Job Hunting: Finding the right fit

So many lawyers settle in a job they don’t enjoy or working in a practice area that isn’t inspiring.

This can happen because you haven’t pinned down what you want to do yet. It’s vital you work out your legal direction. That means knowing whether you want to pursue working as a barrister or as a solicitor, where you want to base yourself for work and what specialism you want to focus on. Knowing this helps you avoid ending up in a legal job you don’t enjoy.

Next up is researching legal firms. So often we do a cursory search on google and leave it at that. We’d suggest going deeper.

• Make a spreadsheet where you put down a longlist of law firms.
• Write out the salaries, where they’re based, their practice areas and give them a personal ranking.
• Look at the profile of the employees at the firm. Most websites have a page for this. Look at employees in a similar role to one you’re interested in and get an idea of who the company likes to hire.
• Put together a shortlist based on companies that are both likely to hire you and ones you’re interested in. This way, your applications are more targeted and likely to land an interview.

This process is a good way to avoid the scattergun approach of sending out the same CV to lots of places and getting lots of rejections.

We’re also expert matchmakers at JMC Legal Recruitment, so get in touch for more guidance on the firms you may be interested in and the type of work you’re looking for.

What approach worked for you? What’s the one piece of advice you’d give someone looking for a job now?