Hi everyone, I am being offered solicitor shadowing and training by a recruitment agency for an amount of money. After the shadowing, there will be a final interview, if I am successful I will be offered a permanent job as a trainee paralegal at the client firm. This is the first time that I am coming across such kind of scheme. Has anyone had a similar experience? As I have no work experience, I am considering accepting the offer but would like to know if paying for that is worth it or not.
-
Hey Guest, do you have a question for graduate recruitment? Gemma Baker from Willkie is live to answer your questions!
-
Get line-by-line feedback on your applications, access to our weekly application workshops, and our law firm profiles. Use the coupon code 'SIXWEEKS' at checkout for 10% off.
recruitment agency training
- Thread starter Soliha
- Start date
Definitely wouldn't pay if I were you. It's easy to build up work experience without paying a penny. If you're after any sort of work experience, cold-calling local law firms is a great start. You can also confidently apply for vac schemes without work experience, especially if you draw out transferable skills from your extra-curricular activities.
Paralegal positions aren't out of the question either, particularly if you can draw on interesting extra-curricular experiences and have a solid academic background. I'm paralegalling for a great international commercial firm right now, and I did so a) without paying a penny and b) having no legal work experience at all. The key is not to undersell yourself and to draw out your qualities from your extracurricular experiences.
The fact the agency are asking for pay seems sketchy at best, and exploitative at worst.
Paralegal positions aren't out of the question either, particularly if you can draw on interesting extra-curricular experiences and have a solid academic background. I'm paralegalling for a great international commercial firm right now, and I did so a) without paying a penny and b) having no legal work experience at all. The key is not to undersell yourself and to draw out your qualities from your extracurricular experiences.
The fact the agency are asking for pay seems sketchy at best, and exploitative at worst.
The fact you'd have to pay for this scheme also seems disproportionate, considering a) you'd only be shadowing a solicitor and training with them (with no guarantee of meaningful work responsibilities) and b) there's no guarantee they'll even take you on after the final interview.
I'd probably avoid.
I'd probably avoid.
Jessica Booker
Legendary Member
TCLA Moderator
Gold Member
Graduate Recruitment
Premium Member
Forum Team
- Aug 1, 2019
- 14,512
- 20,201
Don’t do it! This is not how it should work at all. You should never be paying someone for access to job opportunities.
Please can you PM me the company’s name too?
Jessica Booker
Legendary Member
TCLA Moderator
Gold Member
Graduate Recruitment
Premium Member
Forum Team
- Aug 1, 2019
- 14,512
- 20,201
This is highly suspicious.
I have looked at the company online and their “tutors” don’t seem to be anyone with professional experience. They are likely to be fake profiles on LinkedIn.
This looks very much like a scam. If it isn’t, it’s just highly immoral. Paying £1,500 for work experience is just an awful practice and one that should be banned in my opinion.
I have looked at the company online and their “tutors” don’t seem to be anyone with professional experience. They are likely to be fake profiles on LinkedIn.
This looks very much like a scam. If it isn’t, it’s just highly immoral. Paying £1,500 for work experience is just an awful practice and one that should be banned in my opinion.
Thank you very much, Jessica, I am really happy that I asked this question here.
