1Working with a legal recruiter – why, how and when

NQ Solicitors Guide 2019

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For example, they often ask us for our opinions since we know what qualities are important to them. Sometimes they might ask whether you’d look at other roles they have coming up – and which aren’t necessarily ‘live’ yet. This is our opportunity to advance your interests in one another further, as an intermediary.

The best recruitment consultants will help and support their candidates through the selection process, co-ordinating your applications so you remain in control and helping you to prepare for interviews.

Our overall objectives are: to give you the best guidance and to get you the right roles, whilst making the whole process easier for you, the candidate.

Fundamentally, the role of a legal recruiter is to give you an advantage as a candidate – simple.

In purely practical, administrative terms, a recruitment consultancy will get candidates to clients faster and more effectively than they could manage themselves, since we know all the relative idiosyncrasies of the processes each firm operates by. And they are all different! The effect is to reduce the impact this process will have on you and your other commitments, since you’re delegating it all to us.

Very often, and at all levels, legal recruiters are frequently instructed on opportunities which actually never get circulated widely in the open market, and which you might otherwise remain unaware of.

Beyond that, a recruiter is a “second pair of eyes” for you. A good recruiter will give advice on a candidate’s CV to ensure that the details are as relevant to the roles they are submitted to as they can be, and that any transferable skills are not ignored. We’re your ‘quality control’, if you like.

Once an application has been made, and owing to our trusted relationships with clients, we frequently influence their choice of which candidates to shortlist for interview.

Why should I use a legal recruiter?

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Many of the junior lawyers once placed by our most experienced consultants have gone on to become partners in their respective firms. As our relationships have endured we have since hired people to work for them, and have placed individuals they have recommended to us. At Brooke Thornham, our mantra is “relationships come before revenue”. It’s a shared team ethic which underpins everything we do because we’d rather be respected for the advice and options that we can offer you in the long term than be driven by short term financial gain.

Fundamentally, you’re in the driving seat. So it is your prerogative to engage with whichever recruitment consultancy you feel you can trust. You’ll want to see how much they listen to you and understand your goals. Get a feel for their geographical coverage and their client relationships before deciding whether you want to work with them or not. For example, a northern based recruitment business shouldn’t claim to be able to place you in London – instead we have good relationships with recruiters and former colleagues who cover that market, and can refer you to them in London. You should expect a good level of interest and engagement.

You can work with more than one recruiter if you wish, since logic dictates that not everyone can cover every single hiring relationship. However, you need to remain organised and in control of who you instruct, and on which opportunities, so as not to duplicate applications. If you are focused on one particular geographical area it can pay dividends to instruct one recruiter exclusively. Whilst you might initially think that having a couple of recruiters working for you might encourage a degree of healthy competition, you can very quickly get to a point at which you’re not so much “increasing your chances” as disproportionately losing control and weakening the relationship with your recruiters.

You should resist the temptation to circulate your details far and wide. It won’t help you. If you genuinely feel you’ve picked the best one or two recruiters for your needs, you shouldn’t need to register with any more. Just work with them and have faith.

How do you choose a recruiter to work with?

Take time to get to know a recruitment consultancy before deciding to work with them. Focus on their reputation, relationships, regional focus and whether their experience can add value and insight.

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We advocate making time to meet one another where practicable. Also, you should not underestimate the time it might take for you to pull together the strongest possible CV. Beyond that, it’s a matter of just ‘tuning in’ to how the market works, how recruiters operate, and how the various jobs websites work.

There is actually a lot to become familiar with in a short period of time and so it is better to give yourself as much time as possible to get organised so that you’re truly ready. There is nothing worse than hearing that your perfect job has been released when you’ve still not got your CV in the shape you’re happy with.

There is no definitive answer to this question, as it will largely depend on market conditions when you qualify. Very generally, the better the market, the earlier you can consider your situation because firms will be more confident in planning for recruitment and can make earlier decisions and commitments.

As far as we anticipate, the 2019 market should still be competitive with a decent retention rate. The shock of the Brexit vote in 2016 caused a market drop for the second half of that year, and London saw reduced retention in 2017. But the vote itself didn’t seem to do too much harm to the 2017 NQ market in the north when it came around. And 2018 was a decent NQ year.

Much in 2019 is dependent on Brexit negotiations which we have all seen stumbling forward and which is creating significant uncertainty. There is a negative impact on business optimism nationally and recruitment is a very good barometer of confidence. We would suggest that trainee solicitors qualifying in August to October 2019 contact us from around January/February time, so that you can get to know the people who will represent you, and develop a relationship of trust, before the market starts to get busy in around April/May. The tighter the market the more advisable it is to get involved in it early rather than late.

When should I talk to a recruitment consultant?

If you establish a relationship with a recruiter in January to March, just remember it can take at least a couple more months before you will be immersed in interviews, because of the different ways each firm recruits its NQs.

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Summary of Market Activity

Usually the market moves particularly quickly in May and June.

If you are in doubt about timing your applications, just give us a call on 0113 487 3080 and we can give advice tailored specifically to you.

If you can get ‘time to count’ as a consequence of earlier paralegal experience then tell your recruiter. You could advance your qualification date by 6 months and enjoy an advantage over other trainees competing for the same NQ roles. Similarly, if you are someone who might be able to transfer your final training seat then it is worth discussing that with your consultant - again it might give you an advantage when compared to your contemporaries.

There are a number of law firms who state they will not recruit NQ solicitors until they have made decisions on their own trainees. We know the firms and it’s our role to appraise you of each firm’s individual processes and timescales.

Be aware that in some instances jobs are released early, and this tends to happen in two main scenarios: firstly, where firms know they don’t have sufficient internal applicants; and, secondly where they have made a decision to relax a particular PQE requirement on a slightly more senior role to accommodate a good NQ candidate who might be more readily available to recruit.

January – March • Choose a recruitment consultancy

March – April • CV in place (but kept under review,

for final seat(s))

March – May • Firms finalise budgets and/or

requirements• Internal vacancies circulated

May – September • Internal positions offered• Additional positions released

externally• Interviews and offers accepted

August – September “Secondary market” – some candidates have been known to accept a second choice role if their first choice is not available, and then keep looking. Naturally, if they then accept their first choice role elsewhere, further recruitment activity can ‘spike’ in August on the back of this.

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Many trainees enter the market and are subsequently retained by their own firms and so exit the market quite quickly. We fully expect this. It’s a fact of life. Clearly, just exploring the market is a world away from committing to leave your current firm. If your job search is undertaken by a reputable recruiter in a confidential way then there is very little risk of it adversely affecting your prospects of being retained on qualification.

At Brooke Thornham we do advocate the benefit of remaining with a firm if it can offer you the work you want to do. You’ll know their systems, practices and personnel and can enjoy the continuity. It also looks great on your CV when you come to make your first career move later on, once qualified.

Unless you have been promised a position at your firm and you’re convinced about accepting it, you owe it to yourself to consider what else might be out in the market. After all, you might regret it if you missed out on an ideal opportunity because you were being unduly patient with your current firm.

Can I look for a new position before I hear whether I have been offered one at my current firm?

It’s always better to cover your position. Some people go on to the open market, get various offers, but decide to stay put at their current firm.

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If you’d like to speak with us about your own circumstances and how we can assist you then please feel free to check out our profiles, and don’t hesitate to make contact with any of our team on 0113 487 3080. (We are happy to schedule conversations out of hours to suit you.)

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Anthony BrookeDDI 0113 487 3081Mobile 07879 446552

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Helena IrelandDDI 0113 487 3086Mobile 07458 081454

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