Author: Eventus

September 2021 sees the launch of the SQE but what is it and how does it work?

Solicitors Qualifying Experience is being brought in to centralise the qualification to become a Solicitor in England and Wales and will eventually replace the LPC.

SQE assessments will be completed after completing a degree and will be separated into two parts, SQE 1 and SQE 2.

SQE 1 will be testing functional legal knowledge via multiple choice questions about the application of law based on true to life scenarios. It looks at the subjects covered in the law degree or conversion course and the vocational practice areas in stage 1 of the LPC. There will be 360 questions over two papers with 180 multiple choice questions on each paper.

SQE 2 tests practical legal skills such as interviewing, advocacy, research, legal drafting and writing along with analysis.

Similarly to Training Contracts which are undertaken after the LPC, Qualifying Work Experience (QWE) will need to be completed and can be done at any point during the qualification process and it can be completed with up to four legal employers. It can include placements whilst studying, paralegal work in a law clinic as well as working for a two-year period with a law firm.

SQE offers more flexibility and helps to provide wider access to the profession with different routes and the QWE supports this as there are a limited number of training contracts on offer each year. Paul Philip, SRA Chief Executive said “The new assessment will mean the public and law firms can have full confidence that all new solicitors meet the same consistently high standards, regardless of how they qualified. As well as building trust and confidence, the SQE should also help widen access to the profession, by allowing different routes to entry, including ‘earn as you learn’ pathways such as apprenticeships.”

However, some have concerns with regards to the new route. Adele Edwin-Lamerton, Solicitor and Chair of the Law Society JLD Committee has said “We are very concerned about the cost of the SQE assessment and the preparatory course. We don’t feel that just because the SRA hasn’t specified that a preparatory course is mandatory, this will prevent students (and firms) seeking a programme of study to assist them in passing the assessment, leaving those unable to afford a course at a disadvantage. Not all universities will incorporate SQE Part 1 preparation in their undergraduate LLB programme, meaning for many there will be an additional cost.”

You can find more information about the new pathway here https://www.law.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/sqe/

Sources

https://www.allaboutlaw.co.uk/commercial-awareness/legal-spotlight/sqe-what-the-experts-think-

https://www.law.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/sqe/

I am a huge lover of LinkedIn, it’s probably the only social media site that I actually spend the time to sit and scroll through and really get involved in posts and post my own content etc.
I am not a huge lover of social media, I find Instagram and Facebook quite boring, but when it comes to LinkedIn, I love to keep up-to-date with what my connections are posting and really get involved.

 

I think it’s very important to use LinkedIn properly and really get the maximum benefit out of it, and so I thought I would share some really useful tips on how to make sure that you are maximising views of your posts and content and how to improve this.

 

Firstly, no matter what your profession, it is really important to build a good profile that looks professional.

Profile picture

Starting with your profile picture, always make sure that it is a professional picture. It shouldn’t be a picture of you posing with family or friends, or posing on a night out, but a professional picture where your face takes up 60% of the frame, and there shouldn’t be anybody else in the picture with you. Make sure you are wearing work attire in the picture also.

Banner

Your banner is also really important. If your company has a specific brand, then use this branding for your logo (get your marketing manager to do this for you if you are unsure), but make sure it is in keeping with your profile and ‘advertises’ you and your company in a professional way.

URL

Your URL is also important and this can be changed. Changing your URL allows you to personalise your LinkedIn and then when connections visit your profile, it has your unique URL on show at the top which looks highly professional. For example, my URL is ‘LinkedIn/legal recruiter – Merseyside’ and this just allows my profile to be more direct and personalised to me.

About you

Your ‘About you’ section is the first chance to ‘sell’ yourself and your skills to potential connections. So make sure to fill in this section just including a few lines about yourself and what you do. It can be kept simple and just try and target it at whoever your target audience is. For example, my target audience would be potential new candidates or clients and therefore I would include a brief description of our company Eventus Legal and my specialist skills in recruitment and which geographic I cover.

