Identifying Your Skills

Feb 09, 2018

Written By Sofia Gymer, Editor, AllAboutLaw.co.uk

Your law personal statement is supposed to serve as advertisement of your skills and prove you will be the perfect law student. But something a lot of people have a lot of trouble with is identifying their own skills and competencies. Brits are taught to value modesty and shun arrogance. I’m not saying be arrogant, but it's important to know your own value and showcase your ability!

Before thinking about developing skills particularly tailored for the law course and legal career that you want, it’s important to consider the skills that you already have. You’ll be surprised how many there are!

Once you have an idea of the skills you’ve already developed, or that are lacking, only then you will know what you need to work on.

So, how do I identify my skills for my law personal statement?

1) Write down a list the activities that you have done/positions you have held (e.g. Netball Captain, football, cadets, debating, drama, work experience etc.)

2) What skills did you use when doing that activity or holding that position?

3) Are there any secondary/associated skills?
(E.g. Being selected as Netball Captain not only allowed me to demonstrate my leadership skills, but also required good time management and meticulous organisation as it was my responsibility to get all members of the team to matches on time.)

4) Ask your family and friends what skills they think that you have. Another tip is to look at feedback on work from teachers/tutors to see where your strengths lie.

Here is a list of skills that might be useful to look for in your daily activities:

Time management

Organisation

Planning

Decisiveness

Ethical/professional behaviour

Leadership

Teamwork

Verbally articulate

Customer service

Written communication

IT competent

Numeracy

Problem solving

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Skills you can aspire to improve throughout your law career:

Presentation skills

Negotiation

Drafting

Legal research

Commercial awareness

Interviewing

Knowing how a legal business functions

Advocacy

Most importantly, be honest with yourself. Identify the skills in which you are weakest and work hard on them!

Law Personal Statement