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The view from campus: law students contemplate a bleak future as jobs dry up

When I graduated, I had not secured a training contract. To enhance my CV, I worked as a Legal Secretary for a year at a large, international firm. This was the best thing I could have done. I met many useful contacts, from Partners to trainees, who were all happy to give their time and wisdom when I was going through the horrific process of completing training contract applications. I was even invited along to the graduate recruitment director's presentation on securing a training contract, which resulted in my scoring 100% on that application form. The legal world is a small place and sometimes, it really is about 'who you know.' if you impress someone, either as a secretary or a receptionist, and get your name known, you can go far. Everyone has to start somewhere, sometimes at the bottom. Many students (including me at the time) come out of University thinking that they should just be able to walk into a high-flying job because they have been to University for 3 years. If you can, you are lucky but in the current economic climate, you need to prove yourself in other ways. This addition to my CV resulted in a much higher success rate when it came to completing training contract applications and I have now qualified as a Solicitor. My advice to law graduates - don't be too snobby about taking on jobs, such as a Receptionist. You never know where this may lead.

6-Jul-2009

5:25 pm