Editor's weekly: Beat the blues

If youre feeling anything like the way I am today then it must be very tempting to creep back into bed with a hot water bottle and watch an entire Sex and the City box set.

But then I remembered my new years resolution, which is to be more proactive. For me, that means stepping up my house hunt by several notches. While for those of you who dream of working as a high-flying corporate lawyer its time to confront those summer vacation scheme applications. With January rapidly coming to a conclusion the deadlines are now just around the corner.

And trust me, a place on a vac scheme now will open many more doors in the future Im pretty sure that the main reason why I eventually secured a training contract with a top ten City firm was because the two vac schemes I secured with magic circle firms gave my CV a much-needed boost after pretty mediocre first year grades.

Summer vac schemes are not only the best way to sample life in a law firm but recruiters are increasingly using them as the first stage of the recruitment process. Indeed, unless you really muck up, a place on a vac scheme will more often than not guarantee you a training contract interview. Top 30 law firm Nabarro for instance recruits around 90 per cent of its trainees from it vac schemes.

If by the time you read this youve already posted your applications, then your next task is to start preparing for any potential interviews. Because love them or loathe them, more and more firms now also interview for vac scheme places. So its just as important to give 100 per cent to this stage of your legal career.

But dont stress because as always Lawyer2B.com is here to help with its guide on how to survive interviews and assessments days (see article). And dont forget a well-researched candidate will always stand out more than one who tries to blag their way through an interview.

So what are you waiting for? Jump out of bed and rid yourself of the January blues.

husnara.begum@lawyer2b.com