Should I list all of my work experience on a training contract/vacation scheme application?

The starting point is yes but with caveats.

That’s because all work experiences can show the skills needed to become a lawyer. This includes internships/experiences in law firms, banks, or corporations, as well as jobs in retail, hospitality, healthcare or as a care provider.

In addition, any legal work experience you have shows your commitment to a career in law and can substantiate your motivation to become a trainee solicitor.

However, ask yourself these questions:

1. How much space on the application form/cv do you have?

Some forms may only have space for four experiences. If the number of spaces limits you, prioritise those work experiences which are the most relevant to a career in law, display the types of skills that trainee solicitors need to have or took place at a typical law firm client (e.g. a bank or a large corporation).

Other forms will allow you to keep adding boxes. If the form enables you to add as many work experiences as you like, add them all.

On the other hand, if you’re submitting a CV, you need to stick to the two page rule. That may mean either reducing your summary for each work experience or leaving certain work experiences off.

2. Would leaving the experience out create a significant gap in your timeline?

Whilst you’re at university, no one is particularly interested in how you’re spending your time. That’s because you’re either in full or part-time education. Consequently, you can safely remove any role from the work experience section/your CV that you were in during this period if you want to.

If however, you graduated a decade ago and were in a job for five years, removing that piece of work experience could show a large gap in your CV. In this instance, it may be best to leave the role on your CV/work experience section. If space on a CV is an issue and you need to get it down to two pages, instead consider reducing the summary.

3. Does the experience add anything to your profile?

If the experience is just demonstrating skills and insights you’ve already shown elsewhere in your work experience, ask yourself what the impact of not featuring it in the work experience section would be.

A general exception to this rule is vacation schemes/in-person competitive insight events at multiple firms or anything else that explicitly shows your commitment to a career in law. All such experiences should be included in your CV/work experience section. If you’ve attended multiple insight events, consider grouping all of these events into one space on the form/one section on your CV if you need to save space.

4. How long ago was the experience?

As a general rule, any experience older than seven years is probably less relevant and can be safely left off.