Finding work in London

Cgoodie

Hey,

I am thinking of moving to London and looking for opinions/advice from others who have already made the move.

Is it better to have a job lined up before you go or go in the hope that you'll get a job when you get there.

I'm currently working as a legal sec/exec/PA so could work in any admin/secretarial/PA position - does anyone know what this market is like at the moment?

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

silvervixen84

I was a legal exec in Cork and moved here last August with no job lined up. I got a job within six weeks, and just used a couple of job websites (the job I got was advertised on Monster)

I had some money saved up before I moved, and lived off that until I got my job, but that's not necessarily the best option for everyone. There are legal jobs here, but there is also a lot of competition for these jobs so make sure your CV is up-to-date and accurate.

Remember when you move over you'll have to sort out accommodation, bank account, furniture, NI number etc, which can't always be dealt with outside of office hours, so if you're lucky enough to land a job before moving over, leave yourself a couple of weeks to get set up in London.

Good luck

Sinall

Am working in a law firm myself and there are often legal sec/legal PA opportunities coming up. PM me if you'd like more info.

Sinall

We are recruiting for a legal sec in the Pensions team at the moment, so if you are interested then let me know.

crazycat3224

I too have been working as a legal secretary in Dublin for the past few years (med neg) whilst I have been studying for a law degree which I have now obtained and allows me to qualify in England and Wales. At present I feel that I am being managed out of my current role (boss is pregnant and it appears to be a cost saving for when she goes on maternity leave). I fear that I have little or no opportunity of gaining work in Dublin and feel that London could be the best option for me. Any advice from those working there?

Sinall

Do you want to do a LPC here (UK) and practice as a solicitor?

I work in marketing in a law firm and recruitment seems to be pretty good at the moment, across a wide range of areas

crazycat3224

Thanks for the reply.

I think that the UK route may be the best option for me as I do not seem to slot in to a role easily here in Ireland, I am deemed overqualified to be a secretary (bored too if honest) and don't have the requisite experience to apply for legal exec jobs here. My boss also seems to be looking for an excuse to get rid of me at present and I would have terrible trouble getting work again in Ireland.

If I were to do the LPC in the UK my main concern would be funding, hence, I would probably work during the day and maybe do it part-time at night. Given that you know the market, in your view, would I be best to seek work as a secretary or a legal executive initially. Might you also be able to tell me where are the best websites or, indeed, recruiters for seeking legal work.

Sinall

Hi there, sorry for taking so long to reply to this. I think doing the LPC can be quite costly. Would you think about going down the route of applying for a traineeship/training contract here? If you do decide that the best option is to work during the day and study at night then, yes, I think it would be beneficial to keep working in a law firm as it will help your applications to firms down the line.

You could come over here to work and then suss out what the best way forward for you is. There are a lot more legal jobs going over here than at home at the moment. A good website is www.totallylegal.com - all the main legal recruiters should be on this.

crazycat3224

Thanks so much for your help. I have come across that website and have found it alright. I will probably start applying for training contract's in the UK alright, I just do not seem to fit in to the legal scene at all here.

If I did search for work in London, given my background, what would you think are the best rolls that I should apply for, legal secretary or paralegal. My experience is mainly in med neg defence.

I appreciate your help. It would be a big move and I would not have a clue where to start.

Sinall

That website used to be easier to use but all the main legal recruiters are on there, so you could check out some of their own websites. I haven't come across the paralegal role as much here as I would have at home. I will ask someone at work today and get back to you on that one. I know med neg is a very active area over here. If you don't have much exec/paralegal experience from home you might be best off working as a secretary at first and then trying to move into a different role.

crazycat3224

Thanks. I was thinking that if I do make such a move I would start out in secretarial positions and get to know the legal industry in the UK, especially court procedure, the law is not that much different from here and law faculties teach both UK and Irish positions here. Progress from there. I would like to stay in med neg. I have also decided to start applying for training contracts in the UK, like gold dust but worth a punt. BCL Legal, Career Legal seem to be large agencies. Did you go through a recruiter yourself? Also, did you wait until you had a job to make the move or move first?

