Get Hired sponsor spotlight – meet Elizabeth from Davitt Jones Bould (DJB)

Hi, I’m Elizabeth Collin and I am the Business Manager at Davitt Jones Bould (DJB), real estate law specialists, and we are one of the sponsors of Get Hired this year.

After graduating from the University of Warwick in 2018 with first-class honours in English Literature, I embarked on the graduate job hunt. When looking for positions, I was very open-minded, seeking a position that would allow me to learn and grow in a commercial setting.

This is always my first tip to graduates now: with this mindset, you will invariably stumble upon opportunities that you weren’t even aware of at the time. This is exactly what I experienced when I secured my graduate position at Davitt Jones Bould (DJB).

DJB is a national law firm founded in 1999 which has become established as the largest specialist real estate firm in the UK. Unlike traditional law firms, at DJB we operate a twin-track model, separating commercial dealings from the legal practice.

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Graduate stories: working at TLT as a Bristol graduate

Joseph Battle graduated from Bristol with a law degree and is now a first seat trainee in TLT’s London office.

We recently caught up with Joseph to hear about his journey so far at TLT and his advice for students considering a career in law.

Hi I’m Joseph, 

While studying I tried to get as much exposure to the legal industry as possible to confirm that I wanted to start a career in law and to work out which area of law suited me best. This included work experience with a barristers’ chambers, a boutique private practice, larger full-service corporate firms and a firm operating in a different jurisdiction. These experiences were invaluable for me to gain an awareness of the different disciplines within the industry and to figure out what clicked for me.

I was appreciative of the opportunities to attend numerous networking evenings and law fairs whilst at Bristol. I found these to be a brilliant way to informally chat to representatives from a whole host of firms and to quickly get a feel for whether I would be a good fit for the firm and whether the firm would be a good fit for me. (more…)

How to get into corporate governance and risk management.

In November 2022, the Faculty of Social Sciences & Law hosted the ”How to get into Corporate Governance and Risk Management” panel event with three University of Bristol alumni. 

via GIPHY

Henrietta Skareng, 3rd year BSc Politics and International Relations student and Career Peer Support Assistant, attended the event and here are her top takeaways:

What is corporate governance and risk management?

Corporate governance refers to the way that firms are directed and controlled. Working with corporate governance means ensuring that practices and procedures are efficient in achieving company objectives and that the interests of all stakeholders are balanced. You can read more about corporate governance on the Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland website.

Risk management within the financial sector, much as it sounds, is all about assessing risks within the industry and constructing strategies to avoid or minimise the impact of them. In the context of multiple global challenges, companies are increasingly exposed to risk.  In the financial sector in particular there are opportunities available across a range of employers, such as banks, insurance and property firms, as well as in the public sector. You can read more about risk management and control in our myCareer guide.

The diversity of experiences among the event panellists highlights the spectrum of opportunities within corporate governance and risk management. Read on for further details and their top suggestions for entering the field of corporate governance and risk management.

Who were the panelists?

Image of three speakers Celine, Sam and Helen

  • Celine Okoroma – Head of Governance and Compliance at Paraclete Legal Consulting
  • Sam Haynes – Head of Risk Analytics at Verisk Maplecroft
  • Helen Hodge – Enterprise Risk Management Specialist at Deloitte

Click their names to explore their profiles on LinkedIn!

Top tips from the panel:

  1. Do a self-assessment – Assess your strengths and capabilities to figure out what your skills and passions are. A self-assessment could help you discover whether you are suited for a career in the industry and what skills you might need to build on. Try the mycareer strengths assessment.
  1. Build your skills over time – If you know what role or company you want to work for, research their requirements and find opportunities and experiences that will build skills that align with what the employer is looking for. Often, employers are looking for candidates with strong analytical and quantitative analysis skills, so consider finding experience that could help strengthen your skill-base in those areas. You may find this Competency Framework from CGI
  1. Utilise LinkedIn – LinkedIn is a great source of inspiration and allows you to connect with other students, alumni, potential employers and professionals working in this area. A simple search for the role or area you are looking to pursue lets you explore what qualifications, experiences, and professional certifications other people working in the sector have.
  1. Stay up to date on the industry – Visit the websites of professional regulatory organisations, and subscribe to their newsletters to stay up to date with the industry. For example, the Chartered Governance Institute, the Global Risk Report from the World Economic Forum, and the annual risk reports of specific companies you might be interested in. This is a good idea to do before the interview stage to demonstrate your interest in the company and industry overall!
  1. Get a certificate in corporate governance from the Chartered Governance Institute of the UK and Ireland. If you wish to pursue a role in corporate governance, the speakers recommended that you consider getting a certificate in corporate governance to increase your competency.

