Pure Potential

Recruitment

This section of the site gives you advice on how to secure a job and to help you with your first career steps, both the theory and practice. We've got advice ranging from choosing the right career to tips on how to polish up your interview skills to information on all our partner firms.

Selecting a career, submitting your job applications, dealing with assessment centres and doing well in your interviews can be a challenge, so we have written pages of useful tips, step-by-step guides and informative articles to help you on your way to securing a job in your ideal profession.

Case study

We met Dina Fahmy way back in 2007 when she was in sixth form, and now she has a training contract with Allen & Overy - one of the world's leading law firms. She tells her story:

"Like most Sixth Formers, when UCAS application time came around I was not entirely sure which university I wanted to attend nor what I wanted to study, let alone what career path I later wanted to pursue. Pure Potential's PP: Sixth event thus came at a perfect time! The event, held at the LSE which is incidentally the university I have gone on to attend, was an incredible help. It provided me with valuable guidance in making important decisions for the future, both in terms of university and career choice. Now, as a final year law student taking up a job in corporate law, I am funnily enough working through the levels I learnt about all that time ago with Pure Potential.

Before attending the PP: Sixth event I had virtually no knowledge of corporate law or what the job entailed, but things were greatly clarified by the speakers on the day. Following a presentation by a corporate law firm on what the lawyers do on a daily basis, we got involved in a group case study where we simulated a legal situation. Learning interactively about the work of corporate lawyers was really insightful, and a lot of fun. From this point on I began seriously considering corporate law as a potential career path.

After working hard during A levels I was fortunate enough to get into the LSE and I'm having a fantastic time here. Although the degree is challenging, it's extremely interesting and very well suited to my interests and skills. I'm meeting lots of great people from around the world and taking advantage of as many opportunities as possible, such as taking part in societies, mooting (mock trials) and attending public lectures. LSE has, moreover, held many careers events in the field of corporate law thus helping me expand on the knowledge I initially gained at the PurePotential event.

I extensively researched corporate law by attending numerous events held by different law firms and speaking to various people in the industry, from graduate recruitment staff to trainee solicitors to partners. I really liked what I heard and knew that the next step in learning more about the job, and whether it suited me, was to get hands-on experience working at a corporate law firm. I applied for summer vacation schemes and managed to land internships with Allen & Overy and Baker & McKenzie, which I carried out after completing my second year exams. My time at the firms was invaluable and I even got to do a week in Allen & Overy's New York office which was an amazing experience! Most importantly, the schemes affirmed to me that training as a corporate lawyer is what I want to do after I graduate.

I have now accepted a Training Contract with Allen & Overy, which I have requested to defer for a year, giving me the chance to travel and perhaps teach English abroad. My plans aren't final as of yet, but it's great to have the freedom to take time off between university and starting work.

Starting Sixth Form I would never have envisaged myself to be in this position, and I feel very fortunate to have secured the graduate scheme with Allen & Overy. The work Pure Potential does for students is something I really admire and support, especially as I have experienced first hand how effective their guidance can be."