How difficult is it really?

Thinking about my career really does keep me up at night. Whether it be applications or my 2.2 degree. I was always told by most University tutors and the careers services that if I had obtained any sort of legal work experience, I’d have some sort of chance or securing a training contract. Well I’m not entirely sure how true that really is!

Working in high street or shall I say back street firms for free, trying to further my career and obtain some sort of legal experience in a law firm seemed pretty easy at the time. Obtaining the work experience wasn’t hard, trying to convince legal employers that I have shown a high degree of commitment to the legal field by spending most summer holidays doing work experience is hard even if I did have great responsibility within the firm/s.

Does it count though?

 Rumour has it that if you have work experience in a not so great firm then it could actually degrade your CV. I’m not entirely sure if I can explain what type of firm this is, but by what I’ve heard I’m guessing they mean a firm from hell. (These are usually the easiest places to get some experience…well I think so anyway!)

We can only hope that the economic climate will improve and more legal graduate jobs will be available, especially for those with a 2.2 degree just like me. I guess I can go on about the disadvantages of having a 2.2 degree for years but one thing I am sure of from past experience is, it really doesn’t matter which degree you have when it comes to working with your clients. I’m not saying that all those with firsts lack social skills, but what I am saying is as long as you’re a competent lawyer and are able to keep your client at ease it really shouldn’t matter.

A few years ago magic circle firms where difficult places to secure training contracts with, these days it’s even harder to get a paralegal job. This is a scary thought but one that might have to be ignored for now.

Well I guess we can only try to be as positive as we can right? The climate is getting better, the dark cloud is lifting over the heads of us legal graduates, even if it is very slowly we should eventually be qualified before our personally funded LPC’s run out….well hopefully! J