Paralegal / Trainee Solicitor Jobs - Advice for sister

[lewis s]

Hi all,

My sister is looking for one of the jobs listed above, but is having trouble getting through interview stages which i'm guessing is due to a lot of competition. She has a Law degree and has completed the LPC (whatever that is) and has been working in litigation for over a year.

Shes started to get frustrated spending evenings writing job applications, only to get shot down at the first hurdle, and has been doing this for months trying to get on the ladder so to speak.

Does anybody here work in law and can offer any advice or leads for me to pass onto her?

[harry010]

There is vast amounts of competition for legal jobs... My firm's London office had thousands of applications for training contracts this year, it is difficult but my first piece of advice to your sister is do not give up, but have a realistic timescale, most firms are 2 years ahead, so even if she got a TC tomorrow shed be starting in 2012.

What degree class did she get and from where? This unfortunately can
severely limit the options - forget Magic Circle with anything less than a 1st or very good 2:1 coupled with good A Levels from a red brick uni.

Also, make sure she tailors her application to each firm, this may be a pain but every law firm, just like
other employers, can spot an application that has been copied and pasted... Lawyers are hired for their attention to detail (among other
things) and any application that looks half arsed will go straight in the bin.

What subjects did she do on her
LPC? If for instance she did personal injury, private client and family law then applying to a corprate monster like my firm will not get her anywhere- target the firms that have specialisms that go hand in hand with what you have studied.

Do homework on the firms for an interview, make sure you are reading all the news etc... Most firms will want to test their candidates
knowledge of what is happening in the world, also commercial awareness is crucial... Law firms are businesses plain and simple and they are looking for people who know,
accept, and can work to this end.

Again, tell her not to give up, and if she wants there are a few people I can put her CV in front of, not
promising of course... I would offer her some work experience alongside me but unless she speaks Portuguese it'll be difficult.

Good luck to your sister, PM me if you would like me to drop her a line or an email - I'd be happy to have a look through her applications or just maybe offer a bit of support.

[harry010]

Apologies for cack formatting, it's late and on iPhone...

[lewis s]

Thanks for the great reply! All i know is that she got a good 2:1 at Southampton Uni and 3 A's at A level. I have passed her the details to this thread so she should be along shortly to reply in a bit more detail. Thanks again.

[Dupont666]

musclecarmad said:

anonymous said:

[redacted]

this is from a man that has worked in law for years so i'd try to take some advice from this and I like the brutal honesty.

I'd slightly disagree on one point and that is that I wouldn't advise her to pack it in - what else can she do now?

has she done any placements, who has she spoken to over the past 3/5 years, did she not try get anything whilst at uni? These are the questions i'd be asking as any keen candidate will have been doing this and more.

Law is a tough tough world - you are always up against other relatively bright people with degrees and no one is a dummy. That's why I went into financial services as not many people have an excellent academic background and qualifications which is why the money can be better. Ok, the linklaters partners aren't shy of a bob or two but the reality is that they have worked very very very hard to get where they are whereas some people in say Oil or IT will be on their 10th holiday this year!

I resent that only some IT are like that and if you work in financial services they are usually highly trained as they need to be otherwise they find someone else like in doing law. Though im talking about contractors and not permies in financial services.

[Mojooo]

once she is in she can play the race card eh tonker (hopefully)

[Dupont666]

musclecarmad said:

Dupont666 said:

musclecarmad said:

anonymous said:

[redacted]

this is from a man that has worked in law for years so i'd try to take some advice from this and I like the brutal honesty.

I'd slightly disagree on one point and that is that I wouldn't advise her to pack it in - what else can she do now?

has she done any placements, who has she spoken to over the past 3/5 years, did she not try get anything whilst at uni? These are the questions i'd be asking as any keen candidate will have been doing this and more.

Law is a tough tough world - you are always up against other relatively bright people with degrees and no one is a dummy. That's why I went into financial services as not many people have an excellent academic background and qualifications which is why the money can be better. Ok, the linklaters partners aren't shy of a bob or two but the reality is that they have worked very very very hard to get where they are whereas some people in say Oil or IT will be on their 10th holiday this year!

I resent that only some IT are like that and if you work in financial services they are usually highly trained as they need to be otherwise they find someone else like in doing law. Though im talking about contractors and not permies in financial services.

hmm, sorry if it upset you

contractors in financial services are the worst!! they are 'wide boys' and often have no qualifications whatsoever. OK some such as actuaries on the £2,000 per day jobs have decent qualifications but most don't. Having said that they can work hard but they get things like 6 days pay for 5 days work, some get paid on a per case basis and the lower paid contractors make money out of the vat flat rate scheme too.

I'm on my 6th holiday this year in a few weeks

Im only on my 3rd this weekend out of 5/6 this year...

Some contractors are the worst, particulaly those that talk the talk and then dont do anything for a month cause they cant and then get caught out and kicked out... hateful people

[therealpigdog]

What type of law does she want to get into, and in what sort of firm (size, geographic location etc)?

I'd always recomend to send a few good (well researched, carefully presented) applications rather than lots of poor (cut & paste) ones.

As with Harry, am happy for her to email/call me if she wants a perspective from the regions.

Am tempted to agree with Tonker - tough times ahead for everyone - but perhaps I'm not quite cynical enough just yet. If you are good enough, then there are jobs out there - just a case of being realistic.

[therealpigdog]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Tough love!