Reading Time: < 1 minute1. Whatever you do – do not get drunk. This is about the worst thing that can happen (and the best if it happens to someone else!). 2. Do not sit next to someone who you don’t like and get drunk. This can result in fights, particularly if it is your boss. 3. Avoid mistletoe…
Reading Time: 2 minutesI have conducted career coaching sessions for a number of years for law students and lawyers, and once someone come to see me to ask what they needed to wear for a legal job interview. It almost seemed like the primary reason she had travelled over 200 miles to see me, and I am not…
Reading Time: < 1 minuteOne of the reasons that law firms struggle to recruit when they are looking for solicitors of between 3 and 10 years PQE is because when solicitors spend 3 years or more in private practice, they have either: a) got set on a career path to partnership with their current firm. b) seen the light…
Reading Time: 2 minutesSurviving a recession is a little like writing a blog – you have to constantly look at your save button to ensure you dont lose any work as I have just lost this article and am now retyping it! Top tips are: 1. Make sure you are invaluable to your firm. Even if you are…
Reading Time: < 1 minuteThis used to be fairly popular (both ways), but as more lawyers realise that life is not that rosy on the other side, we find it less common. If you are about 2 years PQE (post-qualification experience) or above, in a field of law related to in house work – employment, company commercial, conveyancing, property,…
Reading Time: 2 minutesNot so long ago, we recruited for a firm looking for a candidate to work in Bermuda. Within one week of a Law Society Gazette advertisement, we received 75 applications, all from conveyancing solicitors. Normally when advertising in the Gazette we receive 2-3 enquiries from each advertisement, so this was quite a shock! Relocating abroad…
Reading Time: < 1 minuteOverseas lawyers have over the last 4-5 years or so found it easier to source work in the UK. We do not intend to discuss the issue of work permits etc.. as there are plenty of sites with excellent advice available on them already. With the increase in bulk conveyancing, telephone advice services, local authority…
Reading Time: < 1 minuteA common issue, especially for mothers (and some fathers) who have taken time off to raise a family and now want to return to work after 2,5 or 10 years. In some fields of law this is not too difficult. Firms are becoming more aware of the need to treat maternity leave with respect, as…
Reading Time: 2 minutesIs it Normal to Hate Working as a Solicitor? OK – you have spent 4 years being a solicitor, and you hate it. You dislike your clients, your boss, the money, the hours, your colleagues and life in general. What do you do? Firstly, do not worry that you are unusual. This is common, and…
Reading Time: < 1 minuteA common topic with lawyers is whether they can change fields of law once qualified. Commercial Lawyers moving into the “more interesting” High Street”, and High Street lawyers looking to earn more than a Tesco shelf stacker and move into commercial law. Crime and immigration are particular fields, with a number of practitioners wanting quite…
Reading Time: 4 minutesThere are a lot of resources out there from outplacement companies, CV advisers, HR consultants and recruitment consultants who all claim to be experts on writing CVs but who advise their clients to fit their CV onto two pages. They explain that if it is on more than this, people do not read it and…
Reading Time: 2 minutesThe aim of a covering letter is to give the reader of your CV a very quick indication of all the salient points they need to know. For most people this will basically be your job title, how many years experience you have, how much money you want if you are being specific, the date…
Reading Time: 4 minutesTen-Percent offers a CV Writing Service, a CV Review Service, CV Writing Packs and the Complete Guide to Writing a Legal CV. All CV Services are provided by a qualified solicitor, recruitment consultant and legal career coach. For details please visit www.ten-percent.co.uk/careersshop Below is our summary guidance for CVs and covering letters for solicitors, barristers…
Reading Time: 2 minutesA common question we get asked by solicitors and executives is “what should I be doing with my career”? It is very hard to give a response to this. It really depends on what you are looking for out of your career, and whether you seek a high salary, status, or you have entrepreneurial ambitions…
Reading Time: 2 minutesOnce the holy grail of career ambitions, partnership is not as important to a lot of lawyers for a number of reasons; firstly solicitors these days are often more interested in quality of life and spending time out of the office doing other things such as sleeping, eating and breathing. Secondly a increasingly larger proportion…
Reading Time: 2 minutesAnnual reviews & and salary reviews are one area of practice that a lot of lawyers deal with poorly as they fail to prepare for them, and do not appreciate the opportunity you have when attending them. Annual reviews can consist of an apologetic partner ticking boxes on a pre-printed form, whether to simply add…
Reading Time: 5 minutesHow to Prepare for a Legal Job Interview Dress Attending for interviews is your chance, and often your one and only chance to present yourself as a potential lawyer to the firm. It is important that if you are male that you wear a suit with a jacket, and a tie that is fairly smart.…
Reading Time: 2 minutesOne of the most common calls we get from solicitors, trainee solicitors, barristers and legal executives is “how much money should I be looking for?” Quite understandable, considering most lawyers do not work simply to help their clients, but to pay the mortgage! Most lawyers work in offices where each fee earner does not know…