newly qualified solicitor, it’s time to find your next role so that you can begin representing your own clients.
But if you need some advice on how to get started, we can help. Below is our CV writing guide, packed with tips on how to create an interview-winning application.
You can also check out our newly qualified solicitor CV example for more inspiration.
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Newly Qualified Solicitor CV example
This is a good example of a Newly Qualified Solicitor CV which contains all of the information that a hiring manager will need to be impressed, and presents it in a well- structured, easy-to-read format.
Take some time to study and understand this CV, and refer to it throughout the writing of your own CV for best results.
Newly Qualified Solicitor CV format and structure
The format and structure of your CV is important because it will determine how easy it is for recruiters and employers to read your CV.
If they can find the information they need quickly, they’ll be happy; but if they struggle, your application could be overlooked.
A simple and logical structure will always create a better reading experience than a complex structure, and with a few simple formatting tricks, you’ll be good to go.
Tips for formatting your Newly Qualified Solicitor CV
- Length: Even if you’ve got tons of experience to brag about, recruiters don’t have time to read through overly lengthy CVs. Keep it short, concise and relevant – a CV length of 2 sides of A4 pages or less is perfect for the attention spans in today’s job market.
- Readability: Help out time-strapped recruiters by formatting your CV for easy reading. Using lots of bullet points and lists will help them to skim through your info, while clearly formatted headings will allow them to navigate towards the content which is most useful to them.
- Design & format: When it comes to CV design, it’s best to keep things simple and sleek. While elaborate designs certainly command attention, it’s not always for the right reasons! Readability is key, so whatever you choose to do, make sure you prioritise readability above everything.
- Photos: Recruiters can’t factor in appearance, gender or race into the recruitment process, so a profile photo is not usually needed. However, creative employers do like to see them, so you can choose to include one if you think it will add value to your CV .
Quick tip: Creating a professional CV style can be difficult and time-consuming when using Microsoft Word or Google Docs. To create a winning CV quickly, try our quick-and-easy CV Builder and use one of their eye-catching professional CV templates.
CV structure
When writing your CV, it’s important to structure the content into the following key sections to ensure easy digestion by busy recruiters and hiring managers:
- Contact details: List your contact details at the top of your CV to prevent them from being overlooked.
- Profile: Begin with an introductory paragraph that captures recruiters’ attention and summarises what you have to offer employers.
- Work experience/career history: List your relevant work experience in reverse chronological order, starting with your current position.
- Education: Provide a brief summary of your education and qualifications.
- Interests and hobbies: An optional section to showcase any hobbies that highlight transferable skills relevant to your target jobs.
Now you understand the basic layout of a CV, here’s what you should include in each section of yours.
Contact Details
Kick-start your CV with your contact details, so recruiters can get in touch easily.
Here’s what you should include:
- Mobile number
- Email address – Make sure it’s professional, with no silly nicknames.
- Location – Your town or city is sufficient, rather than a full address.
- LinkedIn profile or portfolio URL – Ensure they’ve been updated and are looking slick and professional.
Quick tip: Avoid listing your date of birth, marital status or other irrelevant details – they’re unnecessary at this stage.
Newly Qualified Solicitor CV Profile
Make a strong first impression with recruiters by starting your CV with an impactful profile (or personal statement for junior applicants).
This short introduction paragraph should summarise your skills, experience, and knowledge, highlighting your suitability for the job.
It should be compelling enough to encourage recruiters to read through the rest of your CV.
How to write a good CV profile:
- Make it short and sharp: It might be tempting to submit a page-long CV profile, but recruiters won’t have the time to read it. To ensure every word gets read, it’s best to include high-level information only; sticking to a length of 3-5 lines.
- Tailor it: Recruiters can spot a generic, mass-produced CV at a glance – and they certainly won’t be impressed! Before you write your profile (and CV as a whole), read through the job advert and make a list of any skills, knowledge and experience required. You should then incorporate your findings throughout your profile and the rest of your CV.
- Don’t add an objective: You only have a small space for your CV profile, so avoid writing down your career goals or objectives. If you think these will help your application, incorporate them into your cover letter instead.
- Avoid generic phrases: If your CV is riddled with clichès like “Dynamic thought-leader”, hit that delete button. Phrases like these are like a broken record to recruiters, who read them countless times per day. Hard facts, skills, knowledge and results are sure to yield far better results.
Example CV profile for a Newly Qualified Solicitor
What to include in your Newly Qualified Solicitor CV profile?
- Experience overview: Showcase your aptitude for the job you are aiming for by giving a brief summary of your past work history, including the industries you have worked in, the kinds of employers you have served, and the roles you have held.
- Targeted skills: Ensure that your profile highlights your key skills that are most relevant to your Newly Qualified Solicitor, and tailor them to match the specific job you are applying for. To do this, refer to the job description to closely align your skills with their requirements.
- Important qualifications: If the jobs you are applying to require candidates to have certain qualifications, then you must add them in your profile to ensure they are seen by hiring managers.
