1 June 2009
Ask Grad Girl #1 – Sans Halo
Hi Grad Girl,
I’m in my final year of my law degree and I’m a bit scared about what is going to happen next year. I’ve been applying for clerkships and putting my name and resume out there but it looks like the current law firms are struggling to keep the staff they’ve got – and to get a foot in the door someone needs to have a solid gold halo above their heads!
What is the work like, day to day at your firm? Are there any areas that are doing particularly well right now? If there are, how would a 09 graduate like me get started in those fields of work?
Sincerely,
Sans Halo.
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Dear Sans,
I know things seem a horrible right now. GFC, pay-freezes, the budgeting-out of chocolate biscuits. Yes, things aren’t as flash as they used to be around here.
But the first thing you need to know is this: Don’t Panic.
For a law student, the recruitment process is tough in ANY economic climate. It was never an easy game; no matter how many times Lawyer’s Weekly wants to harp on about “Gen Y feeling the pinch for the first time ever”, what they do not seem to understand is that to write a bloody cover letter 17 times, to get an interview, to schmooze at a drinks night, to get an offer, WAS NEVER EASY.
(While it may not feel like it, this is supposed to make you feel better… bare with me.)
So you need to remember not to think things are the worst they’ve ever been and that you’re in a horrible position.
You’re a law student. You should be used to feeling like a useless failure on a regular basis even though you’re not, so take this all in your stride.
So my advice to a GFC law student going to the articles process is the same as it was two years ago: do you best, check for typos and shit grammar in your cover letters, and BE YOURSELF at the interviews. Don’t try to mould yourself into what you think the firms are looking for — be your (slightly more polite and reverent) self.
And my advice to those who don’t make it through are the same too — suck it up, do College of Law, and seriously, not getting articles won’t matter one iota.
It’s kinda like the end of highschool, really — those exams seem like the end of the world, but who remembers their score the week after Leavers? (I suppose no one remembers much the week after leavers, but you know what I mean).
The second thing you need to know is that you have to pick your firms. You know the ones that are cutting back on grad programs to save a few thousand bucks? DON’T BOTHER APPLYING THERE.
The myopic guppies running those places haven’t got a clue and don’t realise that when things pick up again, they’re not going to have enough people to do the work.
The firms you want to be at are the firms that are laying the foundations of their practices from the ground up, and understand that graduates eventually become lawyers, and like, are the people that help them print money.
My firm hasn’t changed any of its recruitment numbers and I know it’s going to be a sound investment for them (even though I do say so myself).
As for the second part of your question — well, it’s pretty cool to work at my firm (they are not even paying me to say this. I should demand a Tim Tam).
I’m learning a heck of a lot, and frankly, I can’t think of a better time to be a graduate — there is a LOT TO DO and that totally means that there is A LOT TO LEARN. The GFC really is not so bad when you don’t have a mortgage or a dwindling superfund, and a pay freeze doesn’t matter when you’ve just come off five years of Youth Allowance.
I’m in litigation, doing insurance and insolvency, and maybe that’s why I’m loving what I’m doing right now. This is where all the fun stuff is happening, kiddo. The corporate cowboys have had their day — this is dispute resolution town, baby: litigators make lawyering look good.
Here’s what you need to do: Read the Bell judgement, focus all your study energy on Civil Procedure, and read law firm info-bulletins on restructuring, insolvency, and litigation. And then show all that knowledge off in your cover-letter. Halos totally optional.
Aside from that, exercise, sleep well, see your friends, hug your mum/puppy and floss reguarly, and you’ll be JUST FINE!
All the best!!!
You know you love me (and law)
xoxo Grad Girl
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- Introducing Grad Girl
- 5 Tips for Unemployed Law Graduates
