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Firms want to recruit well-rounded individuals who have clearly developed relevant foundational skills. They will look at your participation in and experience of a range of activities across professional, academic and non-academic domains. If you only have academic experiences to demonstrate your competencies, this may not present you as a well-rounded individual and may suggest that you would not necessarily fit with the firm's culture or interact well with the firm's employees. In contrast, if you have only non-academic extracurricular experiences to draw from, a firm may doubt whether you have developed the ability to perform and interact with others in a professional context. 

On that note, I was rejected from my very first interview because the interviewer felt that I had not accumulated a sufficiently broad range of experiences. They reached this conclusion on the basis that I hadn’t used any academic or professional examples to demonstrate my skills during the competency interview.

Try to accumulate a broad range of experiences, including taking up positions of responsibility and getting involved in university societies and university (or local) clubs and initiatives. This will give you the opportunity to develop your knowledge, skills and confidence (and draw upon this personal development on your application forms and during interviews), plus you’ll probably have a far richer university experience as a result. Ultimately, you should constantly be asking yourself whether your university is in any way different because you were there, and whether your contributions enhanced other students’ experiences.

As well as pursuing your passions and hobbies, you should try to dedicate some of your free time to developing your commercial awareness. Remember, your commercial awareness is tied to your employability, so you should see boosting your commercial awareness as another key aspect of boosting your employability.

Work experience

If you have undertaken work experience - regardless of whether it is paid or unpaid, or as an intern in a professional services firm or as an office assistant or shop assistant - this will boost your employability. Through such experience, you will likely be able to demonstrate that you have a strong work ethic, you are able to commit to an organisation and that you have accumulated at least some experience interacting with clients, working in a team with colleagues, adhering to deadlines and balancing multiple responsibilities. 

Have you worked in the family business? Have you worked in customer services, perhaps as a checkout assistant or a bartender? Have you already visited firms in the industry to which you are applying (even if only for a few hours or for an informal office visit)? I listed working in a small office, working in the music industry, completing a paper round and working at Waitrose (pushing trolleys) as examples of my previous work experience, alongside more relevant industry experience (such as firm office visits). Many firms felt that these examples demonstrated a strong work ethic and that my decision to embark upon a highly pressurised career was better informed as a result of the comparison that such work experiences provided.

Try to gain an insight into a range of different careers. This should broaden your understanding of how the City works, whilst also ensuring your personal decisions and career choices are better informed. Keep an open mind, as you may well have preconceptions about various industries that are not necessarily reflective of the reality of working within them. I have many friends who started out thinking that they wanted to work in one industry only to decide (having gained experience in a variety of different organisations) that they in fact wanted to work in quite another. Others have decided that they would be happier working for small, niche, or regional firms instead of large City firms, or for a department within a corporation.

You could reach out directly to firms to ask for work experience. Cold calling and emailing can work, although you may have more luck with smaller firms (which typically lack the budget to promote and run structured internships, whereas larger firms tend to stick more to their formal schedules of opportunities). It might be best to start by utilising any contacts you may have. Family, friends and friends of family may be able to help out, as may university lecturers, tutors and careers advisers. You could also join various interest groups (e.g. Facebook or LinkedIn groups for start-ups and local businesses) and ask whether there are any work experience opportunities available.

Making the most of holidays

If you have not secured an internship, or have an internship that takes up only a proportion of a university holiday, start thinking about how best to use any free time you may have. Many firms in interviews will ask how you have spent your 3 – 4 month summer break and “watching Netflix” is never a great answer. Use your time off to do something interesting – something that sets you apart from other candidates – as this will provide firms with an insight into your character.

For example, are you the kind of person who uses your initiative and drive to actively pursue your passions and interests? Do you have a desire to experience different cultures? Are you committed to nurturing your personal growth and development? Do you push yourself by leaving your comfort zone from time to time?. If you want firms to believe that the answer to these questions is “yes”, then make sure you evidence it with the way you spend your free time.

