A-levels - Degree - Vacation schemes - Training contract offer - Law school

You've completed your first few seat rotations…

Now…you need to make what feels like the biggest and most important decision of your life…which department do you want to qualify into? And will they want you?

I have broken this down into two simple steps:

1. Choosing where to apply

I found this really hard.

Some people (strange ones) already know before they start their training contract where they want to qualify.

Others make that decision on day 3 of their first seat.

Don’t worry about those outliers. Most (sensible) people will get a few seats under their belt before making this decision.

It feels like there’s so much riding on the decision, but it’s worth noting that, even if you do qualify into a particular team, it doesn’t mean you’ll be there forever.

There are all sorts of reasons why you may end up moving teams over your career - in my case, having qualified into project finance in London, I later moved to our Hong Kong office which didn’t do project finance. Hence I specialised in other areas of banking. And that’s fine - in fact, I would say it’s healthy, and makes you a more rounded lawyer.

So how do you decide where to qualify? 

Of course it’s a personal decision, but it’s important not to focus too much on the work you were doing as a trainee. Look at the associates in the team. Could you see yourself doing that kind of work in a few years’ time?

Also consider the culture of the team. No team is static - there will be always be people leaving and new people arriving - so it’s risky to join a team solely because of one or two people you really respect / get on with.

2. Will they want you?

Your inner-imposter may be working hard here. Try to silence it. Look at all the ticks above…you got where you are on merit.

Whether you get a job with your favoured team will depend on so many factors which you can’t control, including the general economic environment, the current capacity levels of the team, recent hires/leavers, other trainee applicants etc.

It’s easy to say, but there’s no point in worrying about things you can’t control.

All you can do is put your best foot forward, and hope for the best. For the team(s) you want to qualify into, that certainly means keeping in contact with key partners after your seat finishes, and giving them some notice of your desire to qualify into the team. Now’s not the time to be shy - you need to make your intentions clear once you’ve made the decision.

One last thing. There’s no real answer to this, but I just wanted to acknowledge the dreadful feeling of uncertainty every fourth seater has before they find out if they’re being offered a job on qualification. It’s pretty hard to keep focused on your work when you know there’s a risk that, in a few months’ time, you might be out of a job.

If you’re particularly concerned, there’s no harm in speaking to a good recruiter. That will give you a flavour of the other opportunities out there in case needed.

While it is easy to fear the worst, the truth is that the majority of trainees at City firms qualify where they’ve trained, and those that don’t will find another home.

So while it’s a scary time, try to have faith that everything will turn out OK. Good luck!