Trainee blog - Kathryn Alexander

Kathryn is one of our trainee bloggers from Brodies LLP. After graduating from Durham University with a degree in German and Spanish, Kathryn returned to her native Edinburgh for the LLB and Diploma. She has done seats in Commercial Property, Insurance & Risk litigation and the Commercial Services Division (commercial contracts, IP/IT and public procurement). A few weeks ago she moved into Corporate, where she will qualify as an NQ in August.

Navigating post-traineeship recruitment

Now that NQ recruitment season is in full swing, the airwaves are buzzing with chat about who’s staying, who’s going, jobs that have come up and those that haven’t. Brodies was one of the earlier firms to kick off their internal recruitment so, having just come through the process, here are a couple of themes I’ve drawn out from my own experiences and the nonstop discussions with my friends at other firms:

It’s still early!

With some firms starting their recruitment before Christmas, I definitely felt like the pressure was on once the New Year arrived, but it’s only now that jobs are really starting to appear. Plenty of firms, from small boutique practices to international behemoths, have yet to start their internal recruitment, so there will be more opportunities to come.

Speculate to accumulate

A couple of my friends have had really positive responses to speculative applications, with firms committing to invite them to interview alongside current trainees once they start their internal recruitment. For some, this approach has opened doors before jobs have been advertised or even created. One firm was so impressed with a strong speculative application that they are now considering taking on an NQ this year instead of next year.

Recruiters – worth a chat

When you’re working nine to five (or six or seven), trawling the job sites, writing your CV and preparing for interviews is exhausting. Recruiters can ease the load by monitoring the job market for you. They have their ears to the ground and often find out about new opportunities before they are made public. By using a recruiter to move firms, one of my friends was offered an NQ position before his new firm had even started their internal recruitment.

Recruiters can also offer advice about career paths and different types of firm – they’ve seen it all and, whilst they’re not neutral, it’s in their interests to make sure the candidates they suggest will suit the role.

My man on the inside

There is only so much you can learn from a website. When I applied for my NQ job, I hadn’t done a seat in the department, so I spoke to as many people as I could to get a feel for the type of work I would be involved with. It definitely gave me more confidence going into the interview.

Similarly, friends who have applied for jobs externally have found that recruiting partners are often happy to discuss a role in advance of application deadlines and interviews. This has helped applicants to decide what to include in their CV and partners have commented that it demonstrates real motivation and enthusiasm for the job.

Obviously candidates will speak to their friends, but it’s also worth reaching out to those hazily remembered university connections.

Good luck!

This blog is by no means a prescriptive guide on NQ recruitment – there are lots of ways to find an NQ job and it’s a good time to be looking. The market seems to have bounced back which bodes well for new NQs, and it’s encouraging that firms are investing in growth at a junior level. Good luck!