Career changer - strategy

[Kubed]

Hi everyone,

A brief bit of background - I'm an early-30s ... who still works within the ... sector in a commercial role. I've completed the GDL and have a 2.1 degree (with a big range of marks - some thirds/2.2s, mainly 2.1s to some firsts) from a good Russell group uni. I did get a Distinction on the GDL if that makes any difference.

I've been applying for vacation schemes and although I've a few still to hear from, it has not gone as well as I wanted. I'm planning next steps - I need to review my applications of course and see where I've gone wrong but I wanted to get some opinions on what I should do next. Although I enjoy my current role, I fear that my relative lack of legal experience (have only done week's placement and some pro bono through my GDL provider) is holding me back/shows a lack of commitment. I'm thinking of looking for a paralegal role or at least something within the field. I realise these roles are also very competitive. I guess the risk is leaving a relatively well-paid job for potentially not ending up with a TC but maybe it's a risk I've got to take. I'll try out some direct TC apps in this cycle and potentially hold out to apply for some more in the next cycle but I feel being within the industry I want to end up in will make a difference.

Any thoughts or experiences would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Dheepa]

Hi Kubed,

So I don't have personal experience to draw on myself when it comes to being a career changer. The one person I know on the forum whose secured multiple TCs as a career changer is @D Hopefully he can provide you with more detailed advice.

With regards to securing a paralegal role there's some great advice on these threads.

Finding a job as a paralegal

Hi everybody, I hope to receive some help here. I see this community here is nice and polite. I am a young guy, EU citizen, I live in London and am currently working from home as account manager for a big corporation. Despite being currently employed, I am looking for a job as a paralegal...

www.thecorporatelawacademy.com

How to get a paralegal role

So I'm doing my LPC and unfortunately don't have a training contract lined up (). So this means I'll (and lots of others) will have a two year gap before a tc commences. However, there doesn't seem to be any clear information on how to get a paralegal job. So I was wondering if someone could...

www.thecorporatelawacademy.com

Paralegal position in London

Hi, I am graduating from my Law undergraduate degree this year and I am hoping to secure a full-time paralegal position for a year at a City firm. Could anyone please share their experience of what that is like? I am particularly interested in what the workload and working hours are like, and...

www.thecorporatelawacademy.com

 

[HorsesForCoursesNeighNeighNeigh]

Hi @Kubed ! Am also a career changer, and likewise facing similar questions. I don't have much advice to give but would love to hear from others

 

[Kubed]

Hi Kubed,

So I don't have personal experience to draw on myself when it comes to being a career changer. The one person I know on the forum whose secured multiple TCs as a career changer is @D Hopefully he can provide you with more detailed advice.

With regards to securing a paralegal role there's some great advice on these threads.

Finding a job as a paralegal

Hi everybody, I hope to receive some help here. I see this community here is nice and polite. I am a young guy, EU citizen, I live in London and am currently working from home as account manager for a big corporation. Despite being currently employed, I am looking for a job as a paralegal...

www.thecorporatelawacademy.com

How to get a paralegal role

So I'm doing my LPC and unfortunately don't have a training contract lined up (). So this means I'll (and lots of others) will have a two year gap before a tc commences. However, there doesn't seem to be any clear information on how to get a paralegal job. So I was wondering if someone could...

www.thecorporatelawacademy.com

Paralegal position in London

Hi, I am graduating from my Law undergraduate degree this year and I am hoping to secure a full-time paralegal position for a year at a City firm. Could anyone please share their experience of what that is like? I am particularly interested in what the workload and working hours are like, and...

www.thecorporatelawacademy.com

Hi Dheepa - thank you for your response and links to the threads. Thanks for flagging up @D, hopefully they will be able to provide some further insight!

 

[KB2020]

Hi Kubed,

I'm also a career changer and so far this application season I have had invites to two ACs, and secured one vac scheme (one other pending). My background is within retail head office so I don't think that you need specific legal experience for your application to be attractive. As a career changer you will have many transferable skills. For me personally the issue was in my application and not being tailored enough to the firm. By way of example, one of them firms that I have an AC with in the next few weeks is a firm that rejected me at application stage last year.

That being said, I think as a career changer you need to be able to have very clear reasons as to why law and why now. This can be demonstrated through work experience but can also be shown by your understanding of law - attending webinars/law fairs/speaking to lawyers etc.

 

[Alison C]

Hi everyone,

A brief bit of background - I'm an early-30s former teacher who still works within the education sector in a non-teaching, commercial role. I've completed the GDL and have a 2.1 degree (with a big range of marks - some thirds/2.2s, mainly 2.1s to some firsts) from a good Russell group uni. I did get a Distinction on the GDL if that makes any difference.

