Legal Recruitment

Lawyers are known for writing wills, affidavits and agreements that contain complex legal terms, but when it comes to drafting their own resumes they can easily all go awry.

Why would it be that lawyers are not a fantastic resume writers? In a tough job market, where legal vacancies are at a premium, a law graduate needs to emphasize some key essentials that are required in the present legal job market more than ever. Your past performance in a reputed company may help you to land a better job, but for most young law graduates their resume is everything.

A resume is more than a piece of paper. It’s an identity. The resume represents it owner before a prospective employer, therefore, you must know how to write a valuable and impressive resume. For lawyers, searching for legal vacancies starts with writing a great resume.

Writing A Resume

There are no hard and fast rules to follow while drafting your curriculum vitae. You can start your resume with your name, date of birth, contact address, phone numbers and email Ids. but, there are some points, which you need to bear in mind if you want your resume to work miracles for you.

• Keep the resume straight forward and try to conclude it within two to three pages.
• Avoid over-writing. It can confuse your employer and he or she could easily discard your CV.
• Give even the minutest detail of your academic career. An academic achievement may seem irrelivant to you, however, it can be of great assistance to your prospective employer.
• If you have worked in a smaller law firm, then outline what you have done. Give serious thought to your career experience because that is what the employer is looking for.

Young law graduates generally do not have the experience of writing resumes. In this situation it may be very wise to seek assistance with this through working with legal recruitment agencies.

The outlook for many law students who are seeking to get a training contract in the coming years is a bleak one.  The reality is there are many more law students graduating from the legal practice course than there are training contract vacancies and therefore many end up being disappointed when they apply to get a job on the first rung of the ladder in the legal profession.

The situation has been made even worse by the recent recession which has caused many law firms to defer some of their training contract start dates and reduce the numbers of training contracts they are offering in the coming years.

This has meant increased competition for training contracts and the numbers of people applying increasing each year as the next wave of new applicants joins the existing applicants who have yet to secure a training contract.

The situation is therefore difficult for many law students who often have large student debts but who are unable to then get a job.  The situation isn’t helped by the fact that there is a lack of knowledge and advice available to law students about how best to write an application to give them the best chance of success.

One ex-solicitor became acutely aware of this situation when he was part of the recruitment process for his firm’s future trainee solicitors.  Matt Oliver has since set up a website to give careers advice and information on how to improve applications for training contracts.  The website is called Trainee Solicitor Surgery and is designed to give much needed careers advice to those people who are seeking to secure a training contract.

Given Matt’s background he is able to give specific, targeted advice rather than generic careers advice and application help, which is often all law students are able to get from their university careers offices.  The process needed to produce successful applications for training contracts is unique in many ways.  Not only do the applications need to be prepared in a certain way, but there is an important and necessary research element that needs to be undertaken before any applications are produced.

Matt also offers one to one assistance to students who are seeking to improve their chances of succeeding with their training contract applications.

For more information about succeeding with your law training contract applications click here:  Trainee Solicitors.

The society is governed by law. One has to abide by law while crossing a street, driving a vehicle, buying a house, using public services or doing anything. Various laws affect each aspect of the society. We must have the knowledge of the legal system but it is not possible for everyone to understand the complex terms of laws and so we take the services of a legal agency or a law executive. However, it is not possible for a law graduate to specialise in all law related fields and this is why law graduates specialise in a particular field (s) and make their career in that. So, today we have separate lawyers with necessary experience and expertise to sort out our various legal issues like civil, criminal and corporate.

Young law graduates can choose bankruptcy, probate, elder law, international law or any other field of their interest. Remember you could do wonders in your area of interest. So carefully decide which area of law attracts you the most. A legal recruitment agency could help you find legal jobs in your areas of interest. These days, environmental law is the favorite area for many lawyers. An environment lawyer represents public-interest groups, waste disposal companies and construction firms.

Lawyers could also opt to work as an in-house legal executive or go for their private practice. In-house legal vacancies allow you to work with large corporations and get a handsome package. In-house work deals in litigation, contract law, international law, corporate law and employment law. In private practice, a fresh law graduate can start as an associate to experienced lawyers and can earn good remuneration. A private practitioner has to deal with various laws ranging from property to criminal and divorce.

An interview is a two way process. This means a candidate should always be prepared with his or her counter questions. If you are going for an interview in a reputed law firm then think of some good questions to ask when it is your turn to interview your prospective employer. Always remember that whenever you go for a legal interview, make yourself mentally strong and prepared to face any situation. The employer wants to see a killing edge in you.

Preparing for Counter Questions

A young law graduate is no doubt has the knowledge of his or her profession but when facing an interview in law firms he or she could feel nervous. Certain activities can help boost up your confidence. First, get thorough knowledge about the law firm or the legal company you are going to visit for the interview. Your recruitment agency can give you all the information. On the basis of your knowledge, you should prepare a set of questions to ask. Your questions must be relevant to the job responsibilities you would be assigned. Now arm yourself with two weapons – first is your answers to their questions and second your questions to them – you are ready to face any interview.

On the Interview Day

Always bear in mind that it is your appearance that speaks volumes about you. Next is your attitude. You are going to become a law executive or secretary, so speak confidently. Get the habit to stand by every word you say. Be careful whilst selecting what you would wear for the interview. Ring up the office and confirm your interview with the receptionist before leaving. Reach the venue well before time so that you could get some time to relax. Sit patiently while waiting for your turn if there are other candidates.

The legal sector has been experiencing good opportunities for its young law graduates even amidst the economic slowdown. The global financial crisis has done little to adversely affect the job opportunities available to the law graduates. Instead, it has resulted into new avenues for them.

Economic slowdown has its worst effect on property; extensive redundancies are made in this specific sector. The residential property market is almost closed. But in commercial property, new sales and acquisitions and finance and development have kept the market alive. Solicitors could find jobs in commercial property sector.

Caseload of general insolvencies has created a huge demand for solicitors having experience in insolvency and contentious property litigation. However, the demand is much higher for solicitors, who have commercial insolvency or corporate recovery experience rather than personal insolvency. According to recruitment agencies and legal firms, there are a number of jobs available for contentious construction solicitors. A candidate with arbitration experience is especially sought after these days.

Another area offering legal jobs in these turbulent times is employment law. As commercial firms are continuously making redundancies and new employment legislation is being considered by the government, job opportunities in the field of employment law service are surging. It is certainly difficult to believe that current demand in employment legal service is so high that a single recruitment agency can never fulfill it on its own.

Personal injury sector has also remained steady throughout the economic downturn. This particular sector has moved ahead to take advantage of those law and LPC graduates, who are looking for training contracts. These graduates can work like case handlers for the small and fast track work. Areas such as wills and probate, family and crime seek paralegal graduates.