Articles From the Team
BCL Graduates - how does it work?
It’s tough out in the legal market at the moment particularly for LLB/LPC Graduates who are seeking their first full time paid legal role. Processes at this level are always competitive but with more graduates then ever seeking a role right now during the pandemic we’re seeing more and more candidates struggling to secure a role. Here are my top tips:
Stay Positive
I know it’s easier said than done but it’s really important to keep positive, focused and keep the momentum going with your job search. There will be knockbacks along the way, try and keep positive and push on.
Your CV
Spend time on your CV, your CV is often the first ‘piece of you’ that a firm will see. Make sure that you really set out all of your academics clearly and include any work experience, expanding on any relevant experience you have gained that will benefit you in a legal role.
You can find some useful tips to assist with preparing your CV here: https://www.bcllegal.com/knowledge-base/careers-advice/cvs-interviews/cv-best-practice
Your Job Search
Set time aside each day for your search, job searching can become tedious so it’s important not to let it take over your life but for you to set aside some time each day to sit down and make applications.
There may be days when there are no new roles to apply for, when this happens do some research on the area(s) of law that you’re most interested in, find firms locally and in the locations you’re considering and familiarise yourself with the firms that specialise in the disciplines you’re most interested in. This will allow you to really start thinking about where your focus needs to be and the types of firms that you’re most interested in joining.
There are more tools than ever available for you to utilise when searching for a role. Linkedin is becoming more and more popular with employers and job seekers. It’s an excellent platform for you to connect with like minded graduates and legal professionals who can in in turn connect you with potential employers.
BCL Legal, how can we help?
As part of BCL we have BCL Graduates, this is an excellent platform for Graduates to register their details and in turn employers can use the database (free of charge) to search for graduates for any entry level roles they may have. It’s also useful for Gradates to use the database to help build their CV using the CV wizard and allows them to find contact details for law firms that are registered and contact them directly regarding roles.
Visit: http://www.bclgraduates.com/
On occasion our team (often myself) will be instructed on entry level roles with our regular clients so it’s always worth registering with both BCL Legal and BCL Graduates as both databases will be used to shortlist CVs.
If you’re a graduate seeking a legal role feel free to reach out if you have any questions, need any advice or assistance: clararogers@bcllegal.com