I've been applying for vacation schemes and although I've a few still to hear from, it has not gone as well as I wanted. I'm planning next steps - I need to review my applications of course and see where I've gone wrong but I wanted to get some opinions on what I should do next. Although I enjoy my current role, I fear that my relative lack of legal experience (have only done week's placement and some pro bono through my GDL provider) is holding me back/shows a lack of commitment. I'm thinking of looking for a paralegal role or at least something within the field. I realise these roles are also very competitive. I guess the risk is leaving a relatively well-paid job for potentially not ending up with a TC but maybe it's a risk I've got to take. I'll try out some direct TC apps in this cycle and potentially hold out to apply for some more in the next cycle but I feel being within the industry I want to end up in will make a difference.

Any thoughts or experiences would be greatly appreciated!

Hi Kubed

I too am a former (primary) teacher, though I stuck at it rather longer. I have found the legal industry quite as impenetrable as you are finding, but I am beginning to be clearer about which firms might value a non-traditional candidate. In terms of diversity and inclusion, though, the legal profession seems decades behind! Yes, there are lots of 'initiatives', but the cogs seem very slow, and I've encountered only a handful of lawyers with an obvious disability (which I don't have, but do regard as a benchmark). I think that firms just find it easier to deal with what they know and understand - a recent 2:1 from RG/Oxbridge. Which you aren't so far off, by the sounds of things.

I have found the Aspiring Solicitors career change ambassadors to be fantastic - maybe you have contacted some of them? Those I have spoken with have been really encouraging and just a good reminder that resilience is needed but the right job is out there.

Regarding your job quandary, of course, you need to continue supporting yourself and paying the bills, but if you can get paralegal work, or VSs, or both, then you will be killing two birds with one stone. But this goes without saying, as does the need to volunteer if you can - alongside those time-consuming applications. Also, notice that lack of experience is NOT the same as lack of commitment.

If you like effecting change, you could consider emailing Aspiring Solicitors (the organisation) directly so that they know more career changers - who aren't necessarily BAME or LGBT+ but are very supportive of diversity - could do with more structured support. I wrote to the organisation a while back and they were sympathetic but busy.... might be a niche for the future...

I agree that it is frustrating to find your skillset undervalued and/or misunderstood but your Distinction should help, congratulations on that!

Like all the other posts, I'd just say hang on in there, and well done for making the move!

 

[Camilla]

Hi everyone,

A brief bit of background - I'm an early-30s former teacher who still works within the education sector in a non-teaching, commercial role. I've completed the GDL and have a 2.1 degree (with a big range of marks - some thirds/2.2s, mainly 2.1s to some firsts) from a good Russell group uni. I did get a Distinction on the GDL if that makes any difference.

I've been applying for vacation schemes and although I've a few still to hear from, it has not gone as well as I wanted. I'm planning next steps - I need to review my applications of course and see where I've gone wrong but I wanted to get some opinions on what I should do next. Although I enjoy my current role, I fear that my relative lack of legal experience (have only done week's placement and some pro bono through my GDL provider) is holding me back/shows a lack of commitment. I'm thinking of looking for a paralegal role or at least something within the field. I realise these roles are also very competitive. I guess the risk is leaving a relatively well-paid job for potentially not ending up with a TC but maybe it's a risk I've got to take. I'll try out some direct TC apps in this cycle and potentially hold out to apply for some more in the next cycle but I feel being within the industry I want to end up in will make a difference.

Any thoughts or experiences would be greatly appreciated!

Hi Kubed

There has already been a lot of good advice here but I thought I would provide my opinion as a career changer who secured a TC in August 2020 after starting my application journey at the start of 2019.

I am 32, I graduated in 2012 from a non-Russell Group uni with a low 2.1 and very inconsistent grades. I only had a week's work experience in a high street solicitors firm on my CV and I have been a financial services contractor for the past 8+ years.

Despite not having legal work experience and a less-than-perfect academic record, I managed to secure 7 interviews at a range of firms including Magic Circle, Silver Circle, international and national firms. For context, I made around 35 applications over 2 cycles.

I thought about trying to get a paralegal job on numerous occasions, but I decided against it mainly for the reasons you have touched upon in your post. Firstly, I was not in a financial position to take a pay cut for an entry-level paralegal role. Secondly, paralegal roles are very competitive in London and you usually need experience and/or the LPC (not always but usually) which I did not have. I thought it would be a better use of my time to put all of my effort into applying for TC's rather than also applying for paralegal roles which I suspected would be almost as competitive as trying to get a TC. Finally, I didn't think it would add much to my applications.

I have never been questioned on my commitment to a legal career at interview, so I don't think you need to worry about that. However, you do need to demonstrate a clear understanding of what being a solicitor involves, and how the skills you have gained in your career will enable you to thrive as a trainee solicitor. In some ways, I agree paralegal experience would make this easier as you have tangible legal experience as evidence that you know what a legal career entails, but I do not think it is at all necessary. My ability to secure interviews without much legal experience is evidence of that. I also doubt that the one week's experience I had on my CV made much of a difference in grad recruitment's decision to interview me, although it did help me to build a more convincing "why commercial law" narrative.

