Experience
How do I develop my skills & improve my chances of getting a job?
There are many opportunities to gain experience and develop your skills whilst you are at Warwick. Graduate employers including law firms value a wide range of experience including positions of responsibility in clubs and societies, volunteering, part time and vacation work and formal work experience schemes. Whilst relevant work experience isn't a requirement for most employers it can help you demonstrate your commitment and motivation to the sector. If you are interested in a career in the law gaining law related experience can help you decide if law as a career is right for you and the type of law you might want to practice. Law firms value experience that involves dealing with customers and clients including working in a bar, restaurant or shop.There are many ways to gain experience. Opportunities may exist within your department, within the wider Warwick community and still more outside of it. Find out more at development opportunities. Getting involved with some of these will develop your skills, help you showcase your achievements and help position you for future applications.Student societies and sports clubs
There are over 250 societies (cultural, academic, campaigning and performance) and over 60 sports clubs. Consider what interests you, how you might play an active part and try to demonstrate how you make Warwick different in some way (however small) because you've been here e.g. organised an event, secured sponsorship, arranged sports fixtures and/or employer led sessions.
View the Warwick SU Societies and Sports Clubs.
Work experience
Employer based work experience/shadowing provides insight into fields that interest you. It helps you reflect on whether this is something you might want to pursue and helps demonstrate to employers that you have done your research and are motivated towards their sector. Many graduate recruiters have formal work experience/internship programmes aimed at penultimate and final year students. Some schemes exist for first year students. Insight and open days enable you to meet graduate recruiters and find out about their organisation and opportunities. Details of employers’ work experience opportunities are advertised on the University’s myAdvantage platform and employers’ websites. There are a range of online platforms with work experience opportunities; you can access these at the following website. It can be very competitive to secure work experience and some employers have developed virtual internships which are available (free) online. These provide insights into sectors and organisations and help you demonstrate your motivation when applying for work experience programmes. For further information visit The Forage. The University has an internship programme (WIP). Some students source their own work experience e.g. with local law firms via speculative approaches. Where short periods of work experience are unpaid students can apply to the Work Experience Bursary Scheme for funding.
Legal experience
There are a range of options for gaining legal experience. These include those mentioned in the previous paragraph (insight and open days, first year schemes, virtual internships) and vacation schemes and mini-pupillages. Details of law firm vacation schemes and chambers mini-pupillages (and deadlines) are available on employers' websites and on specialist legal careers websites including LawCareersNet and Chambers. For details of legal activities/volunteering organised through the School of Law visit Outreach in Law. Check out projects available through Warwick Law in the Community (LinC). LinC is a legal clinic specialising in using public law strategically to address systemic disadvantage and abuse of power to achieve effective change. Law students work with the Public Law and Human Rights Team at Central England Law Centre (CELC) on projects that offer the opportunity to develop and implement creative ways of using the law. For information on projects visit Warwick Law in the Community (LinC). Check out virtual legal internships on The Forage and look out for other online legal work experience offered by organisations like Bright Network (Internship Experience UK), Legal Cheek, the University of Law. Events and opportunities are promoted via the Law School's Online Student Hub, newsletter and social media.
Part time work
Students find part time work on and off campus. Part time jobs on campus are advertised via Unitemps (university recruitment agency). Undertaking part time work alongside your studies not only shows your work ethic and organisational skills through successfully balancing work and academic commitments it helps demonstrate other key skills like teamwork, communication and customer service.
Follow the news
Keeping up to date with what is going on in the world and in sectors that interest you will enable you to spot new opportunities and demonstrate your understanding of how key events impact on businesses, their clients and customers (commercial awareness). There are a wide range of online resources for keeping up with the news and the implications for businesses including resources for commercial awareness on websites like LawCareers.Net and Chambers Student. Three Warwick LLM students set up a website called Law Miracle to provide information on current legal and commercial news.
Volunteering
Warwick Volunteers has a range of volunteering opportunities including support roles with children, older adults, opportunities to work with refugees and asylum seekers and roles in arts & culture, conservation and much more. Sign up for their newsletter to receive alerts on new volunteering projects. Volunteering opportunities exist outside of Warwick e.g. students interested in humanitarian work could get involved with UN Online Volunteers.
URSS
The Undergraduate Research Support Scheme (URSS) enables undergraduate students to carry out an interdisciplinary summer research project and is open to any undergraduate student at Warwick.
Enterprise
If you’re interested in developing your entrepreneurial skills, trying out new business ideas and social enterprises visit Warwick Enterprise to find out how you can get involved and support available.
Degree course
You can also talk about your experience of teamwork, collaboration and communication from your group coursework, projects and seminars as well as demonstrating your academic and intellectual strengths through your marks.
Engage with the Careers Team
The Student Opportunity careers team is here to help you with your individual career journey, make use of us to explore your priorities, develop your focus and create applications that stand out.
The Warwick Award
Gain recognition (HEAR) for the experience you are gaining via the Warwick Award.