Catching the 'Golden Snitch' that is pupillage...

After reading Minx's post on her pupillage application woes, I have been left with a bitter taste in my mouth. How does a woman as qualified in many ways as this not have pupillage? It gives me the beginnings of an inferiority complex about my own application situation. I know only too well how competitive the profession is, even more so in the case of BVC students seeking pupillage. Though, I too went to the wrong university, didn't get the best A-Level grades and don't have a fraction of the experience or qualifications as Minx...

I think the recruiters need to pull their socks up Minx!

CBC

xx

p.s. It seems only wizardry to Potter standard can capture that Snitch!

What makes an 'undesirable' trainee candidate?

As my days are now almost entirely consumed by applications, trawling the web for vacancies and blogging, I am beginning to wonder whether in a firm's eyes there is such thing as an undesirable candidate for a training position and what that person would be like. It seems there are several categories/ qualities which firms are reluctant to budge on. I must just clarify that I am not generalising about firms but merely passing comment on what I have observed about the application process. Here are just a few observations:

Degree Classification and University
90% of Firms which I have come across either via the web or their hard-copy literature request an upper second class degree or above, regardless of discipline. There are a small percentange of firms which state that they 'require' a lower class degree or above and an equally low number of those which do not specify a degree class on their recruitment brochures etc. So on this evidence it seems that the likelihood of a student getting offered a training contract with anything less that a 2:1 is going to be based on a lot more than their degree result.

Legal Practice Course
I have also recently noticed that a large number of firms are now specifying 'Distinction' and 'Commendation' as well as the 2:1 or above. Fair enough.

Language Ability
A lot more firms are wanting fluency in a second language and I have even come across one or two which wanted fluency in several languages! In particular the international and multi-jurisdictional firms will place more importance on the fluency of candidates in different languages and this is not at all unreasonable given the nature of the firm. However, some smaller (medium) sized firms would love a candidate to be fluent in a second language also.

Legal Experience
This is interesting as the firms do not ALWAYS mention this but it is assumed that they'd all want some level of experience. The experience could range from vac schemes and pro bono work to part time employment and paralegalling. The experience requirement is not exclusive to law of course but it seems that it is vital to securing a training contract. The good thing I have noticed about some firms is that they clearly state that should there be a reason why the candidate did not achieve a high level of academia, if they have 'good' experience elsewhere, this may have a positive impact on their application.

SuperPowers
The often hidden category, the majority of firms expect a level of superpowers ranging from time travel, flight and invisibility to telepathy. No sarcasm whatsoever. In all seriousness it seems they would like prospective trainees to have something...special about them. Having interests outside of work are handy.

SO, back to the original question, an undesirable doesn't really exist...do they?

I don't expect firms to compromise on quality of candidates of course; that would be to their and their future clients' as well as the profession's detriment. I can't argue with that.

CBC

xx

Employment Drought

So dear bloggers,

I am away for the weekend on a much needed break away from home which is driving me up the 'crazy' wall at the moment.

In the past week or so, I have taken a short break from the relentless job searching and applying purely to let my hair down a little but now I'm getting back in the saddle out of necessity. I went on an 'interview' last week which was an odd experience I won't detail too much on here. Needless to say, the firm in question was not prepared to pay me until a future date...

I am so close to screaming, it's choking me.

Till Monday

CBC

xx

The Darling 'Buds' of ...well April

Good morning www. I had to get in there before that statement became redundant and it ceased to be morning. Gosh. I woke up to the slightly camp tones of Matthew Wright on Channel 5. Good show as per usual.

Prior to the announcement of Darling's budget (and especially seeing as I am not as politically versed as I would like) I had been scouring Times Online for some 'light' and came across the following unrelated story:

MPs to get extra £150 a day for turning up

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6144277.ece

Pity the same principle could not be applied to law students, giving them £150 for each application for pupillage/ training contract application they made...if only.

So on to enjoy the rest of my day (kitty style) commencing with the ever glamorous task of defrosting my freezer (or more like cleaning up the sodden remnants of my freezer) and then onto shopping for replacements of said contents...all in the day of an aspiring lawyer

Purrr

CBC

xx

P.s. Mmmm, non sequitur...

(Cartoon can be found at www.stus.com. Permission was sought before posting this)

Ailurophobics not welcome...

So upon reading Barmaid's blog about her current legal- application -induced illness, I have come to the harsh realisation that I too have the training contractivum strain of this dreadful illness. If you are a law student and you feel that you are suffering the symptoms posted here:

http://bar-maid.blogspot.com/2009/04/ive-got-illness.html

then don't suffer in silence... (and be wary of Frank's advice)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/5178388/Drugs-so-much-wrong-with-Franks-advice.html

This morning however, after the goings on of last night, including several gallons of tears and scarily swollen eyes (currently they are slits), I have made a pact to be more proactive. Seems my actions of late aren't pleasing my family. So my whole life I have played nicely but now I need to badger people into giving me a job. I don't WANT to work in Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's or Morrisons and no offence to anyone who works there; they're fine establishments. I just want a sodding legal job.

