Bundle Of Languages

1. If you do not go after what you want, you will never have it. 

2. If you do not ask, the answer will always be no. 

So this month marks the first of my vacation schemes - two-week work experience placements at different law firms in London. Although I’m feeling really excited and proud of myself for securing a place on the different schemes, I’ve felt really nervous about what to do once I’m there, how to make the best impression, and how to conquer the next stage of interviews.

Katherine Cousins, author and successful corporate lawyer, kindly reached out to me and offered to send me a copy of her latest book, ‘Successful Solicitor’ to help me navigate through the first steps into commercial law. Kindly, she sent me two copies which I am so excited to give away to my followers!*

In ‘Successful Solicitors’, Katherine teaches you how to ace your law firm applications and interviews, what to wear on your first day, the best networking advice and so much more. What I also found incredibly helpful were the tips on what to avoid that she collated from her senior legal friends across the industry, as well as sharing personal anecdotes from her career. These include:

Unclear emails

Taking on too much

Taking on too little

Typos.

So whether you’re a law student, about to start summer internships or on your training contract, Katherine’s book is full of practical, genuinely helpful advice. This book isn’t just about getting your foot in the door, however. Once you’re working at the firm as a junior, ‘Successful Solicitors’ includes chapters about taking ownership of your new role. Katherine’s ‘Easy Wins’ shared throughout the book can be seen as refreshers during your career, or (before you start working at a firm) great habits to start doing now.

Click HERE to buy your copy of the book, or keep reading to see how you can win one of the two I have to giveaway.

The Giveaway: what you can win 

One copy of Successful Solicitors

A pack of 6 pastel highlighters - perfect for taking to the office with you

An A5 notebook - great to keep on your desk to take note of any tasks you are given

Rules Rules Rules:

Must be following me, and preferably be active i.e. ask me questions, tag me in things, reblog my posts

Reblog this as an entry, likes are only bookmarks. I’ll use a random number generator to help me pick the winner

You can follow me on twitter @_thelawgraduate for an extra entry

You can enter as many times as you like but don’t spam your followers, please 

It’s international, and you don’t have to be a studyblr to enter!

The deadline is June 21st - good luck!

I put on my sunglasses, to hide my swollen eyes, over my tears. I cried all my makeup off. Went inside to have a milkshake. I don’t know why. I wanted something to drink as I figured out what I would do. I got a soda and a milkshake. Medium. The cashier looked at me and with a line around the corner of the counter he rushed away from the counter “Hold on “ he yelled to a coworker.

I filled my soda and went back and saw him looking all over. I go up and he gets close and says “I made it a large”.

That was seriously enough for me not to do it. His kindness. Someone went out of their way and as I went back in my car to cry I realized I could muster through a few other days. A few more weeks. Then I came down from that panicky high of anxiety, depression, and pain. I finished my shake. And it was enough time to let me feel better. I… I’m alive. I’ll make it through.

Try and be nice today. Tomorrow. Something as much as a smile. It helped so much.

Thank you man at McDonalds.

DON’T: Have a poor opening. Don’t start with: “Hi, my name is [NAME], and I’m going to be discussing [TOPIC].” Your opening should have a similar structure to an introduction on a paper. Which means that you should have context, a main message, and a preview. Your opening is the first part of your presentation, so make sure that grab your audience’s attention from the start.

DO: Prepare in advance. Allow yourself enough time to prepare your presentations as well as your visual aids. Please don’t try to make presentations in two days or wing it. Your teacher can tell the difference between a well-thought-out presentation and something you scrambled together at the last minute.

DON’T: Put too much information on your slides. Your classmates will end up reading the slides instead of actually listening and your teacher won’t be impressed. Opt for a small amount of information using a bullet-point structure instead.

DO: Be logical. Your presentation should have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Avoid having topics that are all over the place.

DON’T: Read your presentation. According to a survey AMA ran, that is the #1 most annoying presentation habit and I understand why. You look unprofessional and the audience has no reason to keep listening to you because they can read the slide themselves.  To avoid this, as I’ve mentioned in the second point, keep your slides minimal. You should also have flashcards or speaker notes, but they shouldn’t be overloaded with information either, or you’ll read those.

DO: Be creative. No one likes a boring presentation so don’t be afraid of adding some flair to your presentation. A little bit of creativity will make your presentation more enjoyable, and if it’s enjoyable, your audience will better grasp the message of your presentation.

DON’T: Make terrible font choices. You should use a clean typeface. Contrary to popular belief, serif fonts are just as good as sans-serif fonts in terms of legibility. Just make sure that the font you use is easy to read, even your headers. You also want your font sizes to be big enough. So, avoid text smaller than 18px.

DO: Be mindful of your body language. Avoid crossing your arms, fidgeting, and putting your hands in your pockets. Make eye contact with the audience instead of constantly looking at the screen and just relax. Your audience can sense if you’re nervous. There’s not a cure for nervousness out there for those us who have problems with public speaking. Just practice a lot. If you know your presentation very well then you’ll feel more confident about presenting it.

DON’T: Have low energy. Even if you’re presenting about a topic that doesn’t interest you, you better be speaking as if it’s your passion. Showing enthusiasm and active interest will make your presentation so much better. If you speak with a monotonous voice and have a dull facial expression, your grade will suffer—hard.

DO: Finish with a bang. Briefly sum up your presentation, restate your message and finish off in a way that makes your audience reflect and think about your topic. This is the time to be elegant and make a lasting final impression.

Moral of the story:

In Telugu, “gundi” means “smol/button/round/cute”.