What to do during Summer: Part 2

Hello everyone! So, I would like to acknowledge that there is a valid reason for my long and overdue absence… I have just travelled to the United States of America!

Yes! Last week I had to finalise all my last minute travel plans, to then embark on my trek to America (Illinois to be exact) to visit one of my wonderful wonderful friends. The journey was very long and painful but I finally made it, jet lag and all. Since I woke up ‘bright and early’ at 3am (I think its 9am in England), I thought I’d put my very awake brain to good use and continue my blog series on what you soon-to-be law students still can be getting up to.

Legal work experience aside, I would like to stress that any work experience can be extremely useful. Whether you are working in a local corner shop to perhaps lifeguarding at the swimming pool, the skills that you can gain from that work experience are often transferable and perhaps relevant for jobs more connected to the field of law.

For example, lifeguarding at the local pool shows many skills to a potential employer. As a lifeguard that is scheduled to work a set amount of hours, it conveys that you have made a commitment and you stick to it. It can be a way to show that you have brilliant time management skills where you are always punctual and complete all of your duties.

Furthermore, any work experience you may have does reflect on type of person you are. As a lifeguard it might show that you enjoy helping people and therefore are a compassionate person. Also, it shows you have the ability to work with people of all ages as you are exposed to work with different people. This can also show that you have good communication and interpersonal skills.

Skills such as good time management, being able to work alongside people of all ages and having good organizational skills are common ones that often fit any and every job. Thus, any experience can provide you with skills to help you clearly evidence that you meet the job description. This will make your job application more precise and relevant.

Nevertheless, working for money is not the only option! There is something else you can be doing. Volunteering is a brilliant thing that you could take part in. The best part is that lots and lots of places need volunteers. The experience, again, allows you to gain more skills.

Yet, what I find is the best thing with volunteering is that it’s rewarding. You get a good feeling of helping other people. It’s an extremely unselfish and quite lovely thing to do because you simply don’t have to being doing it! Being a volunteer also gives prospective employers an idea about the type of person you are and it’s often that you are a kind and helpful one! For any more information on volunteering, I suggest that you (if you already haven’t) check out my friend Pamela’s blog post. It’s fantastic and she shows a brilliant insight into why volunteering is, as the Americans I surround myself put it, awesome!

Good luck to you all on your CV building adventures. I’ll be posting sometime next week when I am back in the UK and I promise to give you a full review about my trip to the USA. I promise to show you some pictures!