Legal Recruitment from Ten-Percent Legal

Legal Recruitment from Ten-Percent Legal
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Tuesday, June 04, 2013

June Legal Recruitment News available at Legal-Recruitment.co.uk

June 2013 Legal Recruitment News now available at www.legal-recruitment.co.uk - articles on working in retirement - advice on locuming for senior solicitors, recent salary levels and hourly rates observed by Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment and our most recent legal job market report, also available at www.ten-percent.co.uk

Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment - Online Legal Recruitment for Solicitors, Legal Executives, Fee Earners, Support Staff, Managers and Paralegals. Visit our Website to search or download our Vacancy Database or view our Candidate Database online.
Our Legal Careers Shop has eBooks on CV Writing for Lawyers, Legal Job Interview Guide, Interview Answers for Lawyers, NQ Career Guide, Guide to Finding Work Experience or a Training Contract and the Entrants Guide to the Legal Profession. To visit our Sale/Clearance section please click here.
www.ten-percent.co.uk/careersshop

Tuesday, April 09, 2013

Legal Recruitment News April 2013

Legal Recruitment News is out for April 2013.

Please visit http://www.legal-recruitment.co.uk/legal-recruitment-news-april-2013

This month's articles include an extract from this blog on whether swearing is ever acceptable in business and asks whether postgraduate legal education is a rip off. Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment includes a legal job market update and there is also an extract from the KPMG job survey for April 2013. Click the link above to visit the site and read the newsletter.

Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment - Online Legal Recruitment for Solicitors, Legal Executives, Fee Earners, Support Staff, Managers and Paralegals. Visit our Website to search or download our Vacancy Database or view our Candidate Database online.
Our Legal Careers Shop has eBooks on CV Writing for Lawyers, Legal Job Interview Guide, Interview Answers for Lawyers, NQ Career Guide, Guide to Finding Work Experience or a Training Contract and the Entrants Guide to the Legal Profession. To visit our Sale/Clearance section please click here.
www.ten-percent.co.uk/careersshop
 

Monday, March 18, 2013

Is Swearing Ever Acceptable in Business when Speaking to Clients?

Last week I attended the Recruitment Expo, which is a little bit like a day of CPD together with trade stands.  One of the seminars was delivered by a very well-known recruitment trainer and someone highly respected within the business, particularly for his headhunting courses.  As part of his quick 20 minute presentation, this trainer was giving 20 objections and how to overcome them.  (i.e. when clients are prevaricating before agreeing to either speak to you or take on a member of staff through you as a recruiter). 

A couple of times in the first 10 minutes he used fairly mild swear words as part of his presentation.  These didn’t seem to be out of place per say although they did make me consciously aware that he had just sworn to his audience.  However,  when he got to his point about clients phoning and giving out vacancies he used the phrase "Well F**k Me", not once but twice. He then went on to use the “F” word at least twice more.

I should say that when it comes to swearing I am not exactly an angel myself! 

What made this so unusual was the setting in which the trainer had decided it was appropriate to use such strong language.  He was speaking to a room of virtually complete strangers, some of whom are high level HR Directors and recruiters working for multi-nationals as well as owner managers of smaller recruitment agencies such as myself.  He had no idea who anyone in the room was or what their sensitivities were for use of this strong language. 

I sensed that he wanted to use the language to almost stun his audience into waking up or listening more closely or to simply shock us into action. 

His point was a very valid one and one I had not really thought of before (going off a tangent here - stay with me!) which is that when a client phones us completely out of the blue with a permanent vacancy you could almost guarantee that:
  1. The vacancy is complete and utter rubbish and will involve something like a requirement for an Oxford educated solicitor speaking fluent Lithuanian solicitor who wants to work in Bognor Regis and get paid £6 an hour,
  2. The lawyer phoning us will almost certainly have called another 10 agencies who will almost immediately proceed to call the same candidates and annoy them all tremendously and 
  3. Even when you find them the perfect candidate (having achieved the impossible) the firm will then decide they don’t wish to recruit because the whole thing was an exercise being run to see what would happen if they did decide to recruit. 
However, personally I felt there was no need to use such strong language and although it does not offend me if somebody uses words like that, it made me feel very uncomfortable in that particular setting. 

