Aspiring barrister seeks guidance
In the latest submission to our Career Conundrums series, an aspiring barrister shares their dejection after completing a fourth application cycle without securing a pupillage offer.
“Hello Legal Cheek. Please keep me anonymous. I’ve just come out of my fourth pupillage application cycle and I am feeling very deflated. While I failed to receive an offer, I did (for the first time) make the reserve list at one set. I’ve made some progress over the years: no interviews the first year and couple in the second year. I made three second round interviews last year but again no offers. I feel after this latest cycle that I am running on empty and it would be good to hear from your readers about their own journeys and struggles! For context, I have first class non-law degree from a Russell Group uni and I am targeting civil sets.”
If you have a career conundrum, email us at tips@legalcheek.com.
I think that the answer is found in your question.
Each year you have applied, you have done better… whilst not the progression you want (in the sense of not getting an offer), it is progress and in a setting as competitive as pupillage applications (even more so when it comes to Civil sets,) you can only be proud.
You have certainly given a lot to simply be in the position to make the reserve list so do not give up now. You can do it (and likely will if you keep at it).
Note: I work at a top city firm and applied to over 40 internships/schemes before I got my first full time job; I additionally applied for minis and pupillages (whilst having a first class law degree from a RG, top mooting wins, and top awards) and made it to only a few minis and no interviews… Everyone (nearly…) can attest to some form of roadblock/setback in their journey and what you can be certain of is that this will make the success all the better.
Good luck!
Unless there is something seriously wrong with your CV (which is incredibly unlikely of you’re reaching multiple SRIs, and basically impossible if you are made a reserve offer) there’s still a point in continuing, and you should do so if this is the career that you want.
When deciding between first offers and reserve offers, there is often little to no difference between the candidates. I was made a reserve offer, and I know that I scored the same as the first offeree; they gave the first offer to the older person as a tie break. Luckily for me he didn’t want it and I’m now a very happy tenant.
You will have heard that luck plays a huge part in this process – whether a reserve converts into an offer is almost entirely on luck. In an alternative universe you performed the same this round and were offered pupillage this year. That is extremely encouraging and shows you have the ability and the CV to succeed in this profession.
It’s a hard process and seems to get harder every year – persevere. Continue. It will make you a better barrister when you arrive.
Best of luck!!
I would suggest evaluating the sets you’re getting results from (especially where you were a reserve). It is incredibly hard to get pupillage and it may be that you need to adjust your expectations downwards for the sake of getting through the door. So, if you were reserve at a top 10 set in whatever field, maybe you need to look at sets 11-20.
In your position I would be considering what plan B is and what it would take to get there. If Plan B is a training contract then I would probably be making those applications alongside pupillage applications for the next round. At a certain point, it is going to be better to just move forward on the career ladder rather than wait for your dream job. This is especially true if you think you might want to take time off in future to have kids (it is helpful to get more years of work under your belt before a career break of this sort). Although it is true that if you are getting second round interviews and reserve offers that you are good enough, sadly the field is very competitive, there are an awful lot of candidates out there who are good enough, so being good enough is not a guarantee of success. You are clearly an able candidate and will be able to flourish in any number of careers. Good luck.