I have to accept one soon
In the latest instalment in our Career Conundrums series, an aspiring City solicitor has two job offers on the table — but which is more attractive to graduate recruiters?
“I currently have two law-related job offers, and I have to accept one soon. One is a paralegal role (not corporate though) with a good medium-sized firm, and the other is a researcher position at a legal directory (think: Legal 500, etc — those companies that write student / legal guides and rank law firms and lawyers).
My ultimate goal is to become a commercial solicitor in a City law firm. Which of these positions would be more useful to me, or look better on my CV, for this goal? A paralegal role surely teaches you many of the things a real lawyer might be doing, and is a well-known position to any HR professional. A legal directory can give you an inside view into how firms operate and where their strengths come from, but it’s not as well-known as a paralegal role and HR might not value them equally on a CV. The salary at both is fairly comparable, and both are in London.
I also worry my CV may be becoming a bit stale since I finished my undergrad two years ago already (and finished the LLM last year), and every year that I wait I feel my credentials becoming more and more ‘outdated’. That is also why it’s very important for me to choose a job that law firm recruitment will value, not just one which helps pay the bills while I continue sending out vacation scheme and training contract applications.”
If you have a career conundrum, email us at team@legalcheek.com.