Confused and lost.

LegacyUser

Maybe this post is more suited to the job/work form but this forum tends to give very good advice.

I graduated from college in 2015 with a degree in one of the main professional services you know lawyer etc. I went into a standard training contract but only lasted about a year. I was not given any training. I would ask managers questions and would be given useless answers working to impossible deadlines etc. One manager in particular made my life a hell. I was working insane hours, started feeling ill having panic attacks all from the pressure.

So i left it a few months ago and have been been studying the professional exams myself. In fairness been working through them well enough. I sent out a few cvs the other night and within hours got two interviews. Basically same role just in other firms. However I have many friends in similar firms they are better than my old one but not by much.

I am just so worried what if I cant stand the new firm and leave after a few months. I will have completed screwed up my cv etc. The thoughts of going through something similar to before stresses me out. Been thinking of going into clerical work or administration which I would be alot better suited for. Hell might even do something completely different which is less pressured. While less secure and not as good paid I have found myself jealous of friends working in shops bars tour guides etc.

I suppose I am just looking for any advice or feedback.

LegacyUser

If I am reading you correctly you are currently hoping to train as a solicitor, and have just finished up working in a solicitors office for experience?

If that is the case then I can empathise completely. I trained as a solicitor and it is a very frustrating process. Unfortunately there is no short cut and after a decade I am still learning every day.

Also, the training process is very poorly structured. You end up being trained by solicitors who were badly trained back in their own day. Solicitors are expected to train up young solicitors without every being trained how to teach or impart knowledge themselves. The time you spend in the office now will stand to you but at your stage of your career there are no stupid questions. If you don't understand something, ask, and if you aren't happy with the answer, ask again. It is a hard process but at the end of every day just try to think if you have learned even one more thing.

Don't let yourself get stressed, now is the time to ask questions and make mistakes. If you end up working for someone who doesn't understand that then leave. Whenever you do a task just ask yourself, 1) what have I learned, and 2) what happens next? (As in, what is the next step for that file etc.)

Good luck OP. It is a hard road but keep your head and you'll be ok.

LegacyUser

Thanks for your response. Actually its accounting but I have a good friend who is a trainee solicitor and the two professions seem to have similar issues in that sense.

I actually know the head of the department where I did my degree very well and I am going to meet with him in two weeks when he is free. He gives really good advice and he would know most of the Dublin accounting firms really well. Im still gonna do the two interview and might accept an offer if I like the firm but I might also hold off till I meet with him. Plus I have professional exam results out in two weeks and want to see where I stand in relation to exams before I decide what to do next.

witchgirl26

I trained in accounting as well OP and in one of the Dublin based firms. From friends who were in all the other main ones, I'm not going to lie, it was a much of muchness between them. Now you can get lucky and get a good manager etc.

The long hours are standard for it, especially at busy periods. However managers should be more helpful with answers as you are only just in the door so to speak and getting used to it. Did you talk to anyone other than your manager in your old firm before you left.

Unfortunately with the professional exams you have to have a certain length of time doing the work as well as the exams to get the actual qualification.

I'm not going to lie, the 3.5 years of my training contract piece was a lot of late evenings and stressful deadlines. However there are things that you can do to help yourself. I left on time one evening a week every week no matter what. I had a course booked so I had to but it gave me an out. I always made sure to have things up to date as possible & my team had my number if there was an urgent question but it did help. Take your full lunch as well. If you rush back to your desk, thinking it'll help you get out earlier, it rarely works and you've lost that time too. It also helps if there's others in the grad programme there so that you can club together as such. It's a support network of people who are in the exact same position.

Do you like what you do? Because honestly that's the most important question.

I loved it so I stuck at it and I'm now in a position where my hours are regular (except really rarely) and I've a lot more control over my work-life balance.

Anne_cordelia

Maybe think about industry accounting instead of practice?