Find out more:

Blog written by Henrietta Skareng, a 3rd year BSc Politics and International Relations student, Student Engagement Team Worker and Career Peer Support Assistant

How to get into Fintech and Legal Tech: Top Tips

Photo by StartUpStockPhotos on Pixabay

The advice in this blog comes from the ‘How to get into fintech, legal tech and disruptive technologies’ careers panel event for Social Science and Law students in November 2021 and is focussed on advice for non-STEM specialists looking at careers in this area.

The event featured various guest speakers from across different sectors in various positions. These included a Legal Engineer, Legal Practitioner, a Marketing Director and Talent Acquisition Manager.

This blog includes some of the speakers’ key messages for what you can do to get involved with this ever-changing and rapidly expanding sector, top tips for accessing these industries and a note on what the future may look like. (more…)

Five things you can get from our upcoming Sector Spotlight Series

Meeting with employers does involve networking – which we know can seem terrifying! But don’t let that put you off coming to talk to some of the 300 plus employers that come to Careers Service events every year. There’s so much you get from coming along. Here’s our top five:

1. Productive research

Coming along to a large scale employer event, like one of our Sector Spotlight Series (27 October to 11 November) events, is a great way to get a lot of information quickly. There’s no better bang for your buck than being able to research multiple employers on the same day.

2. Insider information

As you’ll be speaking directly with employers, you get the inside scoop on the work culture and can get answers to questions that aren’t on their website or FAQs list. Employer representatives might include recent Bristol graduates who can tell you all about their work. Come and get the gossip!

3. Work experience opportunities

Employers come to our events because they want to hire Bristol students. They will have work experience and internships on offer as well as graduate jobs. Recruiters will often hire people to their full time roles that have completed work experience with them, so you can get in there early.

4. Get ahead

Meeting employers in person (even if that is through Zoom!) is the best way to make a good impression. The people you meet might be a future interviewer, so you can make a good contact and start to stand out from the crowd early on. You can also ask for tips on making applications 👍

5. Something for everyone

It doesn’t matter if you’re starting to explore your options or ready to apply for opportunities, you can get useful information from an employer. The range of employers we connect with is huge – large and small, local and international – and from a huge array of sectors.

At our Sector Spotlight Series, you can meet employers from:

  • Banking and Finance – 27 October
  • Law – 28 October
  • Consultancy – 29 October
  • Public Sector – 3 November
  • Engineering – 4 November
  • Technology and Data – 5 November
  • Consumer Goods and Retail – 10 November
  • Sciences – 11 November

👋 We look forward to seeing you there!

And if you’re worried about networking, use our resources to build your confidence, our elevator pitch builder to prepare your introduction, and our how to prepare guide for ideas about questions to ask. Remember, you can always ask your Careers Service for help through our live chat too.

An international student’s experience of securing a graduate job in the UK

Experiences of being an international student at university can vary greatly. Despite having been at school in the UK since the age of 13, I still felt the specific pressures of being an international student at university, especially in regards to careers.

My career aspirations became a high priority from the beginning. Due to my student visa only allowing me to stay in the UK for the duration of my degree, I felt that I needed to have a post-graduation plan as soon as possible. I spent much of my first year getting to know what advice was offered by attending a variety of workshops put on by the Careers Service, numerous employer presentations, participating in university societies and volunteering. When I decided to complete the Bristol PLUS Award in second year, I found I had no trouble doing so having kick-started my career planning early on.