I was fascinated by what the trainer had to say and a colleague from my company went on one of this chap's headhunting courses many years ago and came back armed with lots of CDs and extras which I spent time listening to and found very useful.  However I would hesitate before booking onto one of his courses again because I thought it undermined his professionalism to use this type of language in that type of setting.  

Whilst I would expect that type of language if I was playing cricket with a group of blokes in the changing rooms and after a match where we had just been slaughtered, I would not expect it as an owner manager and director of my own business sat in a room with lots of other similar people. I thought to a certain extent it showed a lack of respect for me and the remainder of the audience and I was not impressed to say the least.

So the question is, is it ever appropriate or acceptable to swear to a client or on a course? 

I lectured at Huddersfield University for about 5 years, giving LPC students advice on CVs and interview technique.  In that time I don’t think I ever swore once and I think if I had sworn I would have felt mortified afterwards. It simply would not have felt appropriate to swear whilst giving a course.  

If I was being employed as a professional to deliver certain advice to students and it’s almost felt like a badge of honour to be doing this in a professional capacity as a non-practising solicitor.  I suspect that the students I was delivering my advice to would have found my advice reminished if I had used strong language as part of my presentation.

I used to work as a criminal defence solicitor (when pay was just appalling rather than impossible to live on).  

The clients regularly sat and went through a pack of cigarettes in my presence, peppering their language with very strong “F” and “C” words every other word and I rarely felt uncomfortable with them doing this because I accepted it was part of their language and the setting we were in. Afterall if I was facing 14 years in prison for armed robbery I would probably want to smoke a pack of cigarettes and swear every other word myself. 

However I don’t think I ever swore to a client because I felt (and still do feel) that if I had done this I would have been considered less of a lawyer in their eyes.  They hadn’t come to me for advice because I was a friendly person who was on the same wave length as them and could get down with the boys and use as much bad language as they did, they came to see me because I was a qualified professional and respected member of society (regardless of what politicians try to paint as an alternative picture of solicitors). 

The same applies when I work as a recruitment consultant.  If I know a candidate well then my language may be slightly less formal, but for everyone else I deal with I try to have the same level of professionalism that I did as a solicitor.

I could only see one circumstance when it would be acceptable to swear and that would be when quoting someone else or to get over a particular point in a story.  Personally I cannot see any other reason why you would want to use such strong language either with client or with professionals on a training course. 

You may beg to differ with this and I would welcome any comments.

I have also put a link to this article on our Facebook and Linked In pages where you can add your own comments and thoughts.  

Jonathan Fagan is Managing Director of Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment and regularly writes the LegalRecruitment blog, an award-winning selection of articles and features on legal recruitment and the legal profession.  You can contact Jonathan at cv@ten-percent.co.uk or visit one of our websites.

Tuesday, March 05, 2013

10 Top Interview Questions for Lawyers in 2013

10 Top Interview Questions for 2013
Interviews have got a lot tougher in recent times – reports of honest feedback being given (‘candidate was useless and just mumbled’ or ‘candidate was completely over the top and needs to calm down’) means that employers are being much more selective as to whom they invest in and employ.


