Obviously these are unprecedented, uncertain and worrying times for us all. I am currently on furlough leave, and have been since the latter end of March. Although not being able to work is less than ideal, I’m taking each day as it comes.
I’ve been staying at my boyfriend’s parents’ house since lockdown commenced. I’ve defo been missing my family tho and I can’t wait to give them all a massiveeeeeee hug!! They even sent me the cutest box of my fave things…
Since being placed on furlough leave it’s safe to say that I’ve had plenty of time on my hands! I’ve watched a lot of Netflix (I can defo recommend ‘Safe’ and ‘The Stranger’!), done quite a few puzzles, FaceTimed my family & friends, and been exercising as much as poss.
I’ve also been trying to be as productive as I can during lockdown and to just get my life sorted a bit! My ‘plan’ is to continue working in my current role at a local law firm for the time being. Although I am currently working within the family department, I may move to a different department in the near future to further expand my legal knowledge and explore another area of law in more depth. Although family law is an area that I am extremely interested in and keen to practice, I am also keeping my options open (just in case family law isn’t an option once completing a training contract).
In an ideal world I would like to secure a training contract prior to commencing the LPC LLM. Therefore, during lockdown, I am doing as much as I can to enhance my chances of securing a training contract.
So here are a few things that I’ve been up to:
1. Decided on a location…
You need to decide on a location where you’d be happy to work. For me it is really important to have that work-life balance, especially when you’re choosing to pursue a career that can at times be very stressful and demanding. My family are everything to me and I couldn’t imagine living far away from them and, if I’m being honest, it’s not something I would be willing to do.
Furthermore, when I’ve had a stressful day there’s nothing better than popping over to see your fam, or friends, for a drink…doing it over FaceTime just wouldn’t be the same! So for me it was an easy decision; I will be applying for a training contract with firms located within the South West of the UK. Obviously law is a very competitive field and you will need to keep your options open to some degree but do so in a way that suits you, your needs and mentality.
2. Had a look at firms…
Once I had decided on a location, I thought it would be useful to research firms within that area. At this point I’m not talking about spending hours upon hours of your time researching firms, but just enough so that you have a general insight into the firms within your chosen location, or potential location.
A few things to be looking out for are whether firms within your chosen location are annually looking to recruit trainees (because some smaller firms aren’t) and whether firms in your location specialise in an area of law you may like to practice. You just need to know what’s out there.
3. Sent emails…
Once I had selected (initially) a variety of firms that I would potentially be interested in applying to, I sent emails to several of those firms when there wasn’t much information on their website regarding training contracts I.e. with some firms’ websites it would simply just say something like ‘Applications are currently closed, check back in a couple of months’. Personally, I need to know more than this I.e. when applications open, how long they stay open for, and their recruitment process. This will allow me to plan accordingly, work out how much time I can spend researching each firm, and when applications need to be completed and submitted.
I’m definitely a planner and like to be organised, and to be honest when you’re going to be applying for a training contract… you need to be! Time will be of the essence, you’ll need to spend as much time as possible making each application perfect, plus you’ll also need to put aside plenty of time to prep for those all important interviews. So now is the perfect time to get organised, get an idea as to timescales and get the ball rolling; make a plan of how you’re going to use your time wisely when it actually comes around to the application process.
4. Network with firms…
When you email a firm in the first instance, it’s likely that you will be using a generic email that you find on their website in order to make contact, unless of course you already have a connection(s) with a particular firm.
Towards the end of your email it would be worth saying sometime like ‘If I have any questions of a similar nature in the future, is there a particular person that I should contact?’ This is a simple, yet effective, way to connect with someone in the firm’s HR department or a specific recruitment officer I.e. someone who is likely to play a role in the recruitment process. Then perhaps you can connect with the firm, their recruitment officer(s), their trainees etc on the firm’s socials I.e. LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook etc. Using these platforms is an easy, yet effective, tool to begin networking with firms and showing your interest in them and their work.
5. Research firms…
This is something I am yet to do in depth but is defo on my to-do list. You need to know why a firm is right for you before you even think about actually sending off an application to them. Plus you’ll need to do a lot of research to prepare for your applications/interviews. So why not get a head start and use your time to research firms you’re interested in. A few things to be looking at are: what are the firm’s values? What are the aims of the firm? Who are their clients? What is the work environment like? Do they have an environment that you would like to train in? Do they get involved with charities?
You need to know why a firm is right for you and how you could add value to the firm; the more convincing you are at demonstrating this, the more the firm is going to want you to be a part of their team. So research, research, research!
6. Preparing answers…
Whilst you have some spare time on your hands it would be useful to start thinking about answers to standard questions that are likely to be a part of any training contract application, regardless of the firm you choose to apply to.
What I mean by ‘standard questions’ are those such as ‘Why you?’, ‘Why Law/why do you want to be a lawyer?’ Obviously when you send off an application for a training contract, each application has to be individually tailored to each firm- no two firms are the same. However, answers to questions such as the above are usually going to be the same no matter what firm you are applying to. So why not begin to draft/create a model answer that can be used in applications because, let’s be honest, you’re going to have to come up with answers to those types of questions at some point… and it will save you a lot of time in the long run.
7. Enhancing your CV…
Obviously securing a career in the legal field is going to be very competitive so you’re going to need a CV that makes you stand out from the crowd, to some degree anyway!
I wouldn’t say that you need to have done all these amazing things or have lots of crazy hobbies, but you do need to be able to use what you’ve done to demonstrate that you have the values an employer is looking for.
My CV is already quite packed out as I’ve done a lot of legal work experience (I will be doing a separate blog post on how to secure mini-pupillages, pro-bono work and general work experience within the legal sector) but I have used this time to think about how I can make my CV further stand out from the crowd. For example I would like to participate in some volunteering work within my local community. A few skills that you can demonstrate from volunteering are social skills, the desire to want to help others at no cost, commitment, time management, dedication and just to show that you care!
Anyway, the above are just some things that I have been doing during lockdown that I believe will help me in the long run & I hope that they give some of you some ideas too!
I hope you are all managing to stay safe and well (& sane) during lockdown!
Abby x
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