Protégé: Writing better job applications 101

Many emerging legal practitioners find it difficult to meaningfully sell themselves to prospective employers. In an age in which hybrid working and virtual communication are rife, that proposition becomes even harder. Learning how to write a better job application, thus, is essential.

On this episode of The Protégé Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Herbert Smith Freehills graduate recruitment manager James Keane and senior associate Jason Feng about why there is a need for emerging lawyers to write better job applications, whether such writing doesn’t come naturally to new practitioners, and how the age of COVID-19 has made it harder for prospective lawyers to sell themselves.

Mr Keane and Mr Feng detail the headline dangers of not being able to write good job applications, discuss a white paper they wrote to help those coming through the ranks write better applications, the balance between showcasing what one has done versus what one has learnt, common mistakes that get made, how much personality one can or should show in an application, practical steps to upskill in such writing, and challenges to be overcome.

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