Articles From the Team
What should I tell my legal recruitment consultant? Everything!
Working with a specialist legal recruitment consultant should take a lot of the stress, effort and time out of your job search. They're able to:
- Direct you to the right opportunities
- Help you prepare and fine-tune your CV
- Make all the necessary approaches to potential employers on your behalf
- Help you prepare for interviews
- Manage different recruitment processes
- Negotiate the best package for you when it comes to offer stage
- Help you through the resignation process at your existing firm
Our aim is to continue that relationship and become your trusted advisor throughout your career. This working relationship shouldn’t be difficult.
We've all heard horror stories about pushy recruitment consultants; I’ll say with confidence that anyone who’s consulted BCL Legal knows this isn’t our approach.
In order to do the best possible job for you, we need a lot of information from you, which means you have to have complete trust in our service and liaise with a certain level of openness.
Without a lengthy chat about your circumstances (work and personal), it's almost impossible for us to present you with the right options or give you the right advice.
On rare occasion candidates are intentionally dishonest; failing to reveal important information or giving blatantly incorrect information. Without a doubt, this will hinder your job search.
Most experienced recruitment consultants will know when you're hiding something and as much fun as it is playing detective, it's much quicker and easier if you tell us all relevant information at the outset!
Where a candidate is cagey and doesn't want to provide crucial and basic information, such as address and salary, I refuse to work with them.
The trust relationship is paramount in recruitment and if we're unable to establish this at the very beginning, I find it difficult to do the best possible job for you as a candidate, as well as for the law firms I recruit for.
Part of being honest and upfront with your legal recruitment consultant is letting us know exactly where you're up to in your job search. If you have other interviews on the go, that's fine, we can manage any new processes alongside those. Don't feel you can't tell us about them, you may have tried your hand at direct approaches or applications via less specialised and experienced consultants before realising you’re best placed putting your job search in our hands!
If you’re interviewing for other roles, we’ll be open and honest with our client firms about this. They prefer to know if they have competition from the outset; as opposed to making an offer and then bam! all of a sudden, you’re accepting another one, which they knew nothing about.
Imagine the disappointment for a recruiting partner when they’re excited about bringing you into their team, only to find out you’ve blindsided them at offer stage! The heartbreak!
Maintaining complete transparency speeds up the process - it ensures you can be frank and open at interview and helps us in negotiating the best possible package for you.
Sometimes, we find that candidates hide information at the very backend of a process. For example, they’re invited to interview on the back of a direct application that comes in (one that was initially written off); this takes place after you’ve accepted an offer elsewhere and you want to attend. In this situation, tell us. We can help.
We understand you want what’s best for your career; we won't push for you not to explore another option if you feel it's got the potential to be a better career move. Please don't 'ghost' us! Let's figure out a way of handling the situation in the most professional and moral way.
Legal recruitment agencies should be your sounding board throughout your entire legal job search. If you're faced with competing for offers, talk through the pros and cons of each role with us and let us help you to figure out which job will make you the happiest and best progress your career in the right direction.
If something in your personal life throws a spanner in the works let us know ASAP. Certain situations are unavoidable, it’s all in the way you manage it. Communication is always key and if you feel you’re unable to communicate openly and honestly with your legal recruiter, I strongly recommend you find another one.
The recruitment industry receives bad press, but I can assure you that most of us are far from the villainous characters portrayed. We have friends, families, husbands/wives, children and we are people just like you (in fact, at BCL Legal, a lot like you: 60% of our consultants are legally trained and many of us are qualified solicitors with years of practice experience).
For an honest, open and confidential chat about your career, contact Angharad Warren at BCL Legal.