There has been a slight delay in the Ask Grad Girl segment, mainly due to the fact that no one has been asking her anything!

If there is anything that you would like to know about what it’s like to be a law graduate at a top tier firm, don’t be afraid to email us (greengrads dot australia at gee mail dot com) or hit us up on Facebook and Twitter.

(Don’t stress if you can’t think of an awesome cheesy-corney alias, we will help you come up with something!).

–

Hi Grad Girl,

Soon2BWeeGrad.

–

Dear Soon2BWeeGrad

Judging by your letter, I’d say you have just the right amount of hyper-neurosis required to be a great graduate (and eventually, a great lawyer) at a top-tier corporate law firm.  And my “just the right amount”, I of course mean “way too much than a normal, average, happy person”.

Here’s the truth: generally, yes, the Big Firms are pretty much as hardcore as they come across as. If the issues in your questions really concern you, I honestly suggest that you think about working in government, or going to a wee small firm, or moving to a commune to grow organic vegetables.

But if you’re totally ready for working in a Big Firm…. let’s look at your real question: what happens when you stuff up at work?

I appreciate that you said “when you stuff up”, not “if”.

Because, as the zygotes we are, yep, we know jack; and nope, none of the extensive training we have done at law school and will do throughout our career actually prepares you for working. The only way we actually learn is by effing up. I personally have learned a lot this year!

I suppose the answer really depends on the people you’re working with.  The main thing to remember is thatthe people giving you the work should generally expect you to eff it up, and should have already calculated “fixing the grad’s mess” into their budget.  I bet there’s a billing code for that, actually. If not, there should be one.

The other thing to remember is that (partly/hopefully because of the above), the work you get probably won’t cause an actual huge crisis.  There are of course the horror story of the baby lawyer who missed the TOTALLY KEY CLAUSE when reviewing that TOTALLY KEY DOCUMENT in a due diligence that caused X Pty Ltd billions, but meh, I think they way they look at it is that the partner should have checked it, and they’re responsible.

The partner is, I suppose, like the insurance company that charges abnoxious premiums year after year, knowing they one day will have to pay out for the freak accident that wipes out half the state.  The firm/partners will pay you a pittance compared with what clients pay for your work so whatever mess you may cause will probably be recovered already.

So the bottom line is that you must just accept that you are completely crap.  Because you then don’t need to think you’re completely perfect and don’t need to worry about having to be so. You just keep doing what you’re doing and eventually may just enjoy coming in and doing 13 hour days, 6 days a week to check off numbers and filing stuff or do research on a point of law that does not, will not and never will exist, knowing you may never see the thawing of the the “pay freeze”.

You know you love it.

xoxo
GradGirl

PS: is it just me or have my advices gotten progressively more depressing since I started?  I need a fricking holiday.

Hi Grad Girl,

Networked Out.

——–

Hi Networked

This is a pretty tricky situation for young’uns in the law (and general professional) world.  Personally, I think the whole “networking” thing has gotten out of hand and turned into this big deal that totally misses the point.  The process and “techniques” are a really just relic of the 80s that Won’t Go Away.  Like power suits and Wall Street douche-bags.  Fake smiles and going to functions and launching yourself out of your comfort zone just to “meet people” should not be the point of networking.

Those artificial things aren’t what it’s really about.

At best, networking should be about using your contacts in ways that are beneficial to everyone, and faking it to meet people is quite obviously not going to get you anywhere. You don’t need to be someone outgoing and cool to network.

Because you already have a network.  A network isn’t something you build by handing out business cards at poncey events.  It’s the people you know, and will get to know later through the people you already know.  A real network is something that grows organically, and there’s no real way to say “this is what you have to do” to build one.

The one thing that you should NOT do is be selfish. Don’t expect it to be all about you. Because if you’re going to these things hoping to meet someone who’ll give you a job, you will feel like a failure — that’s not how it works.  Think about what YOU can contribute with/to people you meet, and you never know how the karma will come back around.

As for the “next step” thing: to be honest, I don’t know what they are either! I suppose it depends on the event itself.  You really need to know why you’re going there in order to figure out what you want to get from it.  Why exactly are you going to the morning tea? What does the product being launched and the people who’ll be there have to do with your goals?

The “next step” is really WTF-ever you want it to be.  And it might not come up for ages, and it might need a little more work on your part to get there.

But, for whatever dumb reason, the reality is that you’re going to keep getting bombarded with schmooze fests, so I’ll try my best with some tips to survive them.

• If it’s a law firm thing for interviewees: ask people who work there what they do and what they like about the firm, so that you can interview the place that you might be working at to see if it’s right for you, and to develop questions you might want to ask later at the actual interview.

• If it’s something less structured, try to invite someone else so that you have a buddy with you. And obviously if you get invited to something, the person who invited you should be hosting you and introducing you to people.

• Something you’ll notice as you get around the traps more often is that you will know other people there, be they from uni or an old job or a friend of a friend.  Remember that whole organic thing and use those connections to make new ones.

• It really shouldn’t be about assaulting some random standing there with their coffee/canape.  If they’re someone you know of, then use that as a way to get to know them personally.

So the bottom line is have a idea about what you want to get out of whatever function is forced upon you, but don’t force yourself upon a function just to say that you “networked” by going there.  Because you haven’t.

And when you’re there: relax, talk to people who seem like they’re looking for someone to talk to, and keep an eye out for the six degrees of separation so that you can grow more connections from the ones you already have.

All the best
Grad Girl xoxo