As mentioned above, carrying out professional work experience can be a good use of your time off. However, there are also various summer programmes that can look great on your CV and be a lot of fun (e.g. government-funded study programs or placements at summer camps through agencies such as Camp America), as well as an increasing number of “virtual” insight experiences and mini internships. Alternatively, there are a broad range of volunteering and charity initiatives available, both domestically and abroad, that could provide unique and interesting experiences, whilst also enhancing your employability.

If instead of formal or informal work placements you decide to spend your summers travelling, this can present you as a motivated individual with an interest in experiencing different cultures. It can also provide a really interesting topic of conversation in interviews; on more than one occasion, I spent a large proportion of an interview with a City firm discussing a study programme I had completed in India. It’s also important to remember that once you embark upon your career, you will no longer have the opportunity to travel for extended periods of time (without having to work), so make the most of it! 

Moreover, travelling can help you to develop a wide range of skills, most notably your confidence, ability to adapt to different cultures, interpersonal skills, resilience, and organisation skills (especially if you are travelling around a continent with questionable transport links!). Travelling also shows that you are willing to place yourself outside of your comfort zone. 

Alternatively, you could take a summer job or start a project (for instance, found a small business or do something creative), take an online course (for example, a coding, social media marketing or graphic design course) or pursue some other passion. This can reflect positively on your motivation, ambition, entrepreneurial spirit, work ethic and a whole host of other attributes and skills. City Career Series began as an extracurricular project whilst I was at university!

Academic and commercial activities

Consider joining and actively participating in academic societies. Your university may well have a Commercial Law, Finance, Debating or Business society that you could join, as well as a society linked to your degree subject. If your membership leads to you attending particularly interesting presentations or participating in skill-enhancing interactive case studies, then you could use these experiences as examples to demonstrate to firms that you put your free time to good use. 

Participating in the likes of Young Enterprise, Duke of Edinburgh, Model United Nations or interactive business challenges/case studies at school or during your degree could also reflect positively on you, so perhaps sign up for similar initiatives if you feel that your CV is lacking. Particular modules or group work exercises that you have undertaken whilst studying can also provide interesting talking points during interviews and deliver an insight into how you have developed your knowledge and capabilities. 

In order to highlight my academic extracurricular activities, my CV included my membership of various commercial societies and my involvement in the Study India and Study China programmes. I also talked about my engagement in team-based business modules at university and participation in firm-led business challenges on campus. 

Positions of responsibility

Firms need to know that their employees can effectively take on responsibility and subsequently manage their time effectively to ensure tasks are completed to the standard required and within the deadlines set. Taking up positions of responsibility at university whilst maintaining a strong academic performance can really help to demonstrate this ability.

Try to join the executive committees of the university societies and clubs that most interest you. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the Finance Society, Music Theatre Society, Ice Hockey Club or a charitable society. It doesn't matter whether you’re a first year representative, President, Club Captain or Head of Marketing. The premise is the same: these experiences give you scope to prove to firms that you have the ability to handle responsibility and to demonstrate what you are capable of achieving if given the chance. 

Find out when elections are taking place, as these are usually open to anyone wishing to apply. Getting to know the current executive committee and members of a society - and demonstrating your interest in getting involved - could increase your chances of being elected or appointed, so attend events, offer to help out and try your hand at networking.

If at school you were selected as a Prefect, Ambassador or Head Boy/Girl or you were elected/appointed onto some sort of student liaison or event committee, this counts as a position of responsibility. If you have ever taught or mentored (be it Maths, Music, English or Dance) this can similarly evidence your ability to handle responsibility. 

The same applies if you have been selected as a firm's campus ambassador. It’s perfectly fine to state this on applications to rival firms; if anything, it validates you as a worthy candidate, as you passed the recruitment process implemented by another firm. On my CV, I listed: drum kit teacher, founder of a (casual) 5-a-side football team, my role as campus ambassador for a City firm and my role as President of the Commercial Law Society (and later, Warwick Finance Societies) among my positions of responsibility. 

These are just a few examples. All of your experiences may be relevant and show that you are the sort of person who throws yourself into challenges and opportunities. And with a little lateral thinking and open-mindedness, you can derive a surprising number of skills from each.

We cover this in more detail in the Writing Successful Applications course.

