What about me?
updated on 20 May 2014
Dear Oracle
I am writing to register my frustration and disappointment. I am not a young graduate, law is my second career, and although I did not attain high A-level grades (30 years ago!), I have since proved myself in the workplace. So where are the firms that are interested in people like me? The focus everywhere is so relentlessly on young people with the highest academic qualifications; what if you don’t fit that mould?
The Oracle replies
To a degree, the points that you make are perfectly reasonable, although it genuinely is the case that law firms are keen to employ people from all walks of life and many see those who have experience in the world of work as employable and desirable. However, we must face up to the reality of the fact that firms’ recruitment campaigns are primarily geared to recruiting candidates coming directly (or very recently) out of university as this is by far and away the largest pool of candidates and, furthermore, they are the easiest to identify and target. Firms have finite resources to throw at recruitment and attraction, so whatever the rights and wrongs of it are, they will generally point these resources at the places where they will maximise their return. Even within the new graduate sector, some universities will be besieged, while those perceived as 'lesser' institutions barely see a firm from one year to the next.
LawCareers.Net offers a far wider range of information than just the high-end commercial sector. Nearly 1,000 firms of all shapes and sizes appear on the site (searchable here) and we provide information on all sorts of career trajectories (try our More Law section). Yes, the 'university straight into a training contract' route is dominant; again, that represents the majority of our readership but, we wholeheartedly agree, not all of it. The Oracle, for instance, offers individual advice on a case-by-case basis, including the very pertinent issue you raise about A Levels.
Remember to think about how you can use your different circumstances to stand out from the masses. The system is far from ideal, but you need to put yourself in the frame of mind to have the wit and application to buck it!
