Ask A Graduate Recruiter Anything!

[futuretraineesolicitor]

Hello @Jessica Booker sorry for too many questions today. I just wanted your opinion on BCLP's work experience section. "Tell us about any paid employment, paid or unpaid placements or internships and any other office and non-office work experience below. Include everything, even if you're not sure that it's relevant - non-legal work employment and experience is as important to us as legal placements"

Does this language mean that I can write about my experience of creating and growing a YouTube channel under the work experience section? I really think that it is going to benefit my application but there is no other section/question wherein I can write about it. What would you suggest?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hello @Jessica Booker sorry for too many questions today. I just wanted your opinion on BCLP's work experience section. "Tell us about any paid employment, paid or unpaid placements or internships and any other office and non-office work experience below. Include everything, even if you're not sure that it's relevant - non-legal work employment and experience is as important to us as legal placements"

Does this language mean that I can write about my experience of creating and growing a YouTube channel under the work experience section? I really think that it is going to benefit my application but there is no other section/question wherein I can write about it. What would you suggest?

Do you earn revenue from the YouTube channel? If so, then yes. If not, then I wouldn’t include it here, as it would be more of an extra curricular activity.

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

Do you earn revenue from the YouTube channel? If so, then yes. If not, then I wouldn’t include it here, as it would be more of an extra curricular activity.

Understood. Is there any smart way to sneak it in my application if there is no dedicated section for extra curriculars? Thanks.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Understood. Is there any smart way to sneak it in my application if there is no dedicated section for extra curriculars? Thanks.

Possibly. It’s difficult to know without understanding the layout of the form though - you should always use your discretion on these things though, so if you want to put it in your work experience section, then you should.

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

Possibly. It’s difficult to know without understanding the layout of the form though - you should always use your discretion on these things though, so if you want to put it in your work experience section, then you should.

Thank you very much for your help today.

 

[M0M007]

Hello @Jessica Booker , hope you are well. I wanted to ask: when applying for a paralegal position at the government, is there anything specific i should be including in my cover letter?

Also should i just explain in my cover letter why am i applying (public interest work) and also why me (attention to detail, etc) only ?

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

Hello @Jessica Booker hope you are doing well. For the question "Please tell us about a time where you failed at something; what was the situation and how did you react?" , is it okay if we use an example from May 2018? I think this particular example would fit this question the most but the only concern is that it's from 2018. Thanks.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hello @Jessica Booker hope you are doing well. For the question "Please tell us about a time where you failed at something; what was the situation and how did you react?" , is it okay if we use an example from May 2018? I think this particular example would fit this question the most but the only concern is that it's from 2018. Thanks.

I don’t think it’s an issue if it is an older example as long as the failure is something is significant to where you are now (eg stating a failed GCSE grade is probably something to avoid as it is unlikely to have impacted where you are now).

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

I don’t think it’s an issue if it is an older example as long as the failure is something is significant to where you are now (eg stating a failed GCSE grade is probably something to avoid as it is unlikely to have impacted where you are now).

Thank you very much. Just to clarify, you mean failures that are a one off are the best to answer this particular question and they shouldn't have a ripple effect at all?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Thank you very much. Just to clarify, you mean failures that are a one off are the best to answer this particular question and they shouldn't have a ripple effect at all?

No - I didn’t mean that.

Your failure needs to be significant and something impactful, not something that is simple or unimportant.

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

No - I didn’t mean that.

Your failure needs to be significant and something impactful, not something that is simple or unimportant.

My apologies. I think I still don't understand what this question is asking then. Could you please give me a few examples? Getting fired from a job could be one, perhaps? Please correct me if I am wrong.

 

[Jessica Booker]

My apologies. I think I still don't understand what this question is asking then. Could you please give me a few examples? Getting fired from a job could be one, perhaps? Please correct me if I am wrong.

Getting fired from a job is not a good option to go with.

It should be something where you didn't achieve what you wanted or needed to accomplish.

However, it needs to be something substantial - it can't be something that is insignificant. There needs to be something you can learn from the experience and have worked on to ensure it doesn't happen again.

 

[Law1099]

I’m in a position where I simply don’t have enough money to do the sqe with the firm sponsorship. It hasn’t increased since the lpc which was 7 months, and this course is 12. I’m sure this is because we can get a masters loan, but this is not available to me. I want to flag this to my firm but not sure how to go about it. Do you think they would let me do the course online? If commuting 4 days a week it would cost me around 30-40 pounds a day from where I live, and rent in london is a lot more. I just don’t really know what to do. I’m also more than happy to do part time work but I don’t know if they will allow me, and I’m afraid of falling behind my peers. Is this something I should ask too?

 

[Dwight]

Hi @Jessica Booker,

For the following question - "Provide an example of a change in society, the economy, or in a market sector which interests you and which you think could impact the legal sector. Discuss the impact it has had or could have" - can I talk about increasing interest rates as a change in the economy and its effects on the legal sector through its effects on various practice areas?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi @Jessica Booker,

For the following question - "Provide an example of a change in society, the economy, or in a market sector which interests you and which you think could impact the legal sector. Discuss the impact it has had or could have" - can I talk about increasing interest rates as a change in the economy and its effects on the legal sector through its effects on various practice areas?

You could, but I would suggest picking something else as this is going to be quite a common answer. I think if you do choose it, your answer itself needs some individuality in thinking/analysis for it to be impactful and stand out from the crowd.

 

[Dwight]

You could, but I would suggest picking something else as this is going to be quite a common answer. I think if you do choose it, your answer itself needs some individuality in thinking/analysis for it to be impactful and stand out from the crowd.

That was what I was thinking too, thank you

 

[M0M007]

Hello @Jessica Booker hope you are well. I would like to ask how valuable would a short term document review paralegal role job be since I am currently applying for a TC long term wise. Thanks in advance

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hello @Jessica Booker hope you are well. I would like to ask how valuable would a short term document review paralegal role job be since I am currently applying for a TC long term wise. Thanks in advance

It depends on what the value is for.

If it’s just for TC applications, then it will not be a negative and will bring an additional element to your CV.

But there’s probably a lot more value to it - obviously earning a salary, but potentially developing your skill set or knowledge too.

Any job like this will be better than not working - but it really depends on what else you feel you would do with your time if you didn’t take it up.

 

[M0M007]

It depends on what the value is for.

If it’s just for TC applications, then it will not be a negative and will bring an additional element to your CV.

But there’s probably a lot more value to it - obviously earning a salary, but potentially developing your skill set or knowledge too.

Any job like this will be better than not working - but it really depends on what else you feel you would do with your time if you didn’t take it up.

Thanks for this. i just completed my LLM and I am considering what options are available currently while trying to secure a TC long-term.

 

[LlamaLaw]

It depends on what the value is for.

If it’s just for TC applications, then it will not be a negative and will bring an additional element to your CV.

But there’s probably a lot more value to it - obviously earning a salary, but potentially developing your skill set or knowledge too.

Any job like this will be better than not working - but it really depends on what else you feel you would do with your time if you didn’t take it up.

Sorry for taking this on a tangent, but I'm hoping to try and get 6-8 weeks of temporary paralegal or doc review work in between the LPC and my TC starting so I can earn some money in the gap.

I've only found one thing suitable so far and haven't heard back, plus I've put 'open to work' up on LinkedIn. Realistically am I likely to find anything or should I just accept it's unlikely.