Anna Andreeva

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Jargon Buster

The terms employers use to talk about their organisation and/or their recruitment process can be confusing. Get prepared for the autumn term employer events and your job applications with our jargon-buster.

Organisations

Magic circle – Nothing to do with Harry Potter. This is the term sometimes used to describe the top 5 law firms in the UK: Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Linklaters and Slaughter & May.

Silver circle Similar to the above, a group of top law firms that do not quite rank alongside the magic circle: Herbert Smith Freehills, Ashurst, Berwin Leighton Paisner, Macfarlanes and Travers Smith.

The big 4 – These are the 4 largest professional services networks in the world: Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young and KPMG. They offer audit, assurance, taxation, management consulting, advisory, actuarial, corporate finance and legal services.

SMEs – Small or medium-sized enterprises. In the European Union, these are defined as organisations that employ fewer than 250 employees and have an annual turnover of no more than 50 million euros.

Work Experience

Vacation scheme – This is not a holiday! A period of work experience with a law firm, usually running for 1 or 2 weeks.

Internship – These are often paid placements offered by firms who regularly recruit graduates. Most often in the summer, but there are also part-time, term-time and vacation opportunities.

Job Descriptions and Applications

Hidden jobs market – This is a term often used to describe jobs that aren’t advertised. You can tap into this by networking, making use of contacts and writing speculative applications.

Entry level job – A role that requires little prior experience in the field or profession.

Referees – These are the contacts (usually two) you put on CVs or application forms who can be contacted by an employer to verify the information you have provided or to give insight into your personality. The referee should know you well enough to be able to write positively about you.

Transferrable skills – Also known as ‘soft skills’ or ‘portable skills’, these are skills used in one job or career that can also be used in another, rather than relying on direct experience of the industry. For example, leadership, organisation and communication skills.

DOE – Think it’s a female deer? Think again! Abbreviation for ‘dependent on experience’. An employer will offer a salary within a given range but is willing to pay more for a candidate with more experience.

OTE – Abbreviation for on-target earnings. This is an estimate of actual earnings where pay is made up of both base salary and a variable bonus/commission. Particularly found in job descriptions for sales roles.

Graduate scheme – A structured programme for recent graduates that includes work and training. It can last up to 3 years, though some are much shorter. Completing the scheme successfully often secures a professional qualification as well as a permanent role in the organisation.

Selection Process

Psychometric test – Any activity and assessment that is conducted in order to evaluate candidate performance, including intelligence, skills and personality.

Assessment centre – Usually a day or half day at an employer’s office or training venue involving a combination of tasks and activities to find the right candidates. Involves working in groups and includes a variety of exercises such as role play, in-tray exercises and presentations.

Competency-based interview – This is an interview where situational or behavioural questions are asked. They aim to find out how you have used specific skills in your previous experience and how you approach problems, tasks and challenges.

Strengths-based interview – Type of interview style becoming increasingly popular amongst graduate recruiters. It aims to find out what you enjoy doing and hence what engages you the most.

If you would like more information about some of these terms or support with finding and applying for opportunities, visit the careers service website or contact us directly.

Using the Careers Service – a graduate’s perspective

Here at the Careers Service we not only help all manner of students from all manner of backgrounds, through all stages of their career planning and development, but continue to support our graduates for up to three years after they’ve graduated! Natalie, a recent Law graduate, has shared her experience of using the Careers Service, and explains how we were able to help her:

I discovered the Careers Service during the first year of my LLB Law degree, as it was next to my accommodation at the Hawthorns. I used the Service in my first and second years by attending events and seminars as part of the Bristol PLUS Award, which was great for building skills, and later put on my CV.

During my third year I lived at home in London, so didn’t have the time to continue this level of engagement – I did, however, book a twenty minute appointment (conveniently on the day) with an adviser to discuss whether my plans and the steps I had taken to become a lawyer were sufficient and appropriate. This was a unique opportunity to get an opinion not only from an impartial third party (which I had not had before), but from an expert. The kindness and genuine interest shown for my concerns and questions was really reassuring, and exactly what I needed during my stressful final exams!

