What is a candidate profile?
Candidate profiles are a brand-new addition to Simply Law which are designed to give you the perfect platform to showcase your experience, skills and qualifications in a professional and engaging way.
We have all experienced the struggle of working on a CV and not knowing exactly what information to include, how much detail to go into, or how to format it in the best way. Our candidate profiles take away the guesswork and guide you through every step of the process, leaving you with a detailed, well-rounded profile that you can be proud of.
Why they’ve been introduced
Put simply, we want to give you the best possible chance at success! We believe the candidate profile provides you with the best opportunity to showcase your career path and achievements so far, as well as your goals and ambitions for the future; helping you stand out in the memories of recruiters and increasing your chances of being contacted to discuss career opportunities.
The candidate profile has also been introduced with one eye on the future here at Simply Law, as we work on developing our offerings beyond job opportunities. We are working towards developing a community where legal professionals can connect, help one another, discuss industry developments, and develop their skills.
Your candidate profile will be a valuable resource when connecting with other professionals, lending weight to your discussions and interactions; so it is well worth the time taken to fill this out now, even if you are not actively looking for a new role. Keep an eye out for updates on these upcoming developments later this year.
What each section is for
When creating a new Simply Law account, you’ll be taken through the step-by-step process of creating your profile. You’ll have the choice of either creating a profile from scratch, or uploading an existing CV to populate the main information in your profile to begin with, and filling out the remaining information yourself.
You’ll be required to fill out certain information on your profile as a minimum, including your name, job role, contact details and at least one item of work experience. The rest you’ll be able to fill in at your own pace, but we recommend that you take the time to add as much detail as possible into each section.
Details
This section is where you can list your personal details, job role, skills, and preferences in terms of salary, location, contract type and working arrangements.
Experience
This section allows you to submit a short personal statement where you can summarise your career path so far and your aspirations moving forward; this is a great chance to show your personality and really grab the attention of potential employers. You should also list your work history in this section, detailing your main responsibilities, lessons and achievements from each role.
Education
This section allows you to share information on your qualifications, both academic and industry-specific, if relevant. You are also able to upload evidence of any certifications or credentials that you list in this section, lending further weight and authority to your profile.
Extra Curricular
This section is where you can go into more detail about you as a person in terms of your hobbies, skills, extra-curricular projects or awards. Here is where you can really stand out by sharing what makes you tick and what you’re passionate about, demonstrating qualities that will complement your academic and industry-related credentials.
What about my CV?
Of course, we understand that CVs are still an important part of the recruitment process for a lot of companies, and many professionals will wish to submit a traditional CV to Simply Law alongside their candidate profile.
As we mentioned earlier, you’re still able to upload a CV to your account in order to apply for roles on Simply Law. In fact you are able to upload up to 3 CVs to your account if needed, and all of these can exist on your account alongside your candidate profile.
Each time you apply for a role on Simply Law, you’ll be able to choose whether to apply with your candidate profile or with one of your uploaded CVs. We would always recommend applying for roles with your candidate profile where possible, once you’ve taken the time to fill this out.
Why it’s so important to take time to fill out your profile
Many recruiters today are looking for information beyond the traditional CV when hiring for new positions. They are looking to gain a more well-rounded view of what a person is like; both in terms of their qualifications and experience, as well as their soft skills, interests and passions. Presenting all of this information in your profile gives you the perfect opportunity to show more of who you are as a person, which can only help you stand out from your fellow legal professionals.
If you already had an existing account with Simply Law before candidate profiles were launched in June 2021, then we have created a candidate profile for you using the existing information from your CV.
We would highly recommend going into your profile to double check that the information that’s been pulled in from your CV is still up to date. There will also be several brand-new fields within your profile that are likely to be empty, so it’s very important to go through your profile and ensure you’ve filled these out in addition to the information that’s been pulled from your CV.
As mentioned earlier, your profile will also stay with you as Simply Law develops its offerings in future into providing resources for the wider legal community, acting as a record of your achievements as you move forward with your career. Whether or not you are actively searching for new opportunities, it is always a good idea to keep your profile updated in order to demonstrate (and celebrate) all the hard work that you have put into your career so far!
