Career advice required – Law – I have never got off the ground - Long post

Law_girl

sangie595 wrote: »

You insist that "law is for you" despite the fact that twelve years experience says otherwise. There is little point in re-hashing whether or not your long ago grades were good, bad or indifferent. If you could have made it, you would have made, and it doesn't now matter why you didn't. Continuing to hanker after an unattainable goal is what is now holding you back. If you are going to enter into employment with the attitude that this job is just a filler until you attain your dream, you will probably never get past entry level jobs, because you are applying yourself to a dream and not to reality.

You say that you "love being able to approach a tangled situation, identify the key issues and provide someone with a solution" - you need to apply that skill to yourself. There is really no point asking people what you should do as a career, if you can't do law. You need to accept that the law isn't happening and decide what you are going to do about that. You can sit and dream about careers whilst in entry level jobs until you retire - only you can decide that isn't what you are going to do about it. There is, after all, a point to entry level jobs. They are supposed to be a foot in the door of career opportunities. How many of those opportunities are you letting slip by, in waiting for a perfect role that isn't coming?

Again, thank you for the response. What would be helpful to me is if you could suggest alternative paths.

Law_girl

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

Just had a few additional thoughts:



When I commented about the above from your first post, you responded:



So - you didn't faint, you just felt light-headed?

I am not trying to be pedantic here but this story has shifted somewhat.

The story has not shifted at all.

1. OP - 'I fainted'
2. Forumite - 'I've never heard of anyone faint under those circumstances. People only faint in films'
3. OP - 'I did not drop to the ground in a classic 'swoon', I was seated and my head was on the desk'
3. Forumite - 'Youv'e changed your story!'

I will not spend ages hashing over whether I did or did not faint, but for your benefit, the full facts are that I was working on a file, I saw a picture, I started to feel dizzy, everything went brown then faded to black, I opened my eyes and someone was saying 'are you OK'. I don't know if that fits the medical definition of fainting or not but to my understanding it is what a layperson would recognise as fainting.

They said they were happy with the standard of my work etc. but the bottom line is that the workload would be made up mostly of that sort of thing. I agreed that in theory I could deal with it but in reality not and realistically could not work in those conditions permanently.

asajj

Some compliance roles, banks etc could use law graduates. Have a look at them too. It is difficult to give advice to others as there are many factors for one to find a job. Also people here can be a bit harsh at times

I have had similar struggles - I'm not in an entry level role but I'm sort of "behind the schedule". I have come to realize though, most of the time it is me that is causing the issue. As I have experienced the similar issues in different jobs, I believe it is the way I perceive and handle things that is causing me a problem.

Law_girl

sangie595 wrote: »

There is, after all, a point to entry level jobs. They are supposed to be a foot in the door of career opportunities. How many of those opportunities are you letting slip by, in waiting for a perfect role that isn't coming?

It was a long post with a lot of information but the point is that I have not been able to secure ANYTHING apart from this admin role. I am out applying for jobs in *many different kinds of sector* but am getting nothing. Yes, ideally I would like to work in a law office but I am here asking for advice in getting work that reflects my qualifications to some degree.

This is what I have not been able to do and need help with.

Tiddlywinks

Law_girl wrote: »

I will not spend ages hashing over whether I did or did not faint, but for your benefit, the full facts are that I was working on a file, I saw a picture, I started to feel dizzy, everything went brown then faded to black, I opened my eyes and someone was saying 'are you OK'. I don't know if that fits the medical definition of fainting or not but to my understanding it is what a layperson would recognise as fainting.

They said they were happy with the standard of my work etc. but the bottom line is that the workload would be made up mostly of that sort of thing. I agreed that in theory I could deal with it but in reality not and realistically could not work in those conditions permanently.

So, did they let you go or did you resign? How is this reflected in your CV?

threellamas

I would suggest you look into environmental health work. There is a moderate volume of law knowledge involved too. You need to be able to deal with difficult "customers" and solve complex problems and from your previous posts that seems like something that you could do and I think enjoy. And coming from a background that includes living in zim would give you a little background understanding of the issues of environmental health.

The pay is alright there are often quiet a few jobs advertised, it can be flexible with having a family, you can start without any qualifications and they will help you get anything that you need.

Have a look at environmental health, keep your spirits up. Sometimes even the best laid plans dont work out, and Law is particularly tricky to get into, and as others have said with a gap on your CV your not as desirable as other candidates.

My other half has an brilliant degree from an excellent university in electrical engineering, 4 year gap in CV from travelling and working in bars abroad has meant almost all employees just wrote him off. His knowledge was no longer relevant and he has just gone back to uni to do a masters to "top up" his knowledge.

Good Luck

Law_girl

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

So, did they let you go or did you resign? How is this reflected in your CV?

It was a temporary six month contract which was mutually not renewed. Most people working there start on a six month contract, extended to an annual contract and were actually on 'temporary contracts' of a year which they had renewed for six, seven years etc.

I simply state it was a temporary contract if asked why I left.

tomtontom

tomtontom wrote: »

The jobs you are applying for are the same ones everyone else wanting a TC will be going for. Think about the more generalist skills you have - what about the civil service or local government, or the many admin roles in the NHS? How about accountancy, there is more law involved than you would expect?

I suggested alternatives back in post #4. You seem to have overlooked them ...

Law_girl

Thanks. I am setting aside time to consider all my options seriously.

sangie595

Law_girl wrote: »

Again, thank you for the response. What would be helpful to me is if you could suggest alternative paths.

For goodness sake. You claim to be good at approaching a tangled situation, identifying key issues and coming up with solutions. And you expect people here to do that for you? For your career? All you have come up with here is why the advice doesn't suit you, or isn't what you want, but you will consider any options that someone else gives you provided you like them. If you cannot actually fathom this yourself, then I can see no future in any career that requires you to consider complex situations and resolve them. This isn't that complex. You cannot have what you want. What you have is an entry level administrative position. How do you apply yourself to moving from that entry level post to the next rung up the ladder? There is nothing menial about administration, and there are an entire array of routes to higher level jobs.

Or you could continue rubbishing the job you have, until you again have no job.