Quick tip: If you are finding it difficult to write an attention-grabbing CV profile, choose from hundreds of pre-written profiles across all industries, and add one to your CV with one click in our quick-and-easy CV Builder. All profiles are written by recruitment experts and easily tailored to suit your unique skillset.
Core skills section
In addition to your CV profile, your core skills section provides an easily digestible snapshot of your skills – perfect for grabbing the attention of busy hiring managers.
As Newly Qualified Solicitor jobs might receive a huge pile of applications, this is a great way to stand out and show off your suitability for the role.
It should be made up of 2-3 columns of bullet points and be made up of skills that are highly relevant to the jobs you are targeting.
Important skills for your Newly Qualified Solicitor CV
Legal Research – Conducting comprehensive legal research, analysing case law, statutes, and legal principles to provide accurate and reliable legal advice.
Drafting and Writing – Preparing legal documents, including contracts, pleadings, opinions, and letters, with attention to detail, clarity, and legal precision.
Advocacy – Effectively representing clients in court proceedings, hearings, and negotiations, presenting arguments persuasively and articulately.
Legal Analysis – Analysing complex legal issues, identifying key legal principles, and applying them to factual scenarios to reach well-reasoned conclusions.
Client Management – Building and maintaining strong relationships with clients, understanding their needs, and providing them with proactive legal solutions and advice.
Case Management – Managing and organising legal cases, including document management, scheduling, and coordinating with relevant parties involved.
Negotiation and Mediation – Negotiating and mediating disputes and settlements, striving for favourable outcomes for clients while maintaining professionalism and ethics.
Legal Ethics and Professional Conduct – Adhering to the ethical obligations and professional standards governing the legal profession, including client confidentiality and conflict of interest rules.
Commercial Awareness – Utilising knowledge of the business and commercial context in which legal advice is provided, including knowledge of relevant industries, market trends, and regulatory frameworks.
Quick tip: Our quick-and-easy CV Builder has thousands of in-demand skills for all industries and professions, that can be added to your CV in seconds – This will save you time and ensure you get noticed by recruiters.
Work experience
Now that recruiters have a good overview of your skills and abilities, you need to jump into the detail of your career history.
Give them a more thorough insight into what you can do by creating a detailed list of your relevant experience.
Start with your current role, and work backwards through all the relevant positions you’ve held.
This could be freelance, contract or voluntary work too; as long as it’s related to the role you’re applying for.
Structuring each job
Lengthy, unbroken chunks of text is a recruiters worst nightmare, but your work experience section can easily end up looking like that if you are not careful.
To avoid this, use my tried-and-tested 3-step structure, as illustrated below:
Outline
Start with a solid introduction to your role as a whole, in order to build some context.
Explain the nature of the organisation you worked for, the size of the team you were part of, who you reported to and what the overarching purpose of your job was.
Key responsibilities
Use bullet points to detail the key responsibilities of your role, highlighting hard skills, software and knowledge wherever you can.
Keep them short and sharp to make them easily digestible by readers.
Key achievements
To finish off each role and prove the impact you made, list 1-3 stand out achievements, results or accomplishments.
This could be anything which had a positive outcome for the company you worked for, or perhaps a client/customer.
Where applicable, quantify your examples with facts and figures.
Sample job description for Newly Qualified Solicitor CV
Outline
Completed my solicitor traineeship at international online banking firm Monzo, supporting the commercial law department shadowing senior lawyers during high-profile contract deals.
Key Responsibilities
- Conducted factual and legal research to support contract writing and cases
- Assisted on a variety of cases including acquisitions and disposals of partnership
- Processed and filed legal documents and client correspondence
- Used briefs to draft legal documents and emails and letters to clients, using appropriate professional language and correct legal terms
Quick tip: Create impressive job descriptions easily in our quick-and-easy CV Builder by adding pre-written job phrases for every industry and career stage.
Education section
Although there should be mentions of your highest and most relevant qualifications earlier on in your CV, save your exhaustive list of qualifications for the bottom.
If you’re an experienced candidate, simply include the qualifications that are highly relevant to Newly Qualified Solicitor roles.
However, less experienced candidates can provide a more thorough list of qualifications, including A-Levels and GCSEs.
You can also dedicate more space to your degree, discussing relevant exams, assignments and modules in more detail, if your target employers consider them to be important.
Hobbies and interests
Although this is an optional section, it can be useful if your hobbies and interests will add further depth to your CV.
Interests which are related to the sector you are applying to, or which show transferable skills like leadership or teamwork, can worth listing.
On the other hand, generic hobbies like “going out with friends” won’t add any value to your application, so are best left off your CV.
An interview-winning CV for a Newly Qualified Solicitor role, needs to be both visually pleasing and packed with targeted content.
Whilst it needs to detail your experience, accomplishments and relevant skills, it also needs to be as clear and easy to read as possible.
Remember to research the role and review the job ad before applying, so you’re able to match yourself up to the requirements.
If you follow these guidelines and keep motivated in your job search, you should land an interview in no time.
Best of luck with your next application!