After University I learnt that the Careers Service is available to students for up to three years after graduating. Seeing as I was slow to begin the next steps to my future career (waiting around one year after graduation), it was again reassuring to know that this support was available. After a few months of travelling I decided to knuckle down. The first thing to consider was my CV, which I had not looked at since secondary school! The next day therefore I went into the Careers Service to have a browse through their available resources. It was great to have access to such a wide variety of up-to-date books, magazines, and newsletters dedicated not only to the art of CV writing, but also to developing interview skills, and finding out about particular sectors and industries.

Additionally, having computers available for use by graduates and undergraduates at 5 Tyndall Avenue was helpful – I often used these to look at the CV page of the Careers website, which provided plenty of useful examples, as well as top tips written in clear, plain English.

The Careers Service also offers accessible workshops and seminars. All of the advisers are especially welcoming, and provide useful advice, offering the opportunity for questions both during and after their events. Attending the CV-writing seminar, for example, bolstered what I had already learnt from the website.

The final step in composing my CV was to attend a drop-in session – a 10-minute appointment bookable at 8am on the day, during which an adviser will look over your CV, cover letter, or application form. This meeting was particularly insightful as the appointment was one-on-one, and the adviser provided honest advice and helpful suggestions, such as the use of ‘action words’ to make my CV more engaging.

For me, the entirety of the Careers Service has proven invaluable, helping me each step along the way. From the days when I didn’t even have a CV in hand, I am now able write this blog having just been given my first ever interview for a vacation scheme with one of the Top 100 Law Firms in the UK…!

So – if you’ve recently graduated from Bristol, and are looking for advice or guidance with any aspect of your career we can help. For more information visit our Graduate page today!

Converting to Law

The University’s MA in Law programme offers a wide choice of career paths – both inside and outside the legal sector. William Bartoli-Edwards, a Bristol Music graduate has posted a blog about this innovative postgraduate programme.

Why the MA in Law?

As a first year Law MA student who also completed an undergraduate degree at the University of Bristol, the MA course has lived up to my hopes and expectations. My initial decision to enrol on the course was taken because I felt that, despite having taken steps forward in my academic development during my BA, I had not quite satisfied my academic curiosity and development. Therefore, looking for a course that gave me more academic challenges, but also complemented my initial degree, was a focus which quickly led to the Law MA as the ideal outcome.

When comparing the course to the GDL the Law MA seemed to suit my needs better; the GDL was more of a practical solution to being able to practise law, rather than an academic endeavour. Similarly, Bristol stood out in comparison to those other universities offering an accelerated LLB course. The MA provides a basis to support many more opportunities for further study and professional development outside the field of law, as well as offering the opportunity to preview an LLM, with the optional module in the second year being chosen from either the LLM options or a Master’s level research project.

Diverse range of options

For me, personally, because my undergraduate degree was in Music, Bristol, being a media and creative centre, lent itself well to support my continuing professional development, leading to a University Internship Scheme with Aardman Animations. This is also an example of how diverse law is as a subject. Not only does it enhance all of the sought after skills, such as critical analysis, but it is likely to complement most interests or sectors since specialist knowledge as well as practical knowledge often go hand in hand. Therefore, for example, a specialism in contentious music litigation is now a possibility for me.

Alternatives to Law careers

Nevertheless, a non-law focused career is equally possible. For me, with a passion for music and the music industry, there are a variety of jobs and possibilities which the transferable skills from law complement in the commercial music environment. In an industry such as music, ‘career paths’ are less common, or at least less clear, compared to many other professional areas. This is where the skills of the MA will be increasingly valuable. The critical thinking and the ability to analyse any situation you are dealing with means carving out your own, specialist, career path becomes much less worrisome.

Finally, the department itself is one full of enthusiasm and energy. The professors are extremely willing to help whenever and with whatever you need. From my experiences of other courses, within and outside of the University of Bristol, this course offers a great deal of personal development that is hard to find elsewhere.

Thanks William!