Here are our top 10 interview questions for 2013 - try them out if you are a law firm and as a candidate get ready for them! I was at a training course last week where the trainer basically stated that anyone who claims their business was affected by the recession has only themselves to blame. Not entirely sure how - after all it was a little unexpected to say the least - and if that mentality is starting to show, then it is likely it will also affect recruitment as well.
  1. Outline ‘quantitive easing’ in 20 seconds.
  2. I see you have moved about a bit. Does nobody like you?
  3. Why were you made redundant in 2007?
  4. Have you used the recession as an excuse for your own poor performance?
  5. Why hasn’t your billing increased in the last 2-3 years?
  6. How do we know you will not just take a better job in 6 months?
  7. What is your ideal job and how do we differ from it?
  8. What steps have you taken to reduce your own exposure to credit?
  9. Have you paid your mortgage off yet? Why not?
  10. What would be a good hourly rate/annual salary for you at this stage in your career? What about in 3 years time?
For 300 legal job interview questions for law firms please email me – jbfagan@ten-percent.co.uk and I will send you them over in pdf format by return.

Jonathan Fagan is MD of Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment - Online Legal Recruitment for Solicitors, Legal Executives, Fee Earners, Support Staff, Managers and Paralegals. Visit our Website to search or download our Vacancy Database or view our Candidate Database online. 


Our Legal Careers Shop has eBooks on CV Writing for Lawyers, Legal Job Interview Guide, Interview Answers for Lawyers, NQ Career Guide, Guide to Finding Work Experience or a Training Contract and the Entrants Guide to the Legal Profession. 
 

Friday, February 22, 2013

When are Careers Advisers and CV Experts going to stop telling people to include skills and other waffly nonsense on a CV?

You may be able to judge from the above title that we are slightly biased on this point, but having just read through my 30th CV for the day and getting ready to throw the monitor out of the window and bang my head on the desk repeatedly, I have to ask the following question: Which idiot told careers advisers that employers like to see skills in the profile section of a CV? Anyone want to own up? I can't see any logical reason for including them. Let me give you some examples from the CVs I have been reading today.  

An enthusiastic and ambitious graduate with broad work experience and focused on building a career in the legal profession.

This candidate is in fact a highly experienced property fee earner, but my first reaction having read this would be to delete the email and CV.  

An experienced and highly competent civil commercial litigation solicitor who works well under pressure to consistently meet strict deadlines. Fluent and effective communicator with strong attention to detail, focused on achievement of objectives. Hardworking and reliable professional with a breadth of different experience since qualification. In the wider community in particular known to be determined, flexible and discreet. Now seeking alternative roles to reflect capability and experience.

This is a highly experienced litigation solicitor looking for locum work.

I am a conscientious & adaptable worker who enjoys working within a team environment as well as having the opportunity to work on my own initiative. I quickly absorb new procedures & techniques in order to meet deadlines & budget controls. I’m personable, presentable & articulate with the ability to reach all set targets. I am a loyal employee & a consistent achiever. I’m a good communicator & a reliable hard working individual. 

This is a legal cashier.

All of the above have one problem - none of these entries give me any evidence, hard or soft of their experience or ability.

I can call myself hardworking, but any of our candidates who tried calling this morning and discovered that I was playing golf may beg to differ!

I can also call myself a 'good communicator' or 'personable', but really who cares? Am I really bothered if someone calls themselves a good communicator? No! I dont care one bit.

Am I interested if someone has conducted over 200 hearings in the County Court in the last 12 months and has personal recommendations from satisfied clients? Yes, absolutely!

I know there are lots of CV writing companies out there who prepare CVs with this type of waffly nonsense on it and numerous experts on the web, but please, please, please dont do it. You are wasting space on your CV and the time of the reader of your CV. We don't care. We just want to see hard evidence of your experience and ability. Dont waste our time or yours...

Jonathan Fagan is a solicitor (non-practising) and MD of Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment - Online Legal Recruitment for Solicitors, Legal Executives, Fee Earners, Support Staff, Managers and Paralegals. Visit our Website to search or download our Vacancy Database.

Our Legal Careers Shop has eBooks on CV Writing for Lawyers, Legal Job Interview Guide, Interview Answers for Lawyers, NQ Career Guide, Guide to Finding Work Experience or a Training Contract and the Entrants Guide to the Legal Profession. To visit our Sale/Clearance section please click here.

www.ten-percent.co.uk/careersshop
 
 

Monday, February 04, 2013

Getting Feedback from Legal Job Interviews - is it worth it?

