Part I: Getting in Early
Year on year law continues to prove the most popular undergraduate course and with a static number of training contracts the competition for jobs will only increase.
I believe that applicants with a clear focus on what they want from their first legal job, and who can demonstrate a clear commitment to achieving their aspirations, will find themselves streets ahead of the competition.
Getting started
Over the last ten years or so I have worked with many junior lawyers and I have found that the most successful of these started early, getting clear on what they wanted from their careers and gaining practical legal experience.
In my view, what set these individuals apart was a confidence born of an understanding of the kind of firm and areas of law that interested them and to which they were suited.
It is never too late to get started, but the later you leave it may result in a less attractive range of choices available to you.
So what can you do?
Attending milk round fairs is a great way to meet some of the law firms/organisations and begin to build a picture of who you might like to work for. In addition there are also a host of online resources that you can tap into as you research firms to approach.
As part of your investiagtion process I strongly recommend that you offer up some of your holidays to gain vacation experience at different law firms/organisations (I will discuss this in more detail in Part II of this series).
Before you start making approaches, take some time to understand your reasons for choosing a career in law. This will help you get grounded in what is really important to you and will have also have a positive impact on your application/CV writing process and subsequent interviews.
To help you get started take a look at the questions below:
1. Why law – think of your top five reasons for pursuing a career in law.
2. What are three legal specialisations that interest you and why?
3. Name ten qualities that you think are important in becoming a successful solicitor/barrister.
4. What are five of your personal qualities that make a career in law a good profession for you?5. What kind of work environment do you think you would be best suited to? If you aren't not sure ask the people who know you best what they think.
6. What does a successful career look like for you?
This isn’t a race so take your time.
This is your opportunity to get to the heart of what you want for you.
Once you have answered these questions look back over them - what it is that is important about each answer?
Having completed this exercise - what do you know now that you didn’t know before and how will this impact on the applications that you make?
What next?
In Part II will cover in more detail the value of vacation placements and include more questions designed to give you a deeper understanding of your motivations and interests.
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