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I haven't been in a similar position but judging from the amount of legal work experience you already have, I don't think taking a non-law related job will be detrimental to your applications. I think writing a good app is one of the biggest if not the biggest hurdle when securing a TC so my vote is for taking a job which is slightly more flexible and will give you the time to really throw yourself in the process. There are quite a few people on the forum who work full time while applying @Sebastian Clark @LegalLordLox Hopefully they have some insight on what you can expect with juggling a full time role and apps.
I have been working full time as a paralegal, I would 100% agree with Dheepa regarding finding something more flexible if you can, considering you will be able to highlight those transferable skills anyway when you make your apps.
From my personal experience of having to work full time I found that I lost sight of my goal of getting a TC because I would put my job first. This year I have made sure to do something application related every week even if I am having a busy week by splitting my day up. I work, then take a break to cook and eat and then sit down and do something relating to applications i.e research/attending a Legal Cheek event. I have a habit tracking app called Done, which helps me out with this too.
Thanks for the tag @Dheepa! @SB144 For context I'm currently working full time in Compliance, and I can honestly say the quality of my apps has gone up just by the amount of professional experience I can mention, as well as the commercial awareness I've gained just by being involved in business. That said, you are right - it is hard working full time and applying. I try and make sure I have time off but a lot of my evenings/weekends are spent getting applications off.
I imagine it would be the reverse with a part time retail job - while your experience might not be immediately related to law, you would have more time to spend on writing applications/attending open days etc.
I think it largely depends on a number of things and what you think you're comfortable with - I don't think there's a wrong or a right way, it just depends on your circumstances. For me I took the view my grades weren't exactly glowing, so I needed to make it up with unique professional experience - the more related that was to law/business, the better.
Feel free to dm me if you want to discuss in more detail!
Thank you all for the amazing advice! I'm going to think over my options and make a decision but this has helped me weigh the pros and cons a lot more.Hello, I might be able to help with this somewhat. I'm currently in full-time employment in an office/professional job whilst also studying full-time and completing TC applications.
In my experience, being able to experience any professional environment first-hand increases your understanding of how businesses work and gives you a nice understanding of general office etiquette. I've found that this experience has helped me when filling out applications as I have a more natural commercial awareness at this point.
I have also had part-time retail jobs whilst applying in the past, and these can be valuable too. You can still learn valuable skills in these positions which you can transfer over to TC applications. Also, as you said...this will give you far more time to attend open days and gain legal work experience. However, from my understanding law firms aren't always looking for legal work experience in particular but the skills learnt from multiple environments.
In my opinion, being able to experience office work before entering a TC with a law firm is beneficial - there are lots of extremely relevant skills you can learn and, for me personally, it's made me feel much more confident about the transition. However, as you said, this isn't without its challenges. It is difficult and the reality is, I don't have an awful lot of free time anymore. It is hard and extremely stressful. I would advise you really think about how much time you're willing to sacrifice and ask yourself if you think you can do it, as opposed to opinions of other people. Be extremely honest with yourself.
If you do make that decision, make sure you plan your week thoroughly. Break things down into manageable chunks and try to negotiate hours that work for you with your employer. I'm sure whatever decision you make will be the right one, but try and weigh up all the pros and cons.
Hope that helped you out. Feel free to DM me at any point if you need any guidance - or just support! ☺️