Getting Feedback from Interviews – Is it Worth It?

 
This week I have coached a junior lawyer who came to see me for interview practice following a series of interviews where she had been rejected.

She had been given feedback on one occasion and the feedback had been that she was too timid and appeared to lack confidence. 

After interviewing her for 30 minutes, albeit in a practice scenario, it was pretty clear that this was not someone who was timid or lacked confidence and in fact a very able interviewee.  She was clear, lucid, able to answer complicated questions immediately without pause, come up with examples for competency based interview scenarios (e.g. describe a situation when …) and was not fazed by any rude or negative questions.  In fact, in terms of the standard she was at I would say she was more than competent as an interviewee and certainly did not lack confidence or was timid.

However, she was a very slight woman, fairly short and extremely softly spoken. 

I was curious to know who the interview was who provided this feedback, and guessed that it was a slightly or extremely overweight middle-aged man with a deep voice.  I was correct.

This feedback is completely useless to the interviewee. All it does is demonstrate the interviewer’s misconceptions and preconceived ideas that a woman who is fairly short and slender is firstly timid and second because she is softly spoken lacks confidence. Furthermore it damaged the interviewee's confidence unnecessarily.

So how useful is getting feedback from interviews?

 
Usually feedback supplied from someone who is being honest can be very helpful and constructive. Unfortunately the vast majority of feedback is neither.  HR Departments will often come up with some wishy washy response that is concocted and bears no relevance at all to the reasons you were rejected for a post.  This is partly because they are scared of being sued under employment legislation and secondly because very often they can’t remember who you are after interview.

Similarly feedback from an interviewer like the somewhat ignorant man in the example above can damage your confidence and affect your future prospects, even though what they say may not be true.

Problems with Feedback

The difficulty with interview feedback is that very often the feedback does in fact run the risk of leaving the employer open to some form of litigation, whether this is sex discrimination or even race discrimination.  There are so many times I have been told by an employer after we have sent a candidate for interview that the candidate was smelly, unkempt, likely to go off on maternity leave, had a difficult accent to follow and wasn’t sure how clients would cope, too short, too fat, too tall, too old, too young, female etc. 

After they have given us this feedback they then say but can you please make something up to say we’ve simply rejected them.
 

Why bother getting feedback from job interviews?


So what is the point in getting feedback?  The answer to this is simple. The more you stay in touch with an employer the more likely it is they will offer you a job or an opening will come up and you will be in the right place at the right time, even after they may have rejected you for a post. 
 
There have been so many occasions over the years I have been in recruitment where a candidate has pushed and pushed us to chase for feedback and eventually after two or even three months firms got back to say that they were impressed by the person’s tenacity and would like to offer them a job.
 
Quite often companies and employers do not have any set in stone recruitment procedure and it can be fairly fluid as to when they decide to recruit somebody. Although they may have advertised in a certain month, it may be that they change their mind and decide to not recruit for another couple of months until work picks up again.  You may just happen to be in the right place at the right time when it comes to that particular recruitment if you keep chasing for feedback from an interview a few months before.

Summary 


So in summary it is good to get feedback from interviews even though most of the feedback you get will be complete nonsense and not relate at all to you, BUT it does mean you stay in touch with the employer and it increases your chances of success.

Jonathan Fagan is Managing Director of Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment - Online Legal Recruitment for Solicitors, Legal Executives, Fee Earners, Support Staff, Managers and Paralegals. Visit our Website to search or download our Vacancy Database or view our Candidate Database online.
Our Legal Careers Shop has eBooks on CV Writing for Lawyers, Legal Job Interview Guide, Interview Answers for Lawyers, NQ Career Guide, Guide to Finding Work Experience or a Training Contract and the Entrants Guide to the Legal Profession.

www.ten-percent.co.uk/careersshop
 

Monday, January 21, 2013

What is the Cheapest Way to Expand a Law Firm?

