[neo o]

The, 'but if two people are completely equal and one is from a sandstone university...' line has been used on this forum for years. Realistically guys, noone is the same. The person who said that law firms look for graduates who are 'experienced' is also fairly wrong. Undergraduates don't have experience.

Tying these two together though, what employers are looking for are driven and interesting people. A clerkship is valuable on a resume, not because it shows experience (a few months in a firm as a clerk will not prepare you for the real world) but because it shows enthusiasm. An enthusiastic and interesting person who can create an interesting and engaging narrative about themselves will do well in interviews.

From my experience in interviews (this includes non-legal interviews, for example at Procter and Gamble) recruiters in larger firms, particularly at later stages of the interview process really want to get to know you as a person. At smaller firms, partners are looking for people who they won't have to worry about if they're left in a room alone with a client.