October also sees the start of a new Trainee Solicitor Recruitment Cycle – a 12 month cycle that many firms work to when marketing, and recruiting for, their training contracts. This may come as a surprise to many but it is important to understand that the recruitment process for many law firms actually lasts for a full 12 months.

Here’s an example chronology for the activities of a typical law firm that regularly recruits trainee solicitors:

And then repeat for the next year’s intake.

It may be rather overwhelming to know that you need to be engaged with the recruitment process for a full 12 months – however, if you really want to work somewhere then its worth the effort and is a must if you want to be successful.

The reason why many people don’t know about this Trainee Solicitor Recruitment Cycle, or don’t want to acknowledge it, is because they have not done their research – either into the recruitment processes and requirements or into where they want to apply to. This uncertainty about which firms they want to work at or the type of law they would like to train in permeates many candidates and is one of the biggest reasons for failure in securing a training contract.

Let’s compare two students.

The first knows about the Trainee Solicitor Recruitment Cycle, accepts that it exists and has planned how to use it to their advantage.

The second candidate either doesn’t know about it or sort of knows about it but chooses to put their head in the sand. They will then try to pull a rabbit out of a hat in July when the training contract application deadlines are looming.

The issues which arise a lot more if you are the second type of candidate rather than the first type of candidate are:

If you were unsuccessful with your applications this year then you cannot afford to ignore this advice or fail to take all the opportunities that are available from the start of the Trainee Solicitor Recruitment Cycle. If you are a second year law student, a third year non-law student or otherwise in a position where you will apply for a training contract within the next 10 months or so then we would urge that you do not ignore this either.

If you go to law fairs and open days, and start researching law firms and the recruitment processes and requirements, you are far more likely to get your applications right. The good news for you is that many people will not be given this advice or will see it and ignore it. Therefore you will have a significant competitive advantage if you take this on board and apply yourself consistently throughout the full Trainee Solicitor Recruitment Cycle.

The e-book was written to fill in some of the blanks about trainee solicitor recruitment.  There is still surprisingly little information available about what goes on in the real world when it comes to the recruitment of trainee solicitors by law firms.

The book gives an insight into some of the more important things to bear in mind when making applications for training contracts.  It also aims to give you an idea about what is really going on within the recruitment processes of many law firms.

The e-book includes:

• An insight into the recruiters – who are they?

• Tips on endearing yourself and your applications to the recruiter.

• Presentation tips for training contract applications.

• Mistakes to avoid in your training contract applications.

• Understanding how applications are reviewed and filtered.

• Tips on researching firms and areas of law before you apply for training contracts.

• Beating Procrastination

• How to sell yourself in your applications

• How to self-analyse your skills and attributes and how to include them in your applications

To have the download link to your FREE COPY of the e-book emailed to you NOW just enter your email address below:

Fresh out of the GDL, and having moved to London on the night before the start of the scheme, I felt slightly underprepared for what was my first vacation scheme. Soon after arrival, however, I was put at ease. We were shown into a room with HR for introductions and to find out about the action-packed three weeks ahead. After a hectic first day including a lunch with the trainees and an introduction into the firm’s computer systems, we were ready to be taken to our first seats.

To read the full article click here.

Job description

Martineau are one of the UK’s leading independent law firms providing a full range of national and international commercial legal advice from their offices in Birmingham and London. As one of the most innovative and progressive commercial law firms, they are recognised as a market leader in a wide variety of growing and intellectually challenging legal markets. They combine a commercial and vibrant atmosphere with a personal and caring attitude.

The mini-vacation schemes are held over two days. During the two day period you will have the opportunity to meet a cross section of representatives of the firm including current trainees, lawyers and partners and will undertake various activities in Corporate, Private Client, Property, Commercial and Litigation.

It provides an ideal chance to find out whether you are right for the firm and whether the firm is right for you. A nights stay in a hotel and an evening meal are included. Mini-vacation schemes are running 12/13 April 2011, 4/5 July 2011 and 13/14 July 2011. The schemes are unpaid.

Applications are accepted from final year non law students, penultimate year law students and those who have completed their studies.