Sinall

I had a job before I came over. I was lucky in that I got a job very quickly. I went through a recruiter who specialises in my field and came over twice for interviews and moved 6 weeks after that. Definitely worth applying for training contracts, you never know what will come up!

I asked about paralegal work on Friday. Seemingly we don't really have paralegal positions in our firm, but other firms do.

crazycat3224

Thanks again for taking the time to post. I have decided to apply for training contracts and have a working list to get through prior to the June 31st deadline. I figure that there is no harm in applying given the 2 year recruitment cycle, sure I figure that it would take me that long to complete FE1's over here.

I am still bearing in mind applying for legal work over in London, however, given my work situaiton at present I am just going to have to sit it out at present despite the fact that I nearly ran out of the place screaming yesterday. Plenty of time anyway. Even if I did succeed in getting a training contract in the UK I would probably head over then and work to temporary contracts as a secretary and get to know the scene on the ground.

Your help is greatly appreciated. Any chance that you could divulge the recruiters that you used?

Sinall

Apologies it's taken me a while to come back on this. the recruiters I used are specific to professional services marketing & BD so mightn't be of much use to you but the name is Leighton Taylor.

On the legal side I believe the firm uses a number of recruiters, including Michael Page, Taylor Root, First Counsel, amongst others

Misticles

Anybody living in London working in Finance? I'm currently working in that sector but looking for a change of scenery.

have had a look on jobs sites, they all seem to be very senior positions.

decision

Sinall wrote: »

I had a job before I came over. I was lucky in that I got a job very quickly. I went through a recruiter who specialises in my field and came over twice for interviews and moved 6 weeks after that. Definitely worth applying for training contracts, you never know what will come up!

I asked about paralegal work on Friday. Seemingly we don't really have paralegal positions in our firm, but other firms do.

Hi Sinall,

I'm thinking about applying for positions in London and around the UK once I return home from Canada next month. I'm a master's graduate in carbon management but have little relevant or strong transferable experience. Due to being quite broke at the moment I don't have the luxury of setting myself up in London without a pre-arranged job. Do you think environmental recruitment agencies are my best bet? Is it a big networking town? Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Tobyglen

Just moving in London on the 28th of September, really need some help in finding a job. Have a decent Masters degree in Finance & am looking for some middle-office work, preferably with a decent investment bank. Anyone feel like helping someone with little experience? I hear contacts mean a huge amount over there & I'm only looking for an internship for starters! Thanks.

pirateninja

You should have a look at www.milkround.com it has a list of all the companies who still have vacancies on internship/placement or grad programmes. Places like Deloitte and KPMG do rolling programmes so they nearly always have vacancies.

Most of the banks have a set hiring time for interns and grads, usually July, so you might have missed the boat on banking till next year.

upmeath

I'll be moving over to London this coming weekend, recently qualified as a Part II architect and I've a decent grasp of graphic design as well so I wouldn't mind working in media or advertising if an opportunity arose.

I realise that architecture firms are concentrated along Clerkenwell Road in Islington. I called into a couple dozen back in March when I was over there and they take CVs at reception but it's quite difficult to get talking to anybody beyond there unless it's a particularly small firm. Does anybody have any tips regarding how to approach looking for jobs in architecture and design? Is there an expected etiquette, manner of dress? Also, does anybody know of any good job listings websites or agencies for work in A&D?

Starting college in 2005 the jobs market was good here in Ireland but I only managed to find experience with an Irish firm for 4 months, in mid-2008, during which the construction market imploded. Will London firms be reluctant to take on a recent Part II graduate with just 4 months' workplace experience? I've worked in other jobs every year throughout college so it's not like I haven't been working, I just haven't been able to find much work within my area of expertise.