From Student to Solicitor

So, you had that all important training contract interview and you feel that it has gone really well. You seem to get on really well with the interviewers, had confident, coherent responses for their questions and showed a keen interest in the job and the firm.

What’s next? Well, you could sit back and wait anxiously to hear the outcome. Or, you could write a short thank you note to the interviewer for their time and considering you as a candidate. I would suggest the following:

1. Send an e-mail or handwritten note. E-mail is quicker but handwritten is more personal so the approach you take may depend on the firm. For example, a modern, technologically-advanced firm may appreciate an email more where as a traditional, high street firm may prefer a handwritten note.

2. Address it to your interviewer by name (I mean “Mr Jones” not “Peter” unless they specifically asked you to call them by their first name).

3. Thank them for their time and considering your application.

4. Reiterate your interest in the firm and the job. For example, “I was really interested in hearing about [firm's name] and your work in the medical negligence sector”.

5. Link your skills back to the job. For example,”After hearing more about the role, I really feel that my extensive experience in advocacy and negotiation would assist me to excel in this position”.

6. Keep it short – you want to remind the interviewer about you, not bore them!

This note has several benefits. It reminds them of you while they are considering who to hire, it shows them that you are a polite, confident candidate and it keeps the lines of communication open. It might just give you the edge over another candidate if the interviewer is torn.

As the writer Richard Whateley once said: “Manners are one of the greatest engines of influence ever given to man”.

One of the most important things that you can do to reach qualification and reach your career goals is to read as much relevant material as you possibly can. This increases your value to potential employers and ensures that you are well equipped for the challenges ahead. With that in mind, I will occasionally be including reviews of books that I think may be useful for your career in my blog. I hope you find them useful!

For me, the choice of which book to review first was an easy one. “The Guide” by Dr William Holden was the book that influenced me to grow my career, stretched myself to reach my goals and overcome many obstacles. It is a guide to personal development that is unlike so many of those that are also on the market. Unlike it’s competitors, The Guide does not just tell you what to do to achieve anything you want in life, but why the method works and how to actually put it into practice.

The book follows two friends, Paul and Maya, one of whom is guiding the other through the methods they used to completely revitalise their life. It has a semi-fictional layout which makes it simple to follow and absorb the methods along with the fictional trainee!

One of my favourite things about this book is that it is really easy to read, it breaks down the ideas into plain English and is virtually impossible to put down once you have started reading it. I first read the book in about three days flat! I have since read it another 6 times, as it is one of those books that you will want to re-read as you work through the goal setting exercises and reach certain steps. Every step is highlighted with examples which help to reiterate the message being delivered.

There is nothing particularly complicated about the methods laid out in the book which is surprising at first because you would expect something so life changing to be a little more challenging. This is, however, another fantastic element because it is so easy to implement immediately and is easily achievable by anyone who reads the book.

Personally, I read this book during my training contract and it guided me through the various obstacles on my own route to qualification and assisted me in achieving my various career goals along the way. I would not hesitate to recommend this book to anyone – it really will change your life!

I would love to know what you thought of The Guide so please let me know in the comments section below!