Application details

Applications are made via their online application form found at www.martineau-uk.com/trainingcontracts and the deadline for applications is Thursday 24 February 2011.

In a recruitment landscape where training contracts are increasingly hard to come by there are tales abound of students relentlessly working their way through countless application forms in a desperate attempt to start on the path to a career in law.

The best way to get a foot in the door is, of course, work experience. However, it will come as no surprise to students that vacation schemes are in equally short supply.

A good article in Legal Week about the importance of vacation schemes with some tips on how to make the most of them – click here: Vacation Scheme Placements

Posted via email from traineesolicitor’s posterous

The more connected the work experience is with the the type of firm the applicant is applying to, and the areas of law it works with, the more weight that work experience is likely to have with that firm.

It should also be remembered that many law firms use their vacation schemes as a way to pre-select candidates for interview for their training contract positions.  A vacation scheme gives the firm much more time to assess you than an interview affords and it also gives you much more time in which to make a positive impression.

Helping Your Decision Making

As well as adding power to a CV, vacation schemes also give candidates a chance to get to know specific firms better before deciding whether or not to apply for a training contract with them.  They also provide a more general insight into how law firms work.  This is often key for law students as the reality of practise is often quite different from the study of the same areas of law.

On a work placement you will get a much better sense of the culture of a firm and the people who work there.  This is invaluable information when it comes to deciding whether you want to apply to work there in the future.

Many students find that they had originally wanted to work for one type of firm but after doing a vacation scheme with that firm, or another firm for that matter, they changed their minds based on this practical experience.

Making Vacation Scheme Applications

Applications for vacation schemes are often even more competitive than for training contracts because candidates will seek to to do more than one placement.  With training contracts successful, however, candidates will only accept one position and reject any other offers they receive thus giving others the chance of receiving them.

Therefore, taking time to get your applications right is crucial.  Far too many candidates, however, do not take the application process seriously enough and try to rush off multiple applications which will have a very limited chance of success.

It is much better to spend some time researching the firms you want to apply to, what they are looking for in their vacation scheme candidates and putting together a well thought out and well presented application.  Quality rather than quantity is definitely the key here.

You should also ensure you take time over the presentation of your documents and get others to read over them for you to avoid simple mistakes such as spelling and grammar mistakes.  See the tips for CV’s and covering letters in the Training Contracts section of this site for some pointers you can equally apply to your applications for work experience.

Aim for Variation

Unless you absolutely know that you only want to work for a magic circle firm, try to add some variation into the work experience you go for.  This will help you with the decisions you make about where you ultimately want to train and work.

And Finally…

It really can’t be overstated how important it is to get a place on a vacation scheme, or gain some other form of work experience, given the current high level of competition for training contracts.

For more information about legal work experience placements and vacation schemes take a look at the legal work experience section of this site by clicking here:  Legal Work Experience & Vacation Schemes

For details of firms which are offering vacation schemes and have a deadline for applications of 31 March please click here:

Vacation Scheme Deadlines March 2010

Circumstances of firms as well as their vacancies and application procedures do change on occasion so you are advised to telephone each firm before making an application to check whether they are still accepting applications and, if so, when the deadline is, who you should address your application to and how you should apply.  This will immediately set you apart from those who do not check and do not therefore pick up on any changes the firm has made.

There are less and less opportunities still available for summer 2010 vacation schemes so you are strongly advised to make some applications before the end of the month if you have not already secured some legal work experience for the summer.

Hammonds have made a habit of being at the forefront of recruiting practices including assessment days and psychometric testing.  Now they are going one further with Apprentice style interviews of their vacation schemers by the firm’s clients.  This is reminiscent of the Apprentice where Lord Sugar calls on various captains of industry to interview and assess the candidates.

Hammonds actively use their vacation schemes as part of their ongoing recruitment process.  Personally, I’m looking forward to the next developments in trainee recruitment where all vacation schemers are called into the managing partner’s office on a Friday afternoon for one of them to receive a dramatic finger point and hear the words “You’re fired!”

Click here to read the full story on Lawyer2B – Hammonds Vacation Schemes