A mere ruptuary like myself. Fancy that...

CBC

xx

Hai, soo desu...CBC learns Japanese

So currently, I am so stressed, I am literally shaking. For reasons I won't go into www, I am now asking what next? A bit of a glimmer of light at the end of this tunnel is all I'm asking for. Even the jobs where I am offering to work for free aren't responding! Come on law firms...we can't all have gone to Oxbridge with 1sts and commendations and do work in small African villages in our spare time whilst single handedly solving world hunger. Give a normal person a chance! Sometimes, the relentless stream of applications with NO response from anyone is annoying and downright rude. Do recruiters not realise that there is a person behind those emails and phonecalls? I'm not even talking about Training Contract Applications at the moment either; paralegal work, work experience, frippin' toilet cleaning...

*and exhales*

I think I need a cup of tea and a pie. My patience is wearing thin but I'm not giving up even though the bastards are wearing me down!

Sayonara

CBC

xx

First post of 2009!

Happy New Year! Seeing as this is my first post of 2009, I suppose I should make it as cheery as possible. However, after a shattering day of selling books, I scarcely am able to feign a smile.

So what's new CBC? Leo? Mr Literary? Training Contract in the Circle of magique?

Who? What? Don't be silly! Thankfully, for my own sanity and well-being I have not heard from Leo in such a long time that I can just about remember what he looks or sounds like. Unfortunately, recently I have been thinking about him a little more than occasionally. Hmm. I'm not particularly sure what has brought this on. It may be that there was a guy with whom I worked of the same name and so that may have got me thinking about him again. Who knows? Who cares really? I'm going to have to come to the realisation that I'll never quite know what went wrong. I think the more that I try to figure it out, the deeper I dig myself into the pit of "me thinks she doth protest too much"-ness.

Mr Literary. I probably should not comment further on THAT matter. I just don't understand the incompetent sex sometimes. I have decided that for 2009 I will enjoy being alive (as opposed to living) and not trouble myself with 'affairs of the heart' and such. I think relationships/dating/etc are so much more trouble than they are worth. For now anyway.

Ah, but please don't mistake me for someone who is becoming a cynical whingeing old bat. Oh no. Cautious may be a better adjective in this case. 2009 is going to be different; I can feel it already.

So onto the circle of magique. Seeing as I have to re-retake some of my exams, there'll be none of this magic circle lark. But who knows what the future holds. I can't wait.

See...I did kind of end on a semi positive note!

CBC

xx

P.s. I had better scuttle off to make my notes for BLP

Cor how time flies!

Well it's August already! I can hardly believe it! A lot has happened since my last post, mainly in the shape of me now having a job or two! Yup. I have 2 jobs. (1 now and second one starting in September) Yay me. I love my job. I work in a well known bookshop and my work colleagues are so lovely. I love meeting new people; it's so refreshing.

Just a quick post to kind of update my bloggy blog. Ooof! Revision is so slow at the mo though but glad the Training Contract Apps are out of the way mostly so I can totally focus this week.

Much love

CBC

xx

P.s. I have to join the gym after pay day!

Business Accounts...again

So I am NYC in Business Accounts and so have to do the exam again this Saturday! Getting to grips with the format and I'm slightly reluctant to say that I am enjoying it...bar Company Accounts. That ruddy Analysis of Reserves 'calculation' is driving me slightly loopy but I'll get there, eventually.

I thought it would be a good idea to pop into law school to revise today (which is where I am now) and it's deadly quiet except for the occasional BVC student popping in for their results. I unfortunately have a banging headache and just can't concentrate for very long. See how much longer I last here today.

Elective exams are finally over. I am a bit worried about Private Client law to be very honest, partly because of the life interest trust created by will and the taxation of that estate in that exam. I suspect that I may have gotten my trusts a bit muddled up but I shall not dwell.

Didn't post before but managed to get myself a week's work experience with a Legal Magazine in London which I am very excited about. This may be my bit on the side if and when I qualify; Legal Journalism. I just can't get enough of writing, albeit the fact that I may not be particularly good at it or that anyone reads my writing! But anyway, I am really really excited and may need to buy myself a new pair of trousers and a new blouse for next week (any excuse to go shopping of course!)

Well now that I am finished with the SGS prep and so on, I can get cracking with my applications for training contracts seeing as I don't have one yet. I have seen a few firms which I am really interested in so it's just a matter of sitting down and getting on with the applications now. That and getting a part time job. How hard is it to get a job folding and selling clothes and shoes...I'm training to become a solicitor for goodness sake!

My motto is nothing before it's time and that everything happens for a reason so who knows what the coming months will bring...

Till next post

CBC

xx