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

PlutoinCapricorn

An interesting read:

http://www.unrol.org/article.aspx?article_id=23

ManofLeisure_2

missbiggles1 wrote: »

That's ridiculously naive "advice" - akin to telling no hope X Factor rejects that they should "follow their dream!"

I think what is ridiculous missbiggles, is your reference to ''X Factor'' - just my opinion of course.

OP, I do admire the strength of your determination and wish you luck in your chosen field. I'm afraid I don't have any advice, but will provide a link to a website which offers help to many .
https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/aboutus/Pages/default.aspx

Law_girl

I am at lunch so just a quick response to PlutoinCapricorn.

• I have a few different CVs e.g. for paralegal , legal secretary etc. as well as individual cover letters.

• My name is very stereotypically Zimbabwean, (as 'John Smith' is stereotypically English') . I went to an essentially British school in Zimbabwe and do not have an accent. I have been told it is Home Counties. I only lived in Zimbabwe for about 8 years.

WestonDave

One other thing would be (if you haven't already) is to look the other way - you mention looking into London as there is nothing locally but maybe looking the other direction up the line to places like St Albans, Luton, Milton Keynes and even Northampton may be more productive. Law in London is a bit of a unique proposition - everyone dreams of being a big city hot shot lawyer. On the other hand there are generally firms in smaller towns that will take people that are useful in conveyancing or other private client work as admin support and then if useful put them on training contracts.

missbiggles1

ManofLeisure wrote: »

I think what is ridiculous missbiggles, is your reference to ''X Factor'' - just my opinion of course.

OP, I do admire the strength of your determination and wish you luck in your chosen field. I'm afraid I don't have any advice, but will provide a link to a website which offers help to many .
https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/aboutus/Pages/default.aspx

Nothing ridiculous about making a relevant comparison.:D

PlutoinCapricorn

London is multi-cultural: non-stereotypical British names are very common. Typical English names are in the minority in many places I have worked in, international NGOs in particular, and many people speak with some kind of accent as English is not their first language.

No one thinks anything of it, so you can use your full name and state your original nationality if you are applying for a place in a big city.

When_the_going_gets_tough

Op have you considered getting into advice work it is a type of legal work. First step would be to free up time to train as a volunteer advisor as most paid jobs go to ex volunteers.

matttye

Print off the job description for the job you are going to apply for and systematically work through the tasks you'll be expected to do and how your qualifications and experience can show that you're the right person for the job and can complete those tasks.

For example, if you're applying for a legal secretary position, you will need to be: -

- Very organised;
- Fast and accurate typist;
- Able to work on your own initiative or as part of a team;
- Professional;
- Polite;
- Trustworthy;
- Discrete.

Think about your qualifications/experience and how they can address these things.

In addition, the more you know about the practice area you're going into the better.

FYI I'm a hybrid legal secretary and fee earner (accredited police station representative/trainee legal executive) in a busy criminal law office. I've interviewed people who just don't sell themselves well enough during the interview. They're not prepared enough. What I want is to say "We need you to be able to do x, y and z" and you to say "I can do those because of a, b and c". Make sure you know the job you're applying for and be prepared to explain why you can do that job.

Also if you come in with an understanding of how that area of law works e.g. knowledge of the criminal justice system, that will be a massive plus.

Law_girl

PlutoinCapricorn wrote: »

London is multi-cultural: non-stereotypical British names are very common. Typical English names are in the minority in many places I have worked in, international NGOs in particular, and many people speak with some kind of accent as English is not their first language.

No one thinks anything of it, so you can use your full name and state your original nationality if you are applying for a place in a big city.

Thanks. I know correlation is not causation but I got the job I am in with the English name CV. I would not say it is people trying to discriminate but even studies have shown that people can get uncomfortable when they can not easily say another's name, even someone from a similar background to their own.

SeduLOUs

Law_girl wrote: »

I love being able to approach a tangled situation, identify the key issues and provide someone with a solution, so yes, Law is for me.

This also describes accountancy to a tee.

Turning a stressed out client with a bin bag full of receipts and jumbled bank statements into an informed director with a full set of management accounts and a completed tax return, together with the tools to maintain it can be rather satisfying.

It sounds like you've tried everything, so expanding your options is the only thing you've got left to try really. Best of luck with whatever you decide.