Other extracurricular activities

It is easy to get involved in non-academic extracurricular activities, at least on a casual basis and at a non-competitive level. You can even be a complete beginner. I was never good enough to get into the official university football team, but this didn’t stop me from setting up a 5-a-side football team. Ultimately, you want to demonstrate that you have a range of interests and the motivation and initiative to pursue them. You want to prove that you’re willing to remove yourself from your comfort zone and try something new. I once even attended an American football training session, but the less said about that the better!

Sport

Do you play for the university netball team? Do you play in (or manage) a casual 5-a-side team? Do you enjoy horse riding? Have you run a marathon or climbed a mountain? Do you enjoy diving, skiing or playing table tennis? If so, have you pursued these interests by joining a club? 

Attending regular training sessions or regularly involving yourself in a particular sport can demonstrate your ability to commit, your determination, your ability to motivate yourself and others, and your time management skills. If you have done something particularly interesting and unique, mention it! I mentioned that I had gone cage diving with great white sharks, which again provided an interesting talking point during interviews.

Music, art, dance and theatre 

Do you sing or play an instrument? If so, do you rehearse and perform with your university orchestra or do you sometimes perform at open “mic” nights? Perhaps you like to perform in theatre productions or dance competitions, or act in short films? Alternatively, do you paint, create videos or carry out graphic design work? 

These types of experiences can demonstrate that you have the creativity sought after by top City firms (which can be helpful when trying to provide innovative solutions to unique client problems). They can also demonstrate that you have developed the confidence, communication skills and team working abilities required to succeed in a client-led industry.

Volunteering and charitable initiatives

Have you raised money for charity, helped at an orphanage, been involved in school or university charitable initiatives or volunteered at music festivals? This could demonstrate your desire to work for a firm that offers volunteering opportunities (for instance, pro bono legal work), whilst also showing that you are an ethical person. It can also provide interesting anecdotes for interviews. 

I volunteered to work with the Glastonbury Festival Recycling Crew for many years, which effectively involved taking a position as an unpaid bin man. However, it was great fun, I met a broad range of people and I accumulated some great experiences to draw from when answering application and interview questions. 

If you talk a lot about volunteering in your application/interview and then secure an internship, look for opportunities to get involved in the firm’s volunteering initiatives during that internship. This will help to demonstrate that the statements you made were sincere. I got involved in various charitable initiatives during internships, which certainly helped to substantiate the statements that I had previously made.

A note of caution: avoid suggesting that your decision to apply to a particular City organisation was based primarily upon the volunteering opportunities on offer to its employees. Volunteering opportunities are nice “add-ons” that can help to enhance your job satisfaction, but they are separate from the City firms’ core revenue generating activities. City employers want to know that you are keen to help them make money and/or improve performance. After all, these firms are businesses, not charities (no matter how much they may focus on their altruistic side during presentations).

Travel

Have you studied abroad or travelled to interesting places? Have you completed a ski season or been on a university trip abroad? Have you participated in “Jailbreak”, a charity initiative which involves attempting to travel as far away from your university as possible in 36 hours, without spending any money (I reached Munich)? 

If so, remember to explain why/how this has made you a more suitable candidate. Such experiences could evidence: your ability to adapt to different cultures, organise yourself effectively and remain positive whilst under pressure; your desire to work in an international setting; and that you are an interesting, open-minded individual. 

Commercial awareness

Trying to “cram” commercial awareness right before an interview isn’t an ideal approach, as you’ll likely only pick up a shallow understanding of the commercial topics that you read about. If your understanding is shallow, you’ll also likely have little interest in what you’re reading about and discussing, which won’t come across well during an interview. It’s better to get into the habit of building your commercial awareness on a regular basis, and even 5 minutes per day can make all the difference. You’ll be surprised at how much more interested you become in business news and commercial concepts more generally once you have started to understand the bigger picture. 

We cover commercial awareness in much more detail in the Commercial awareness in context, Mergers and acquisitions, and Interview case studies courses.

Jake Schogger has also provided bespoke written feedback on 21 different types of application answers, including a CV, a cover letter, a work experience section, and a broad range of competency, strength and commercial awareness-based questions (these are all real applications submitted by aspiring lawyers). See our Example successful applications and cover letters course (chapter 2).