5 Must-Know Tips on How To Get Noticed at Law Firm Open Days

Many successful training contract candidates will tell you their successful application cycle included law firm open days.

This is because open days give you numerous benefits that can increase your chances of success.

One of the most important benefits is getting yourself noticed and standing out from the crowd.

Firms often note the names of candidates who make a good impression and then keep an eye out for their applications.

In this post, I will share my 5 must-know tips for getting noticed at law firm open days.

Let’s dive in…

Tip #1 – Adopt the right attitude and mindset

You can gain a competitive advantage over other candidates before you even get to the open day.

You do this by deciding on the key attitudes and mindsets you will adopt for the day:

• Be proactive, not passive – for example, approach others for conversations.
• Be curious – commit to asking questions and taking notes.
• Be eager to challenge yourself and develop during skills sessions.
• Feel the fear and do it anyway – accept you’ll be nervous and out of your comfort zone, but don’t let that stop you from being proactive.
• Be yourself – people will connect more easily with the authentic you rather than the stage-managed/edited version of you.
• Be human – seek to build rapport and connect with everyone you speak to – a smile and genuine warmth go a long way.

A key part of all of this is becoming willing to step out of your comfort zone.

And this will feel, well…uncomfortable.

The good news is that many candidates won’t do it for precisely this reason and, therefore, won’t get noticed as much as those who do.

Common things that push candidates out of their comfort zone are:

• Networking/having conversations with lawyers, trainees and recruiters.
• Talking about yourself to others.
• Skills sessions where there’s a practical element that stretches you.

So, this is where you should lean into the discomfort to stand out.

Tip #2 – Prepare thoroughly & strategically for the day

You will know that preparing for the open day is important.

However, how you prepare will determine your chances of getting noticed and standing out from the crowd.

Here are three key steps I’ve seen my clients take to gain a competitive advantage:

#1 Research the firm…well

Everyone knows this advice, but few do it well. 

Don’t just read the information online – you need to sculpt that information into deeper learning.

My simple framework for this is:

• Firstly, create your own long-form notes about the firm from multiple sources (Chambers Student & Legal Cheek are my two go-to resources).
• Secondly, distil the key parts of that information and organise it into categories – for example, law firm’s business, practice areas/sectors, training contract, culture and people, and TC recruitment.

By writing it all down and then distilling and organising it, you will gain a deeper understanding, and the firm will notice you because of it.

You can also use this to devise questions to ask (more on this later).

#2 Plan for specific sessions

You will often be told in advance about specific sessions taking place during the day.

For example, there are often specific skills sessions – so you should learn about them and have a simple plan for how you will approach them.

Also, if the firm says there will be a presentation on an area or topic, research into it so you have a base level of understanding and can use that to inform questions.

#3 Plan who to speak to

You will often be told in advance who will be at the open day.

• Research each person carefully using the firm’s website, LinkedIn and Google.
• Again, distil and organise the information so you have the key facts to hand.
• Plan who you want to prioritise speaking with and what questions/topics you want to discuss with them – these can include personal interests and where they studied, as well as more legal/work-related topics.

Having this sort of plan can really help with the challenges most candidates face around ‘networking’.

The good news for you is many candidates will go to the open day without a plan.

Tip #3 – Manage the impression you give to people

During an open day, you will have the opportunity to make strong first impressions and more lasting impressions on those you meet.

See each of these opportunities like a bank account:

• Every strong impression you make is like a deposit.
• Every weaker impression you make is like a withdrawal.

Naturally, you want as large a balance of deposits sitting in your account by the end of the day.

Here are some pointers on how you can make a strong first impression every time:

• Dress professionally.
• Shake hands confidently – stand up straight, chin up, make eye contact, smile, medium grip (not limp nor bone-crushing).
• Repeat their name (”good to meet you NAME”) – this is also a great technique for remembering it!

You can practice all of these beforehand until it becomes second nature, and gives you confidence.

Once you’ve made a strong first impression, you have the platform to build a more solid and lasting impression.

You do this by knowing how to have a conversation:

• Open questions to start with.
• Small talk is needed sometimes.
• Show you’re curious and interested in the other person.

A great rule to remember is this: If in doubt, ask a question.

You need to be interested in the other person, and not obviously trying to impress them or just get through the interaction.

As well as being interested, you will need to try to be interesting.