We have been asked a question today by a 2 partner practice in Central London - what, in our opinion is the cheapest and most effective way to expand a law firm?

The firm started by asking us how they get to take on a solicitor who would be prepared to join a firm and work on a profit share basis. Could they recruit a former sole practitioner who maybe had had enough, and does that type of candidate exist? They have the space, they have the capacity to recruit more staff and would like to expand the firm.

We advised them that yes, these types of candidate exist. A law firm cannot expect to immediately fill
this type of vacancy - in fact we do not work them unless firms join us as members (details on our website at www.ten-percent.co.uk/membership-services).

Law firms can see that solicitors are prepared to work on a commission only basis, a fee split or a profit share - you can see large full page ads in the back of the Law Society Gazette to get an idea of this. Similarly a good number of the solicitors at the larger firms offering this type of arrangement are registered candidates with Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment and looking for salaried work, so this probably gives you an idea of how successful these arrrangements are for some solicitors.

Secondly solicitors with following tend to be a little more fickle about loyalty. After all if they have moved once, they may be prepared to move again if they suddenly dont like you. Your relationship with this type of solicitor will be very different from the conventional employee/employer working practice. The firm then emailed back to ask about what else they could do to take on extra staff, expand and plan for succession and the future.

The partner complained that taking on paralegals tends to be a short term option. I answered that it depends whether you take on a paralegal with a view to training them up and have a longer term view for partnership, or whether you take on a paralegal with a view to working them to extract as much as you can out of them...

I see partners all over the country complaining about a lack of commitment from staff and then offering them peanuts and working them to the bone. Similarly I meet lots of candidates who have been with one or two firms since they set out in law and these are the types you want to recruit - saves money time and effort but does need commitment from you as a partner.

The firm also asked about recruiting a solicitor who had been practising as a sole practitioner - I advised that in my experience sole practitioners closing down firms tend to fall into two categories -

1) old (no insult to older people intended!) and wanting to slow down or
2) failed and damaged goods - whether with restrictions on from the LSC or generally depressed about the whole thing!

Neither fit in very well at all with a firm wanting to expand and expect enthusiasm and hard work from a new employee. Sole practitioners exist and we have introduced them before but decent ones are rare - after all if you were successful why wouldn’t you just take on a few staff yourself and cease to be a sole practitioner?

Best recruitment I have ever been involved in overall in terms of longevity is 1-3 year PQE solicitors who are then treated well by the firm they join and remain in the same practice. This is the point of my article - there is no such thing as a cheap way to expand a law firm - you have to speculate to accumulate after all.

Jonathan Fagan is a Senior Legal Recruitment Consultant (and non-practising solicitor) with Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment - Online Legal Recruitment for Solicitors, Legal Executives, Fee Earners, Support Staff, Managers and Paralegals. Visit our Website to search or download our Vacancy Database or view our Candidate Database online.
Our Legal Careers Shop has eBooks on CV Writing for Lawyers, Legal Job Interview Guide, Interview Answers for Lawyers, NQ Career Guide, Guide to Finding Work Experience or a Training Contract and the Entrants Guide to the Legal Profession. To visit our Sale/Clearance section please click here.
www.ten-percent.co.uk/careersshop
 

Wednesday, January 09, 2013

Report on Jobs for January 2013 - REC and KPMG

The KPMG and REC Report on Jobs is just out - this measures the recruitment market on a monthly basis by requesting data from recruitment agencies, including ourselves (Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment).

Main points are:
  • Permanent placements and temporary billings rise at slower rates
  • Job vacancies increase at fastest pace for 20 months
  • Availability of permanent staff declines
  • Temp availability unchanged
  • Pay growth quickens but remains subdued overall
The Report on Jobs is a monthly publication produced by Markit and sponsored by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and KPMG LLP.

The main findings for December are:

Slower rises in permanent and temporary appointments...

