Persistence pays off

I studied business, finance and economics at the University of Durham and then enrolled at The College of Law (CoL) in Guildford for the GDL and LPC. I did not have a training contract (TC) when I started at the CoL and undertook a number of vacation schemes in large City, West End and regional law firms to get a flavour of the type of environment that I wanted to work in. I wasn't offered TCs at these firms, and came to the end of the LPC without a TC or any legal work to go into.

I'd had a number of interviews and assessment days at City law firms, and was informed that my CV lacked examples of commercial awareness. Noticing that my situation was not uncommon, and that there were far more law students and graduates without a TC than with one, I decided to start a specialist business called The Stephen James Partnership Legal to assist those people to find employment in the legal sector.

As the only specialist paralegal recruitment business run by ex-paralegals for paralegals, we have been able to grow rapidly and assist many individuals.Through the business, I was able to meet a number of HR managers, and within a year of starting I was fortunate enough to have been offered TCs from some of the firms that had rejected me the previous year. This illustrates that persistence is important when applying for TCs, and that just because you may be rejected one year by a firm, it does not necessarily mean that the same firm will reject you subsequently.

The competition for TCs at present is fierce, with many firms able to cherry pick the best candidates due to the amount of applications they receive for each place. However, this is not to say that because you do not have a TC after completing the LPC that you should give up. However, you need to be realistic and if you are still without a TC some years after completing your legal studies, you may need to change your approach and apply to different types of firm.

Standing out from the crowd is crucial, as for the vast majority of firms there will be a large number of applicants for each place. For me, it was starting a business in a sector I knew well and where I knew a market existed. While not everyone will wish to start their own business, my advice would be to think of some way to make your CV unique. Put yourself in the HR manager's position; seeing countless CVs, what would make him/her think, 'We need to meet this person'?

I'd also suggest tailoring your CV and answers to each individual firm that you apply to, as it is easy to spot generic answers and you are unlikely to be brought in for an interview. I'd advise carrying out thorough research on each firm that you apply to, so that if you are called for an interview you can talk intelligently about the firm, its staff and previous cases/transactions. Go beyond simply reciting bits of the website back to the interviewers; instead,try to obtain information about the firm and what it is doing/has done by using a number of sources (eg, past employees, current employees and journal articles).

I'd advise reading around the area of law you are most interested in and the profession in general, so that if at interview you are asked a technical question about a current issue or theme, you are able to formulate an appropriate answer. A career in law is very rarely nine-to-five, so in order to reach the top you must be totally committed.

Apart from going down the path to become a solicitor, there are many other options within law to explore, such as becoming a paralegal, legal executive, law-costs draftsman, claims handler, law clerk, legal assistant or legal secretary. My advice would be to try and decide as early as possible on which avenue you'd like to pursue and persevere.

Samuel Clague is a law graduate and founder of The Stephen James Partnership Legal.