This isn’t about trying to tell people about your achievements and skills. It’s more clearly and concisely telling another person about the more relevant and interesting aspects of you and your circumstances. For example:

• What and where you’re studying (or have studied).
• Where you’re working and the key aspects of that.
• What you do in your spare time.

People will genuinely want to get to know you, so help them with that.

Tip #4 – Make your conversations count

The most critical part of law firm open days is usually your conversations.

This is where you’re most likely to get noticed and have the opportunity to stand out from other attendees.

As well as making a strong impression by following the guidance above, you can make the most out of your conversations by taking the following steps:

#1 Ask thoughtful questions

Candidates who ask well-researched and considered questions that show they have prepared well for the open day stand out.

• Plan a list of questions to which you genuinely want to know the answer – and which you can’t find the answer to online.
• Ask questions about areas of genuine interest rather than questions designed to impress people.

Good examples of questions are those about the other person’s perspective on things.

For example, why would you advise a person to train here over other firms?

#2 Listen actively

There’s a big difference between listening and active listening.

Those who do the latter will get noticed.

All you need to do is Google it, and you’ll find many resources to teach you this. The headlines for me are:

• Give the other person your undivided attention.
• Make eye contact.
• Show them you’re listening (nodding, facial expressions, subtle responses like “I see” or “That’s interesting” – i.e. not being a frozen rabbit in headlights).
• Respond in a way that picks up on what they’ve said and shows you were listening.

This is how you really connect with people.

#3 Have a prepared personal narrative

As above, ensure you’ve worked on and practised an introduction of yourself and explanations about different parts of your experiences, interests and motivations.

These shouldn’t seem rehearsed, but you do need to have outlined them so you can explain them clearly and concisely.

A bit like preparing for a presentation – this is in your control.

Those candidates who get noticed have usually prepared in this way.

#4 Speak to trainees

Many firms will ask trainees about who they spoke to and who made a good or not-so-good impression.

So, plan for these conversations and treat them as important as conversations with lawyers and recruiters.

Additionally, trainees are an invaluable source of information about the training contract, the firm, the work, and the culture/people – all of which can strengthen your applications.

This will give you a competitive advantage over most applicants who didn’t attend an open day or use their conversations with trainees in this way.

#5 Take notes

If it’s appropriate, you could take a note of important information during a conversation.

Sometimes, it’s good to ask/tell the other person what you plan to note down for future reference. Often, though, it’s better to find time to make notes after a conversation – either quickly before the next conversation, if appropriate, or at the earliest opportunity afterwards.

After the open day has finished, it’s also crucial that you spend some time reflecting on the day and making a note of everything you can remember.

This information is invaluable for your learning but will also give you some critical information to strengthen your application and interviews with the firm – this will get you noticed too.

So, now you’ve made the most of the day what else can you do to get noticed?

Tip #5 – Follow up after the open day

When you meet people at the open day, note their names so you can follow up with them afterwards.

You then need to find a way to contact them. Sometimes, firms publish lawyers’ and trainees’ email addresses on their website’s “People” section. If you can find an email address, then I recommend using that. If not, you can send a connection request via LinkedIn and add a note.

To do the latter, you need to select the option to be able to add a short message of up to 300 characters.

However, there is a restriction in that you can only add a note to five messages each month – you would need to pay the premium subscription to do this more.

Keep the note you send short and professional – including something along these lines:

• It was good to meet you.
• You enjoyed talking to them about X/thank them for the useful information they shared about Y – always reference something you discussed so they can recognise who you are.
• It would be good to connect with them via LinkedIn (if sending an email, say you will also send them a connection request via LinkedIn so they can expect it).

If you connect with trainees in this way, you can also ask them if they would be open to meeting you for a coffee or Zoom chat as you’re interested in learning more about their training and the firm.

Some candidates also choose to post about the open day on LinkedIn.

Done well, this can show you’re professional and allow you to thank individuals you met or heard speak. However, I would keep it on the shorter side. I see many candidates do this and try too hard to impress the recruiters with it and they get a bit long.

Always think of the reader – keep it short and easily digestible.

Give yourself a boost…

As you can see, getting noticed at an open day can really boost your chances in the later stages of the recruitment process.

So, if you think carefully about how to make the most of it and follow the tips above, you can gain a real competitive advantage over many other candidates.

It’s definitely worth your time and focus!