Ask A Graduate Recruiter Anything!

[Jessica Booker]

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.

You might find something but the specificness of it being 6-8 weeks might be more difficult - you may find some temp paralegal roles that are a few weeks at a time. You may want to apply to some non-legal temp roles as well though

 

[M0M007]

You might find something but the specificness of it being 6-8 weeks might be more difficult - you may find some temp paralegal roles that are a few weeks at a time. You may want to apply to some non-legal temp roles as well though

Apart from LinkedIn, do you have any recommendations on where to look for temporary paralegal roles? @Jessica Booker . Thanks in advance!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Apart from LinkedIn, do you have any recommendations on where to look for temporary paralegal roles? @Jessica Booker . Thanks in advance!

You’ll need to register with specialist paralegal temp recruitment agencies.

 

[M0M007]

You’ll need to register with specialist paralegal temp recruitment agencies.

Thank you! I just registered with Flex Legal, are there any other agencies you are aware of?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Thank you! I just registered with Flex Legal, are there any other agencies you are aware of?

It will depend on what geographical area you are looking at really - most recruitment agencies will be more specialised by location. I don’t know specific agencies but a quick Google search should find the usual suspects.

 

[M0M007]

It will depend on what geographical area you are looking at really - most recruitment agencies will be more specialised by location. I don’t know specific agencies but a quick Google search should find the usual suspects.

Thank you. May I ask usually how long does it take for Flex Legal to get back to applicants after registering?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Thank you. May I ask usually how long does it take for Flex Legal to get back to applicants after registering?

I don’t know as I have only have insight into their Flex Trainee programme.

 

[kalagsd]

Hi, I was wondering how exactly most graduate recruitment/careers teams select candidates from an assessment centre. Is it based solely on who gets the highest overall score after each section of the centre, or are the scores taken into consideration amongst other factors from the day (such as how you interact with peers or current trainees) and the rest of your application?

Thank you in advance

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi, I was wondering how exactly most graduate recruitment/careers teams select candidates from an assessment centre. Is it based solely on who gets the highest overall score after each section of the centre, or are the scores taken into consideration amongst other factors from the day (such as how you interact with peers or current trainees) and the rest of your application?

Thank you in advance

Each exercise/assessment will be assessing a number of competencies. Those competencies might also be assessed in other assessments too.

It is not necessarily just the highest overall score that gets the offer. You could have a very low score in one competency and that could be averaged out by higher scores elsewhere, and someone could not be offered.

It is unlikely how you interact with peers/employees will influence a decision unless it is in an assessment. For instance, how you interact with your interviewers with be part of how the interview is assessed, how you interact with your peers in a group exercise will be assessed. Sometimes what seems like an informal interaction (eg a lunch break) can be assessed though. A lot of the time they are not - it really depends on the firm’s approach, but they should tell you what is and what isn’t assessed (or you can at least ask/find out what is).

 

[Dwight]

Hi @Jessica Booker, I have a VS starting next week. Last week, I replied to an email from grad rec with some questions. After a few days of no reply, I kindly followed up on my email. I still haven't heard back and besides that I have not heard back from grad generally speaking (i.e. schedule, arrival info etc). Would you by any chance know what is going on? Feels strange since they are usually responsive.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi @Jessica Booker, I have a VS starting next week. Last week, I replied to an email from grad rec with some questions. After a few days of no reply, I kindly followed up on my email. I still haven't heard back and besides that I have not heard back from grad generally speaking (i.e. schedule, arrival info etc). Would you by any chance know what is going on? Feels strange since they are usually responsive.

I wouldn’t know what’s going on in this particular instance. However, what I would stress is that the summer can be an exceptionally busy time for graduate recruitment and not getting a response to an email can be fairly normal. It could also be that they are waiting for certain information before coming back to you - depending on what the questions are, they might not be ready to respond to all your questions.

It could easily be that someone is off sick and the team are taking on a bit more work and not able to prioritise a response. If you haven’t heard back by Wednesday and the questions you are asking will help you plan for Monday, then maybe give them a call.

 

[Dwight]

I wouldn’t know what’s going on in this particular instance. However, what I would stress is that the summer can be an exceptionally busy time for graduate recruitment and not getting a response to an email can be fairly normal. It could also be that they are waiting for certain information before coming back to you - depending on what the questions are, they might not be ready to respond to all your questions.

It could easily be that someone is off sick and the team are taking on a bit more work and not able to prioritise a response. If you haven’t heard back by Wednesday and the questions you are asking will help you plan for Monday, then maybe give them a call.

Thank you for your response.

