Are you at a disadvantage if you didn’t go to a top university?
Sadly, yes.
It’s not that recruiters will reject you for your university. But what you will have to battle through is limited access to resources, a different culture within your university, and fewer opportunities to become ‘polished’.
Law firms won’t be coming to your university for frequent talks. You won’t be surrounded by hundreds of applicants on your course. And you may not have had opportunities to pitch yourself before.
All of this makes it hard to back yourself. You’ll wonder if ‘someone like you’ can become a commercial lawyer, especially when candidates at open days seem to know what they’re doing.
Just know this: This stuff is learnable. Others may have had more time to learn to act the part, but so can you.
What you’re going to have to do is throw yourself into the process. Attend as many law firm events as you can. Read the business news daily. Arrange mock interviews, and practice articulating your thoughts aloud.
It makes us sad when we meet you guys from non Russell Group universities and you doubt whether recruiters will take a second look at you. More people are making it through from non traditional backgrounds, so please don’t let it be the reason you give up.
We believe in you.