Instead of trying to be a "perfect" applicant with stellar grades and bags of legal experience (which was impossible for me anyway), I tried to lean on what made me different to stand out against other applicants. I focused on unpicking and selling the experiences I did have, and also threw myself into building up my CV with other interesting experiences like writing and producing social media content for student legal websites etc. This helped me to gain insight into the legal sector without needing to secure a paralegal role.

Looking back, I am sure that paralegal work would have been helpful for certain parts of the application process, but remember that vacation schemes and training contracts are offered to second and final year uni students every year without significant paralegal/legal experience. I would definitely focus on writing well-tailored applications and selling the experiences you do have. I personally do not think that paralegal experience will make a huge amount of difference to your ability to secure interviews, especially for vacation schemes where firms usually do not require any prior legal work experience.

Good luck and keep going! Happy to answer any questions you have

 

[Kubed]

Thank you @KB2020 @Alison C & @Camilla for your incredibly detailed and thorough replies. They've provided me with a lot of food for thought around transferable skills and really pinning down my motivations for the career/particular firms. Very inspiring to hear about your experiences/journeys - I'm sure I'll have further questions as I process everything but thanks again for all your input.
Congrats to those that have secured a TC and good luck to everyone still on that journey!

 

[M&A]

Hi!

Also a career changer here from the same industry as yours, broadly speaking. I think that you are already showing commitment to the cause with the GDL- and congrats on the fantastic result . I would not take a paralegal position if it means a pay cut or losing seniority. I think your current commercial role can provide you with more leverage to stand out in the applications, although as stated above, I second the idea of being selective in your approach as to which firms you apply to. Have a look on LinkedIn for future trainees that are mature students/career changers.

The only thing I might consider in your position is whether to begin the LPC. I would probably do it part-time so that you can spread the cost. Plus, if you then get a TC, you might get the firm to spponsor you for the remainder. I think this could provide you with further continuity in you legal CV, have access to the Uni's career service and access to other pro bono opportunities. But of course, it is a financial burden that you have to consider.

Very best of luck!

 

[Kubed]

Hi!

Also a career changer here from the same industry as yours, broadly speaking. I think that you are already showing commitment to the cause with the GDL- and congrats on the fantastic result . I would not take a paralegal position if it means a pay cut or losing seniority. I think your current commercial role can provide you with more leverage to stand out in the applications, although as stated above, I second the idea of being selective in your approach as to which firms you apply to. Have a look on LinkedIn for future trainees that are mature students/career changers.

The only thing I might consider in your position is whether to begin the LPC. I would probably do it part-time so that you can spread the cost. Plus, if you then get a TC, you might get the firm to spponsor you for the remainder. I think this could provide you with further continuity in you legal CV, have access to the Uni's career service and access to other pro bono opportunities. But of course, it is a financial burden that you have to consider.

Very best of luck!

HI M&A, thanks for your detailed response and suggestions! I have considered starting the LPC and may well do so in the near future, I was holding out for a TC sooner rather than later and therefore getting sponsored for it.

Another option I have been considering is an LLM, which will also help maintain continuity. I know all the arguments for/against LLMs and realise that it will have a negligible impact on career prospects but I genuinely enjoyed studying again when I was doing the GDL. I wouldn't mind exploring law in a bit more depth and the flexibility of my current job means I do have the time/capacity to do it. What are your thoughts on this?

 

[M&A]

If you can afford it and fancy it, why not? I love studying and have several postgraduate qualifications in my previous (well, still present) career. That said, I unfortubately found most postgraduate courses I did quite disappointing. My feeling is that there is a lot of powerful marketing behind master's courses and they can be a bit of a puff. So, definitely worth doing extensive research on this!

Back to my previous post, one thing I forgot is that as career changers we need to demonstrate, even highlight, our willingness to learn. The preconception is that we won't be as malleable as younger trainees, so I would advise making sure your application/interviews exude enthusiasm and eagerness to learn.

 

[Kubed]

I thought I'd update this old post in case anyone else is in a similar position and seeking advice. After all my concerns as described in previous posts in this thread, I actually managed to secure two vacation schemes and two training contracts at silver circle firms - to be perfectly honest, much to my surprise! So I guess the point of this post is, keep going no matter how bleak things seem, it's a long application cycle and you never know what's around the corner. Thanks to everyone here who contributed to my journey.

Already lots of good advice in this thread but feel free to post any other career change related questions or concerns. Alternatively my DMs are open in case anyone would like to chat.

 

[BJPP]

Hi there,
I’m a career changer too, though came from children’s services. My route to the law has been highly unorthodox…! I have a TC for a firm beginning September 2022.
For what it’s worth here’s some advice..!

Play to your strengths. You might need to accept that magic circle firms aren’t where you’re most likely to be appreciated/grow - look at firms whose clients are educational establishments and schools. Look at those who might help independent schools and so on. There are loads. Tackle them for Vac Schemes - you’ll need something like that, ideally a few - and try to volunteer for the Free Representation Unit or something similar. Think about your narrative: why does the law make sense for you and why NOW. Practice that narrative until you’re convinced of it yourself - and then apply that in your applications.
Happy to chat over DM or whatever and good luck!