When searching for newly qualified solicitor jobs there are various things you can do to improve your chances. One of the key things is to keep updated about the legal job market.
Here are some pointers on how to stay up to date with the job market:
1. Legal Press/Media – it is advisable to regularly check the legal jobs section in both the printed and on-line editions of the legal press. By doing this you will start to understand the jobs market and you can then go on to start identifying the types of work that is on offer and which types of jobs you may want to start applying for. You may well find copies of the main legal press in your university or law school libraries or even in your public library or you may find you can get a discount on the subscriptions as a student. The Lawyer, the Law Society Gazette and Legal Week are the three main legal publications in the UK.
2. On-line Recruitment Sites – the are a multitude of job sites on-line which offer many many jobs. Most of these will have a specific legal jobs section but you would be better advised to use dedicated legal recruitment websites. However you must be aware that many purport to advertise the latest legal jobs but some of the websites are much better than others. The website Totally Legal appears to be the most reputable one amongst lawyers. You should know, however, that most of these recruitment sites are funded by advertising fees. They will therefore be limited to offering job vacancies from agencies and law firms that are paying for advertising on their site. This means that not every newly qualified solicitor vacancy is on their sites so it is worth searching more broadly to see if there are any other vacancies in the field you are looking at.
3. Legal Recruitment Agencies – you will find various agencies that are specialists only in legal recruitment. You would be advised to conduct some research of the various websites to check which of them are going to have the most relevance to the jobs you are wanting to go after. Then get in touch with them and they will no doubt ask for your CV and will then discuss with you your options and the types of vacancies they have available for you at that time.
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