To find out more about a career in the Legal sector check out the Careers Service website – http://www.bristol.ac.uk/careers/be-inspired/career-sectors/legal-services/

What aspiring solicitors & barristers need to know

legal

The legal sector has not escaped the effects of the current economic recession and competition for both training contracts and pupillage is still very high.  Many graduates are finding it harder to secure work after their professional legal training (Legal Practice Certificate or Bar Professional Training Course) and many are spending time as paralegals before being able to apply for training contracts.  Available work at the Bar has become increasingly limited due to an increase in solicitors taking on advocacy roles in the High Court.  With the majority of barristers being self-employed, they now have to work harder to find cases even when installed in chambers.

So, here are a few things you should take into account if you are set on working in the legal sector:

  • Make sure you can afford the training

Professional legal training is very expensive and, while these fees may be paid for you if you successfully obtain pupillage or a training contract, you need to be able to cover the costs if you can’t find a position. Fees vary between training providers, and training in London is more expensive but essential with ‘magic circle’ and top tier firms.  Expect to pay £13-17k for the BPTC, £10-14k for the LPC and, if you need the Graduate Diploma in Law as a non-Law student, another £7-10k.  You may be able to obtain a bank loan to cover these costs, but be aware of any debt you are adding to your existing undergraduate costs.  Most providers offer information about payment plans and loans on their websites.  It’s also important to look into bursaries and scholarships, including those offered by the Inns of Court.

Be aware that some graduates will complete the LPC/BPTC and still find no legal work available to them. In this case, you need to be able to identify and market the extra skills and knowledge gained from this training to non-legal employers, so do be prepared for this eventuality.

  •  Get as much legal work experience as you can

Having relevant work experience on your CV is becoming increasingly important in the legal recruitment market.  Along with finance, it has become a sector where many organisations recruit onto graduate schemes directly from vacation and internship programmes, so it’s vital that you look ahead and apply early.  Non-Law students won’t be expected to have done quite as much, but it’s still important to show commitment, so you will need to seek out work experience and shadowing opportunities where you can.  This will require you to contact firms directly and ask what’s available to you, so don’t be shy if you want to get ahead!  Firms want enthusiastic and interested graduates, so approaching them directly is a great way to show off what you have to offer.  Don’t just use email – your message will get lost in a busy person’s inbox – so make sure that you’re phoning the right people as well. Have a look at our ‘I want to work in Law’ pages for employers, organisations and contacts.

  •  Build your contacts and use social media

With the majority of students being regular Facebook users, there’s no excuse not to be using social media to stay ahead of the game.  Big firms have their own Facebook pages and Twitter feeds where you can see what’s happening and work out who’s who. Linked In allows you to produce your own online profile, join in with legal group discussions, follow particular firms and view the profiles of legal professionals so that you can build your list of contacts.  Intelligent commenting, use of discussion boards and Q&A features will help to get you noticed. The Careers Service offers regular social media workshops, so sign up if you’re not sure how to make the best of it all.  Don’t forget our own Careers Network, which lists many Bristol graduates who are now legal professionals and can be emailed directly.  Crucially, using your contacts and social media will help you to tap into the ‘hidden job market’ and potentially find vacancies and shadowing opportunities that may not otherwise be advertised. 

  •  Develop your commercial awareness

It’s absolutely crucial to understand that firms and chambers work as businesses, and that they need you be aware of current affairs, events and market trends that will affect legal practice and the firm’s income.  You should be staying on top of the news every day and looking at ways in which items can be interpreted from a legal perspective; this will impress when included in your applications and interviews.  Many of the good quality newspapers are available online, so you don’t even have to buy a copy.  The Guardian has a regularly updated online Law section.

  •  Be patient 

Career paths have never really been that direct but, in these currently challenging times, they can be even more tangential than usual.  You may find that it takes several years before you end up where you wanted to be, so it’s important to keep setting goals that you can work towards, as well as maintaining your contacts so that you can keep up to date with what’s going on in the sector; there’s no point setting your heart on getting a training contract with a firm that is downsizing due to the recession, so stay on top of the news and be realistic.  Don’t forget that you can also continue to use the Careers Service for three years after graduation to help you make those crucial transitions and get help with your applications.

Good luck!

Dr Tracy Johnson & Emma Keen, Careers Advisers