Before I started my training contract I spent the entire summer reading other trainee’s online blogs to get some insight into the world I was about to enter into. Now, six months in to my training contract, I can finally put my own insight out there for others to read! So, here are my top five tips for your first seat of your training contract.
Most of us trainee solicitors are incredibly hard workers and most likely perfectionists, however, I learnt from day one of my training contract that I had to let that go. On our induction day at Howes Percival it was drilled in to us that we are not expected to know everything, we are trainees and here to learn. Six months into my first seat and despite feeling much more confident within the area of law I have been working in I still make mistakes! Whilst it is really easy to be hard on yourself when you get a piece of work back with red pen all over it, it truly is the best way to learn. Why is it the best way to learn? Because, generally speaking, you won’t make the same mistake twice.
This seems like an obvious tip and something I read about consistently before starting my training contract but it cannot be said enough, you need to ask questions. You might find yourself thinking, as I often do, I don’t want to disturb my incredibly busy colleagues or annoy them with a silly questions, however I cannot tell you how many times in six months I have heard the phrase, “there is no such thing as a stupid question”. As someone who prides herself on being quite a chatty person and quite comfortable asking my team questions the first bit of feedback I had at my appraisal was to ask more questions. It cannot be said enough how your supervisors or colleagues would rather you ask than sit in silence and I have a very good example to give you. I was due to have my appraisal before Christmas last year and my supervisor had consistently told me to pop it in the diary as her diary was up to date. I never quite knew what she meant by this and despite having my appraisal on time, a couple months later I told her I wasn’t sure how to look at my colleagues diaries to see their availability, I had always been too embarrassed to ask as I presumed it was a straight forward thing to do. After having been taught how to do this my supervisor turned to me and told me how prior to Christmas she kept wondering, and perhaps kept getting frustrated, that I had not put my appraisal in the diary! Long story short, no matter how silly you may think your question is, your supervisor will generally be more annoyed by you sitting in silence than asking it!
This tip seems more important to me now than ever. In times where networking and business development events are scarce I have tried to take every opportunity thrown at me to get stuck in. At Howes Percival, we pride ourselves on our trainees and solicitors getting involved in more than just the day to day work. Whilst you may not want to spend your free time with your work colleagues or doing more work the experience you will gain from attending networking events is priceless. I never realised how important networking and business relationship development was to the job until I began my training contract and whilst it seems a daunting thing to throw yourself into as a trainee there is no time like the present to get involved. And who knows, you might actually enjoy yourself! I was incredibly lucky to be invited to a SportsAid charity lunch last year where I got to meet a Paralympic gold medallist. So don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and offer yourself up for any events outside of the office.
My final tip is to get back into the office whenever you can. The past couple years have obviously led to most people working from home however, I cannot stress enough how important it is to get in the office whenever you can as a trainee. There has been no better way to learn than being in the office and soaking up the atmosphere around you. Not only is it so much easier to ask a supervisor or colleague any question that comes up immediately but you learn from simply listening and watching the incredible solicitors you are surrounded by.
My first seat has been a huge learning curve and a great experience and the next three seats will no doubt bring with them a new set of challenges. Now as they say, on to the next!
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