Law firms' own websites are the best weapon they have in the battle for new talent, according to a survey of final-year law undergraduates.


Personal contact, the legal press and word of mouth mattered, the respondents said, but when it came to getting information on firms when searching for jobs, firms' websites mattered most.



In a survey of 114 final-year students by web company Intendance at colleges including the LSE, Kings College, Newcastle Law School, BPP Law School and the universities of Bristol, Nottingham and Oxford, more than half said law firms' websites were 'an absolute must' as a source of information when researching job applications. Personal contact and the press failed to manage half that importance rating.



But what is in those websites matters and, contrary to this year's hype about blogs and podcasts, the thing most students said was vital was for it to be 'easy to find the information I need'. This is often easier said than done - respondents said it was 'hard to find info' on a significant number of sites.



Graduates' top six 'most wanted' website elements were, in descending order, academic requirements, an application timeline, a brief description of the firm, details of work experience schemes, an illustration of a firm's culture and values, and an online application form. All these elements scored between 60-80% of respondents saying they were 'crucial'.



More 'basic' functionality also scored over podcasts and video clips - most respondents said they were far more likely to use downloadable PDF documents and email updates. However, 25% of respondents might use podcasts and nearly 40% might watch video clips.



Graduates were also given the opportunity to say which 'management speak' terms they most hated. Top of the list was 'client-orientated', closely followed by 'dynamic', 'work hard/play hard' and 'professional'. 'Forward-thinking', 'can-do attitude', and 'approachable' also got dishonourable mentions.



Respondents sided strongly with the idea of having dedicated graduate recruitment 'microsites' at law firms. A majority of respondents were in favour, said Intendance.



Rupert White