Although there were further increases in permanent and temporary staff appointments during December, in both cases the rates of growth eased since November.

...despite vacancies increasing at faster pace

Demand for staff continued to rise in December. The rate of expansion of overall job vacancies quickened to the fastest in 20 months. Data signalled increased vacancies from both private and public sector employers.

Fall in availability of permanent staff

The availability of permanent staff declined in December for the first time since April, albeit modestly. Temporary/contract staff availability was meanwhile unchanged, ending a 56-month sequence of growth.

Moderate increases in wages and salaries

Rates of inflation of permanent salaries and temp wages quickened to 15- and nine-month highs respectively in December, although remained modest overall.

Recruitment consultancies report on the number of people placed in permanent jobs each month, and their revenues (billings) received from placing people in temporary or contract positions at employers.

Recruitment consultancies signalled another month of rising staff appointments in December. However, rates of expansion in both permanent placements and temp billings eased since November.

Slower rise in permanent appointments...

After accounting for expected seasonal factors, the latest data signalled an increase in the number of people placed in permanent roles for the third month running during December. Although still solid, the rate of expansion eased to the weakest in that sequence following November’s 19-month high.

Data for the English regions showed that growth of permanent placements remained strongest in the North during December. The Midlands also saw a marked rise, while growth in the South was solid. In contrast, London registered a sharp drop in placements.

...while temp billings also increase at weaker pace

Agencies’ billings from the employment of short-term staff continued to rise in December, extending the current period of growth to five months. The rate of expansion was solid, despite easing from November’s 20-month record.

Growth of temp billings was broad-based across the English regions in the latest survey period, with the South posting the fastest rise. The weakest increase was signalled in London.

Commenting on the latest survey results, Bernard Brown, Partner and Head of Business Services at KPMG, said:

“It’s concerning to see the pace of recruitment slowing. Job placements may still be moving in the right direction but questions must now be asked about whether the declining rate of growth is indicative of a longer-term problem. It seems that the time lag many economists spoke about towards the end of last year is shrinking, as employers delay decisions until they have more certainty about the economy. Individuals are also showing signs that they’d rather stick with what they know, as the numbers making themselves available for permanent roles has dropped for the first time since April 2012.

“However, with some areas of the country outperforming others and the private sector seeing more job placements in December the hope must be that employers will handle this latest setback. They certainly reacted positively to news that a fiscal cliff was avoided in the US and, if this is anything to go by, we should see the trend for rising employment continue. It may be slower than in the last few months of 2012, but growth should still be welcomed.”

Jonathan Fagan, MD at Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment - Online Legal Recruitment for Solicitors, Legal Executives, Fee Earners, Support Staff, Managers and Paralegals. Visit our Website to search or download our Vacancy Database or view our Candidate Database online.
Our Legal Careers Shop has eBooks on CV Writing for Lawyers, Legal Job Interview Guide, Interview Answers for Lawyers, NQ Career Guide, Guide to Finding Work Experience or a Training Contract and the Entrants Guide to the Legal Profession.
 

Tuesday, January 08, 2013

Interview Question & Answer – Are you able to supply any references and if yes, who? What do you think they would say about you?

