What is commercial awareness?

Commercial awareness is generally one of the most feared aspects of an interview process. However, this tends to be more because applicants don’t really understand what is meant by commercial awareness, which can make it very difficult to prepare.
To broadly summarise, if a person is “commercially aware”, this means they have at least a foundational understanding of how businesses operate, as well as a general awareness of the broader economic, political and commercial factors that can affect businesses. This could include an understanding of the types of strategies that businesses pursue (for example, an understanding of why and how businesses raise finance or engage in M&A activity) and the risks and threats that businesses face. It can also include knowledge of current affairs, industry trends, political events and the economy, as well as a foundational understanding of how these factors can affect firms and their clients.
This video forms part of the Commercial Law Academy's "Commercial awareness in context" course, which explains the meaning of commercial awareness, how it comes up in interviews, how to develop it, what to consider when discussing current affairs, and how to structure your answers to commercial awareness questions (www.commerciallaw.academy/cou....
The Commercial Law Academy is a comprehensive e-learning platform for aspiring commercial lawyers, complete with hundreds of videos and articles, practical tips, interactive quizzes, insider insights, flow charts, downloadable e-guides and exclusive guidance from industry experts and qualified lawyers.
The content has been created and curated by ex-Magic Circle lawyer and best-selling commercial awareness author Jake Schogger, based on his experiences practising as a lawyer, and coaching, mentoring and training thousands of aspiring lawyers.
Our 20 in-depth courses include: an introduction to legal careers, writing successful applications (plus dozens of example successful applications and cover letters for a range of leading law firms), law firm profiles and assessment centre insights, tackling psychometric tests, networking and LinkedIn, preparing for assessment centres, practical commercial awareness, example real interview case studies, discussing current affairs, presenting effectively and managing nerves, writing professionally, negotiation, legal technology, handling imposter syndrome and rejection, and setting up and growing a business.