Also, am I correct in saying that I should expect an email this week regarding arrival, first day etc? It's standard, right?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Thank you for your response.

Also, am I correct in saying that I should expect an email this week regarding arrival, first day etc? It's standard, right?

It isn’t absolutely standard.

Sometimes this information (where and when you need to turn up) is in your offer letter/employment contract. I’d say it’s fairly normal for there to be some kind of contact in the two weeks leading up to the start of the internship, but it isn’t always necessary for this to be done depending on what information has been shared with you already.

 

[oranges21]

Hi Jessica. As an international student, what is the best way one can set themselves apart? Since lack of experience in the legal industry of teh country is definitely a disadvantage, how much are answers related to international mindset etc. appreciated?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica. As an international student, what is the best way one can set themselves apart? Since lack of experience in the legal industry of teh country is definitely a disadvantage, how much are answers related to international mindset etc. appreciated?

Unfortunately there won’t be one way to do this. It’s really about utilising your unique strengths and explaining the value you can bring in terms of skills, knowledge and motivations. You can often utilise your international background to show these aspects - you will have uniqueness compared to domestic candidates, and it’s really about selling that uniqueness.

 

[Hus95]

Hi Jessica

ive just completed a vac scheme and a final interview as part of a direct TC application. whilst im pretty sure I havent got it (still waiting as it was last week), I realised that my current role as a PI paralegal is not for me anymore.

ideally I would prefer a paralegal role in a commercial department but I dont have experience in this or the LPC. I am thinking of applying for jobs in compliance or a role in a different sector such as energy, banking or anything really, so I can build sector knowledge and earn a bit more money. would leaving a role in the legal sector raise any red flags with future applications? I know PI isnt for me and the mini Vac scheme confirmed it. I would argue that I wanted experience in a different sector related to clients if I was asked

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica

ive just completed a vac scheme and a final interview as part of a direct TC application. whilst im pretty sure I havent got it (still waiting as it was last week), I realised that my current role as a PI paralegal is not for me anymore.

ideally I would prefer a paralegal role in a commercial department but I dont have experience in this or the LPC. I am thinking of applying for jobs in compliance or a role in a different sector such as energy, banking or anything really, so I can build sector knowledge and earn a bit more money. would leaving a role in the legal sector raise any red flags with future applications? I know PI isnt for me and the mini Vac scheme confirmed it. I would argue that I wanted experience in a different sector related to clients if I was asked

No - this wouldn’t raise an issue, especially as it’s in a different area of law.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Three days in a row, I have had someone say “Are you the same Jess as from TCLA?” 😄

 

[americanmonarch]

Hi Jessica,

This question is a bit rouge, but hopefully you’d be able to provide some insight anyway

I’m currently going into the final year of my LLB and I have a TC with a US law firm - due to start my SQE in September 2024. I’m in the process of choosing my final year modules and I’m stuck between commercial law and criminal evidence (very two different modules I know!). I’m quite interested in both but I don’t know whether to choose a module that I’ll never really be able to do again, like criminal evidence, or to go with something like commercial law which could lay a decent foundation for my SQE. Bear in mind that I have already done contract law and got a high 2:1 in this.

So I guess my question is would it be beneficial for me to do commercial law prior to starting my SQE or go with something I won’t be doing again once I leave uni?

Thanks a lot!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica,

This question is a bit rouge, but hopefully you’d be able to provide some insight anyway

I’m currently going into the final year of my LLB and I have a TC with a US law firm - due to start my SQE in September 2024. I’m in the process of choosing my final year modules and I’m stuck between commercial law and criminal evidence (very two different modules I know!). I’m quite interested in both but I don’t know whether to choose a module that I’ll never really be able to do again, like criminal evidence, or to go with something like commercial law which could lay a decent foundation for my SQE. Bear in mind that I have already done contract law and got a high 2:1 in this.

So I guess my question is would it be beneficial for me to do commercial law prior to starting my SQE or go with something I won’t be doing again once I leave uni?

Thanks a lot!

I don’t know the specifics of the SQE (nor the module content) to be able to comment really. I don’t think the decision is any different to when it was the LPC though and people would ask the same about preparing for that.

Ultimately there is no right or wrong choice here - both options have benefits and downsides. I guess I would weigh up what other knowledge I have gained elsewhere (academics/work experience) and how important it was to my degree to do something I could be really interested in/not have the opportunity to do again.

Ultimately any optional modules in a law degree aren’t really going to be covered by the SQE thoroughly - it’s really the core topics you need to consider. However, the criminal evidence module could also be as helpful as the commercial module as a fair amount of the SQE covers non-Corporate/Commercial topics like criminal law.