Interview Question & Answer – Are you able to supply any references and if yes, who? What do you think they would say about you?
Firstly the answer to this question always has to be yes, secondly you need to make sure the references on your CV are legally related if at all possible and thirdly you need to explain that they would have nothing but positive things to say about you. There is really no other answer to this question unless you have very specific circumstances that necessitate further explanation.
If you have been in employment recently where you will not be able to get a reference because of an acrimonious departure (whether this is any fault of your own or not) you need to be careful in the way you approach this in interview. Very often people get worried about the issue of references and employers get away with murder as a result because employees are frightened that they may not be able to work again due to the lack of a reference. There are always options on references and it is fairly easy to pick up references from work places even if the employers and yourself have fallen out.
Have a think about all the people you have worked with in recent times and come up with two who have seen your work in action over the last couple of years. If there are issues with your most recent employer then think about a colleague you have worked with or someone else you have had daily interaction with, whether this is a solicitor from another firm who you’ve dealt with regularly or a Judge or a manager elsewhere. You can use any one of these as a reference and I do not think an employer will necessarily hold this against you.
At the same time if you do not have any issues then your two references will be your most recent employer and, depending on how far your career stretches back, either an academic reference or someone from a previous firm or colleague who knows you.
If you have departed from a firm on an acrimonious basis or only stayed for a short period of time it is often worth making sure you have a To Whom it May Concern reference before you leave so that you can produce this instead of the future employer needing to go back to the past employer and there being issues with the reference that may have an effect on you at a later stage.
Always give the answer in interview if asked that the references will say nothing but positive things about you because one would not expect a reference to have been sent over that was anything different.
If you are at the start of your career and this is a paralegal or training contract application then you will probably be using an academic reference and someone from recent work experience or part time job. If at all possible try and get the professional title of the academic reference. If you have been studying for your legal degree or the LPC it is likely that the tutor will be either a solicitor or barrister, even though they are probably of the non-practising variety. It is worth having this on a CV as it makes a little bit of difference. The other referee needs to be someone who you have worked with if at all possible. Try to avoid putting down a person who just happens to live next door and is the family GP as this is not really much of a reference to give a future employer.
Sample Answer
“Yes, I can supply two references. These would be from my recent employer and my past employer. The reference from my last employer has said how exemplary my work record is, the fact that I’ve had no days off for sickness and that I was a valued member of the team and sorely missed”.
Jonathan Fagan is MD and recruitment consultant for Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment and Interim Lawyers. Jonathan is the author of www.legalrecruitment.blogspot.com and all our articles are published here and also at www.legal-recruitment.co.uk – our monthly newsletter site. This extract is taken from our forthcoming book - 100 interview questions and answers. Our other legal careers ebooks can be found at our Legal Careers Shop.

Monday, January 07, 2013

January 2013 New Year Predictions from a Psychic

New Year Predictions Last year we carried an article in our January Newsletter about predictions from 2011 by the experts (and ourselves) on the state of the legal profession, the economy and general life. This year, for something different, we have included a list of predictions from a self-professed online pyschic, Craig Hamilton-Parker (taken from www.psychics.co.uk).

1. War in the Middle East - February. Israel will attack Iran.
2. Terrorist attack on Chicago in the summer.
3. Syrian uprising to continue. Iran to invade.
4. Poor grain harvest to occur in Russia.
5. Robert Mugabe will be assassinated in the Autumn.
6. Revolution in China - June 2013. China to split up.
7. Google will be attacked by terrorists.
8. Search engine to be released in Europe - funded by the EU.
 9. Spain's economy to fall apart.
10. Ed Milliband to be replaced by Yvette Cooper.
11. NIck Clegg to fight off a challenge from Vince Cable.
12. Victoria Beckham to launch a range of maternity clothing.
13. Kate Middleton to announce she is pregnant in May 2013.
 14. Simon Cowell to become more spiritual.

 Number 13 looks as if it may have been written a little prematurely... It would be very interesting to hear of Mr Hamilton-Parker's methodology for predicting these events - does it involve reading tea leaves, studying the stars or simply writing random thoughts in his head after reading the newspaper? Jonathan Fagan - MD of Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment 

Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment - Online Legal Recruitment for Solicitors, Legal Executives, Fee Earners, Support Staff, Managers and Paralegals. Visit our Website to search or download our Vacancy Database or view our Candidate Database online.
Our Legal Careers Shop has eBooks on CV Writing for Lawyers, Legal Job Interview Guide, Interview Answers for Lawyers, NQ Career Guide, Guide to Finding Work Experience or a Training Contract and the Entrants Guide to the Legal Profession. To visit our Sale/Clearance section please click here.
www.ten-percent.co.uk/careersshop