Katie Beverley

Top tips for Newly Qualified Solicitors

Finding a legal role in this current climate can be a long and difficult process. Many junior lawyers at the start of their careers are being hit considerably hard, as they don’t have the all-important experience that many employers are deeming essential. This is particularly true within the legal sector, with newly-qualified solicitors often feeling stuck on where to turn for advice. Here Consultant Chloe Cameron has shared her top tips from writing a CV and applying for roles, right through to choosing a job from a range of offers. Applying for jobs – your CV: It’s really important when applying to jobs that your CV looks good and that it is tailored to the job you’re applying for – i.e. it showcases your relevant experience for the job. This is particularly important for NQ/junior lawyers because in your training you might have covered multiple areas of law (e.g. four seats in your training contract), but you may be most interested into going into one of those areas for your next role. There’s no point having tonnes of info on the CV from all the areas you’ve done if you’re only applying for one area (e.g. property law). It is therefore our suggestion that you tailor your CV to the job description and make sure it really showcases your property experience. Make sure this part of your experience is the first thing the employer/recruiter sees on your CV employment history section and make sure it’s very detailed in this area. You can lose some details from your other areas of law that aren’t relevant to property law. Within this, make sure most complex things you’ve done are at the top, ending with less complex duties at the bottom (e.g. admin tasks). View video from Chloe where she shares her fist tip on how to tailor your CV to help you to secure your dream role! Interview stage: Interviews are nerve-racking for anyone but the way you’ll come out ahead it to prepare, prepare, prepare! The difference between a good/average interview and an excellent one is using examples – this substantiates the claims you’re making on your CV and in the interview. Need to bring in examples are every opportunity and best way of incorporating examples into interview answers is using STAR method (situation, task, action, result). This is a widely used method and I didn’t go into it in my video, just mentioned in passing. Most people should know what this is already. Of course we need to try and answer every question and to the best of your ability, but if you don’t know something or haven’t done the thing the interviewer is asking about, then don’t lie! Equally, don’t just say you don’t know. You need to explain that you’ve not done it (or not done that much of it) but then turn it into a positive and either talk about something similar/related that you’ve done, or talk about how while it’s not something you’ve had the opportunity to do, it’s something you’re keen to pick up, and talk about relevant personal qualities to make up for this skill gap - how you’re hard-working, enthusiastic, fast-learner etc. Technical knowledge in interviews is very important of course, but the way you come across (personality/attitude/willingness/intelligence etc) can be as important. This is what might make the difference between you and another candidate. View video from Chloe where she shares her second tip on what to expect during the interview stage and how you can turn an average interview into an excellent one. Offer stage – what now? How to choose right job?: How do you know what role is right for you? How do you know which job to accept? This actually needs to be thought about way before this stage ideally. You need to know what you’re looking for and what your priorities are, because some things are more important to some people than others. Factors that might influence your decision: day-to-day duties in the role; what area of law it is; sector (e.g. public sector, private firm); location; flexibility; salary; organisation (size, values, team); progression, training – it really could be anything! You need to have a good think about these, ideally from the beginning of your job search, so that when you get to offer stage you’re confident in your decision. Equally, I appreciate priorities might change over the course of the recruitment process, perhaps in unexpected ways, so it’s worth constantly checking in with yourself in terms of your priorities. E.g. you might think salary is the most important thing but after interviewing somewhere with a lower salary than you were looking for, you might really love the sound of the job and progression and this might shift what you originally thought was most important for you. View our third and final video from Chloe where she shares her tips for the offer stage of the interview process and if you have multiple job offers, how you can decide which job is the right one for you. If you are currently looking for a legal role, please search our latest legal roles. If you are interested in discussing this topic further or have any questions, please feel free to contact me on 0161 834 1642 or email me at chloe.cameron@sellickpartnership.co.uk

Newly Qualified Solicitors - frequently asked questions

What type of legal roles do Sellick Partnership recruit for within the public sector? Sellick Partnership is a market leader in legal recruitment and as such, we have built expert knowledge of our sector – our clients want us to use our knowledge to help bring talented legal professionals into their teams on both a temporary and permanent basis. Previously, we were predominantly specialised in locum positions, but as a result of our years of experience and trusted expertise, more and more of our clients now approach us to help with permanent positions. To put it into numbers, in 2020 Sellick Partnership increased recruitment numbers by 50% for permanent legal roles within the Public Sector. Does Sellick Partnership recruit junior roles, or do you only recruit to mid-senior level roles? What experience level do Sellick Partnership recruit for? The Sellick Partnership legal team recruit for vacancies at all levels including partners, senior solicitors, newly qualified solicitors as well as paralegals and legal officers. Many of our long-standing candidates have progressed their career with us after initially securing Paralegal roles. Whatever stage you are at in your career – Sellick Partnership can help. It is highly likely that we will have a role that will match whatever you are looking for in your next move. If you are struggling to determine what that next move might be too, we can always offer some advice and guidance on this. It is also worth noting that public sector organisations are always keen to receive applications from more junior candidates as they are keen to offer training and development opportunities and provide a structured career path for them. Again, to give you some numbers Sellick Partnership have increased placements of NQs by 20% in a role within local authority in 2020 compared with 2019, with numbers in 2021 continually growing. Are Sellick Partnership in contact with hiring managers all the time – will my manager find out I am looking for a new role? Confidentiality is something we take very seriously at Sellick Partnership, and we have a responsibility to do so. We would never discuss your circumstances or share your CV without your consent. As market leaders in the legal recruitment industry, our clients and candidates choose to work with us time and time again not just for our expertise, but also the level of confidentiality and assurance we provide. Any conversations with our Consultants regarding your professional development and any potential career moves are completely private and confidential. How safe and appropriate is it to look for a new role at the moment given the COVID-19 pandemic? Every candidate across every industry and sector has probably felt a little anxious about moving roles during a global pandemic. However, at Sellick Partnership, we have seen the organisations we work with really embrace either fully remote working or a mix of remote/office based working. This has meant that many organisations have quickly found alternative ways to on-board, train and welcome new team members remotely. Things such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, regular team catch ups and buddy systems have all played a huge role in this. Where is the best place for Newly Qualified Solicitors to look for roles? Is there specific places where recruitment agencies and hiring managers would advertise them? It is really important for Sellick Partnership to reach as many potential candidates as possible, and this is why we engage with a wide variety of media. Sellick Partnership use the traditional job boards, such as Totally Legal, Simply Law and Indeed, however regularly post on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. That being said, websites like Lawyers in Local Gov are a valuable resource for NQs and not just for job seeking. It is important for Sellick Partnership to target our specific candidates so that the jobs that arrive in your inbox are as relevant as possible. If you have any further questions or if you would like some more advice, please contact us and speak to your Sellick Partnership Recruitment Consultant. Alternatively, you can check out our latest live public sector legal jobs here.