Imagine how it must feel to be a high flying trainee, recruited straight from University into a City Law Firm; you’ve sailed through your exams, you’re the envy of your contemporaries and have everything to look forward to but, at the end of your training, you are not offered a position.
In a tough economic climate the numbers increase, and we have certainly seen a rise in the number of trainees being offered career support during 2004.
But why should a trainee be given support?
For some trainees it feels like the end of the world – it’s their first taste of rejection and it is very painful. The anger and resentment they feel, is often directed at the firm that is letting them go and the firm’s reputation suffers.
By providing personalised career support over a short period, the situation for all the parties concerned is quickly changed from a negative into a positive.
Our records indicate that only 50% of trainees offered support actually take it up - the benefits and goodwill created significantly outweigh the costs.
For those who have taken up the offer of career support, most have used the opportunity to reassess their chosen career path. Of the trainees that we worked with in 2002/3:
• 12% stayed within the same firm
• 30% moved to another city law firm
• 17% moved to law firms outside London
• 5% moved to Government Legal Services
• 7% opted for charity work
• 6% chose to resume studying
• 23% decided to take a career break and travel
………and 15% of these trainees found employment with an increased salary!
For more information, case studies, or comments from one of our team of experienced consultants, please contact:
Jane Johnstone
Telephone: 0870 760 5588
email: jane@eurocareer.co.uk
www.eurocareer.co.uk