BSG Bites 30: SOCIAL MOBILITY- How to get IN without the leg UP (Final Part)

STAGE 3: KEEP ON KEEPING ON – STAY RESILIENT

• GET USED TO REJECTION
  A key marker of success is not how often you fail but how you recover from said failure/s: fail fast and move on. There will be oodles of rejection. It is not personal, although it can feel uncomfortable. Reflect, assess and move on.

• DO NOT GET DISCOURAGED –
  This is directly relevant to rejection. It can take several Vacation Schemes, Mini Pupillages, and then even more TC’s or Pupillage cycles to get an offer. Do not let it convince you that a career in law is not for you. Some people get an offer on their first application – some on their hundredth! Just keep going.

• STOP SELF-EXCLUDING!
  Do not talk yourself out of applying for things. You never truly know until you go for it. Avoiding rejection sets you up for harder rejections down the line. Moreover, rejection is useful for desensitisation – say, when you submit a client letter your future supervisor dislikes and wants edits for.
  Accept you cannot read the future. Also, accept that it is normal to apply for jobs a little bit outside of your comfort zone. Women hold back if they don’t meet 100% of the listed criteria, while men usually apply after meeting about 60% of the listed criteria. If you have enough free time, apply for things regularly and have alerts for new opportunities sent to your inbox. You are often your own worst critic. With rare opportunities like scholarships, success may seem highly improbable, but you truly never know until you try. I also recommend not procrastinating and leaving applications to the last minute because of this self-exclusion tendency. Self-sabotage is destructive, and with one application at a time, you can start to feel like you do belong and are a good potential candidate.

• PROGRESS, NOT PERFECTION
  So, you didn’t do the best at something. You feel you’ve wasted time. Progress is better than perfection! Working for progress means you’re less likely to procrastinate, waiting for the “perfect” moment where all the stars align. You’re only wasting time doing the same thing repeatedly – by being overly perfectionist. Even if it feels silly or like a consolation, set incredibly small targets instead of excessive ones you fail to meet. You’ll find your confidence grows, and you can slowly add more consistently, instead of
  coping for a while, and burning out. DO NOT INSTITUTE ALL OF THESE TIPS IN ONE GO! Absorb, read a few, then choose a couple, max, to start.

• SOMETIMES THINGS WILL GO WRONG
  Life is unpredictable. You may have a bereavement, a change to living circumstances or health. You may need to replan because everything has changed. There will be a way forward to forge in time. Communicate your struggles to get some breathing room and space. Put things on pause to regroup. Burnout is real. You can always resit, reapply, and refocus. Be kind to yourself and accept that you cannot continue for a while. Do not
  rush the acknowledgement process.

• LEAVE THE SHAME AT THE DOOR
  You would be surprised at how many professionals consider adverse circumstances positively, as it demonstrates resilience. Failed your A-levels due to mitigating circumstances? It happens. Re-sat a year at uni? Not a thing. No direct legal experience? There is zero shame in this game. This point also includes not feeling ashamed to ask for help, guidance, reasonable adjustments if disabled, or to apply again for a firm that
  previously rejected you. People also care a lot less than you think; the things that you think look weird are not even noticed by people most of the time.

• ACCOUNTABILITY AND AUTONOMY
  Mourn the unfairness of it all, having to be resilient all the time, knowing that GCSEs chosen as a pre-teen shape your educational path, that current events are worrying, and that we are facing unique struggles. Is it tough? ABSOLUTELY. If you are someone who has struggled because of circumstances they couldn’t control, now is the time to focus on what YOU CAN CONTROL. This includes working to the best of your ability (it changes daily, so it will not look the same) and cutting off things that no longer help you achieve those goals, whatever they may be (behaviours, people, fixed mindset). You are in charge of your own destiny now, which can be a scary but liberating concept.

STAGE 3.5: OTHER TIPS FOR THE ROAD

• BEWARE PAYING FOR OPPORTUNITIES
  In a time when entry-level salaries are barely above minimum wage and there are hundreds of qualified applicants per listing, it can be challenging to get crucial legal experience. Some unethical companies prey on this desperation. You should never pay for legal experience or work for free for a prolonged period. You should also be aware of spending excessive amounts (or any at all, depending on your views) for inflated, online
  paralegal courses. Transferable skills from specific jobs may be better value, and you’ll be making a profit, not a loss.

• GETTING HELP
  Try to reach out when you notice yourself struggling with your mental health and wellbeing. Proactive, not reactive, is key when it comes to mental health struggles. There is no threshold of “ill” you need to meet to get help or reach out. Are friends or family aware? Communicate with your employer or educator. LawCare may be useful for some one-off contact. Consider therapies that may be beneficial, such as CBT, talking therapy etc. Speaking to your GP could help. Does your employer have private healthcare or access to an EAP? Does your university offer wellbeing resources or counselling services? Mind is brilliant for signposting. Samaritans is available 24/7. You can call them on 116 123.

• THERE IS ALWAYS A WAY! There is no one right path to becoming a legal professional. CILEX and degree apprenticeships provide alternative, equally valuable routes to qualification other than the LPC or SQE route. People have entire careers in other industries, do the GDL, then become seasoned lawyers. Do some research into all options and keep your mind open. Career paralegals exist. You can even cross-qualify as both a solicitor and barrister later in life.
  

By Aaliyah Simms, EDI officer of Birmingham Solicitor’s Group and Indemnity Adviser at the SRA