Articles From the Team

CV Tips: Personal Injury and Other Target Driven Industries

It is surprising how many CVs I come across that are not well-formatted given all of the tips and tricks on the internet. I don't know about you but when I have made applications in the past (before I joined BCL Legal, of course) I would spend time searching the internet for tips on how to make my CV stand out.

Of course, at the time I had no idea whether my CV was up to scratch or not but now I look at lots of CVs every day I have a much better idea!

As I specialise in recruitment for the Personal Injury industry, my advice is tailored to this area of law and will probably help with any other client and target-driven roles.

This is what I look at when reviewing CVs:

Academic Achievements - You should include everything from your GCSEs to your LPC. Including your grades is really important. Even if you were not top of your class, you should include for completeness. Only some employers take this into consideration as most will employ you based on your achievements at work and how you come across at interview.

Past Employment (Legal) – You should include all relevant roles for the legal position that you are applying for. If it was 10 years ago, you only really need a sentence to briefly explain what you did, the dates are more important. You should expand upon your achievements in your most recent positions. If you have any gaps in employment, you should include this chronologically.

Past Employment (Non-Legal / Voluntary) – You should include this but it should be brief and come after your legal experience.

The Important Bit – What to include in the actual content of your CV? When filling in the details of your most recent experience, it is best to bullet point your achievements. If you are applying for Personal Injury roles, it is important to include:

• Type of work in your caseload - RTA / EL/PL / Clinical Negligence (If split, give %s)
• How many files? How much is MOJ (if applicable), Out of Portal, Litigated (Give %s)
• Do you handle small claims, fast track or multi track work?
• What is your target? If you exceed it, give figures!
• Notable cases: Mention the types of injury if niche and value of files

If you do wish to get some advice on your CV, feel free to send me an e-mail or call me.

For more information contact Georgie Willisford at BCL Legal.