Articles From the Team
My first year in legal recruitment
It doesn’t seem a year ago that, with a slight sense of trepidation (but also a lot of excitement), I moved out of the law and joined BCL to focus on legal recruitment. It’s flown by!
Moving out of the profession I’d studied for and trained at for years was always going to be a little daunting, but the training and support I’ve been given over the last 12 months has made the transition as smooth as it could have been.
While a majority of lawyers will have used a legal recruiter at some point during their career, a number of my friends who are in practice wonder what the job actually looks like on a day to day basis. It’s difficult to provide a picture of a ‘standard day’, as generally speaking, no two days are the same and that’s one of the things I really like about recruitment. I’m constantly speaking to new people, meeting candidates and clients and learning more about different firms and practice areas.
I’ve also had lots of opportunity to attend some really great events. At BCL, we have really good relationships with both the Manchester Trainee Solicitors Group and the Manchester Young Solicitors Group. As a trainee, I was on the committee for the MTSG and used to really enjoy attending MYSG events once I’d qualified, so it’s really great to be involved with both of these groups again!
People describe recruitment as a rollercoaster and I don’t think I appreciated how true this is. For anyone who thinks recruitment is as easy as matching a candidate to a job – you couldn’t be more wrong! There are so many things that go on behind the scenes (adverts, searches, meetings, calls, emails, texts) before you make that hard-earned placement and things don’t always go to plan. Certainly, there’s been some difficult days but I’ve been able to learn a lot from each experience and I have such a supportive team who are always on hand to help me with any challenges, or to cheer me up when something hasn’t gone my way.
On the flipside, there have been loads of high points, and at BCL, success is really celebrated. You feel such a great sense of achievement when you make a placement and hit your targets (and there is a great bonus scheme) and everyone congratulates each other on their success. We’ve also had some great internal social events, including an epic Christmas party. And we’re currently on a countdown to our summer party in Barcelona, which can’t come soon enough.
So, what have I learnt in a year? The short answer: LOADS! Bring on the next year!