I graduated from a Russell Group university in 2022. Since my 2nd year of university (4 years ago now), I have sent about 60 applications for open days (15), vac schemes (25) and TCs (20). I could have sent more if I did not have family/work obligations. Of those applications, I managed to secure 3 open days and 1 vac scheme. I failed to convert the vac scheme into TC. Over the last four years, I have met loads of people who have been kind enough to offer me help regarding applications, WG etc. Despite that, I did not pass a single WG test. I now work in retail and unsure whether I should continue applying given I have been advised to keep going. However, I believe many of those who have told me to keep applying are too polite to tell me the simple truth that I may not be cut out for a career in commercial law. Given I just turned 27, I would appreciate if someone could tell me when it is time to pull the plug. I appreciate that varies from a person to person but I am sure some of you have encountered people in your lives who you knew they were not cut out for something from the get go. Thanks in advance for your advice.
Will someone tell me the truth?
- Thread starter Newton
- Start date
A few thoughts:
1. You're putting too much emphasis on your age/benchmarking yourself relative to others. I did not get an offer until I was 28 and following at least three cycles myself where I had absolutely zero traction. I have colleagues that are older than me that are starting the TC with me, and know practitioners who did not move to law into their 40s. If you are committed to law, you will keep at it until you get it.
2. Those application numbers seem really high. The fact that you got a vac scheme to me indicates that once your application got in front of grad rec, they saw merit in inviting you. Just because you did not convert the first one does not mean you should pull the plug. I would focus on really considering what kind of law firm you want to work for and narrowing down your search and target firms. Spend ten times longer on each application. I understand the impulse to try and hedge your chances by scattering out as many applications as you can, but graduate recruitment can instinctually tell which applicants are doing precisely what you describe. If I had to guess, that's the biggest thing against you right now: not spending enough time on your application.
3. The WG test is an easy way to sift out an incredibly hot and fierce market. I was never good at the WG. I got better, but I know my most recent scores still would have automatically disqualified me from certain firms. That doesn't mean you won't find a firm that puts less emphasis on that.
4. If you're serious about law, you should try and pivot from retail to a job in the legal sector. I know that's not easy, but I did not start getting traction myself until I had secured a paralegal job. And I had previous experience working in financial services. Here too, you need to be resilient. I kept bombarding recruiters until one finally called me and they started putting me forward for roles. The emphasis is on resilience. If you send out 100 CVs to jobs on Indeed.com and you do not hear back, do not treat that as a sign of your self-worth. Recruiters for entry paralegal jobs are very one-track minded and will ignore the vast majority of CVs they receive. It is an industry problem not a you problem.
Keep your head up!
I want to give you a virtual high five. I really appreciate your thoughtful advice. If I decide to apply in the next cycle, I will definitely apply to fewer firms, the ones I genuinely want to work at and I will look at Flex legal for paralegal opportunities. But I can't help but question my ability to get a TC in the near future. At college, I was set on getting into Oxbridge. But after a dose of reality check by an Oxford student who Knew me, I decided to focus on other universities. With the benefit of hindsight, I look back on that talk as one of the best advice I have ever received. I have been hoping for a similar advice from my friends/acquittances but they all seem to have more faith in me than I do myself. What is the basis of their faith? I honestly don't know. Anyway, thanks for your advice.
Again, I think you're placing a lot of self-value on outcomes that are out of your control. This TC game is a crapshoot. Graduate recruitment favours certain profiles over others. It does not mean that your capacity to excel as a lawyer is defined by these narrow metrics. You just need to play the game. Again, it took me at least three cycles to appreciate this (though I had applied to five cycles in total).
What I will say is that this is a form of adversity that you've got to overcome. Back yourself.
Separately, waiting for Flex Legal to come back with an opportunity never worked for me. I blasted out CVs to paralegal recruiters nonstop for like 2 months before I even got a callback.
I will send out my CVs to as many recruiters as I can. Once again, thanks for the encouragement.
I just wanted to echo the advice that Jake gave above, especially regarding age. I am 28 and have only now just gotten a TC offer – so I can definitely empathise with how dispiriting it can be. It can be very easy to see the successes of those who have broken into a legal career and made it look easy (especially when they are younger than you) and conclude that the recruitment process is just a lot easier to crack when you are in your undergraduate because you have the time and resources that your university provides. I found this community and the services offered by the TCLA to be really useful when I felt like I was lacking support! Also, for what it is worth, the Law Society did a survey on entry trends in 2021 which showed that the average age of a solicitor finishing their training is just under 30, so I think applicants in their mid-late twenties are becoming the norm.
To echo the excellent advice from @Fuelled By Caffeine and @Jake Rickman - it can be so difficult to keep your head up amidst all these constant obstacles, but just coming on here and posting in itself shows you aren't ready or willing to give up. You have the right foundations and have experienced an application cycle. You are ready to do this again even just because you are starting to question how you would do this all differently. You can do this, we all believe in you. Mind over matter is sometimes all it takes to get your mojo back.
Also want to echo what @Jake Rickman said about Flex - you will have better luck on Indeed where you just send off your CV for paralegal roles or even research roles. Anything legally-oriented really could work to give you that boost for the time being.
I used to spend at least 1-2 weeks mastering each application - it doesn't work for everyone but every sentence needed to work for that firm and I'm SO glad I put that level of detail in. That may mean less applications being rolled out, but it definitely means the application quality will be higher. Equally, going over the applications so much meant I really did know the firm and how our interests in each other aligned when it came to interview.
Please do keep asking any and all questions and keep us updated on your journey!
Also want to echo what @Jake Rickman said about Flex - you will have better luck on Indeed where you just send off your CV for paralegal roles or even research roles. Anything legally-oriented really could work to give you that boost for the time being.
I used to spend at least 1-2 weeks mastering each application - it doesn't work for everyone but every sentence needed to work for that firm and I'm SO glad I put that level of detail in. That may mean less applications being rolled out, but it definitely means the application quality will be higher. Equally, going over the applications so much meant I really did know the firm and how our interests in each other aligned when it came to interview.
Please do keep asking any and all questions and keep us updated on your journey!