What should I publish?

Next, it is important to think about what you publish and maximise the chances of your target audience seeing your content.

Rather than picking up on how many ‘likes’ and ‘comments’ you receive, LinkedIn focuses on something called ‘Dwell time’ which is the amount of time people stay on your posts and engage.
So, the idea is to post content that is going to stay on your platform for longer and as a result your content really needs to hold attention.

Recently, here at the Eventus Recruitment Group, we carried out a series of polls and collated data in from all of our connections. It was a really fun exercise and we will shortly be sharing all of the data collected, but above all, it was the best way to ensure maximum ‘dwell time’ on our platform and increase visibility across our network.
Polls get 10-30% more uplift time than just a regular post.

Posting pictures also gets more uplift time than a regular post and including videos on your post gets a 30-55% uplift on viewing time.
When posting videos, we have started including subtitles as it is handy to know that most videos are watched by people in the office ON MUTE. Therefore, subtitles ensure that the content can still be viewed, even with no sound.

LinkedIn statistics have found that out of our entire network, only 5% of connections will see a post, 5%!!!!
I have 5000 connections and it’s such a shame to think that only 5% will see the posts I put out, and therefore we really take the advice on board to maximise dwell time and post videos and pictures and any other content that will really increase our visibility.

Finally, a really great way to maximise viewings is to include links. But be sure to remember that LinkedIn doesn’t like it when you include the link in the actual post, the link MUST be in the comments section below in order for the post to reach more of your connections.

 

Other important tips to remember are:

• Make the content interesting
• Make it personal to you – people want to get to know the person behind the profile
• Add a single image
• Write as you speak, make it chatty and casual to encourage conversation
• Tag any relevant connections or businesses into the post to maximise engagement
• If using a hashtag, make sure to use a maximum of 3. LinkedIn doesn’t like it when there are too many hashtags used
• Any videos need to be less than 90 seconds and include subtitles

 

Overall, LinkedIn is an incredibly useful tool for connecting with professionals across the business sector. It can be great for business development, building relationships, selling services, job hunting, learning…and much much more.

 

If you would like to find out more, or want any further information on any of the above, please do not hesitate to get in touch here.

 

Victoria
Eventus Legal Recruitment

victoria.banks@eventuslegal.com

It’s been just over three months now since I started by job at Eventus Recruitment Group, which has caused me to take a moment to consider how far I’ve come (and how far I still go have to go). If I had known upon graduating from university that I would be in the business of recruitment, I would have been surprised to say the least. However, in many ways I feel that I fit into this sort of career. I wanted to briefly break this down in my blog post this month.

I care deeply for people and their wellbeing, which lends itself to making sure I do my utmost of my candidates who are looking for a new role, but this also extends to my clients who are looking for the right people to join their law firm. Although, a downside to this is that there will be occasions where you can honestly say you have done everything in your power to help someone, and nothing has come to fruition and this can be for a variety of reasons: Perhaps a candidate is not in demand at present; perhaps at the last moment, another person was interviewed and might have been a better fit for a law firm… The list could go on.
As an inquisitive person, I found this quite hard to navigate to begin with, so I have always made sure to do everything that I can to understand why something did not go to plan. In doing so, I can become a more consultative Recruitment Consultant. My job is not to find people for jobs, or vice versa. My job is to consult: I advise candidates on how interviews can be done well; I advise clients on how to attract the best legal talent. Sometimes those conversations can be difficult to have, but they are worth having to make sure we do better next time and get the best result for everyone involved.

Secondly, I am driven. It sounds incredibly cliché, and it is a phrase that is often used during job interviews. However, it is because I am driven that I can make sure that I can honestly say I have done everything in my power to help someone, whether that be a client or a candidate. I am still learning that people lead incredibly busy lives and sometimes they are not able to get back to you as quickly as you would like. For this reason, you must adapt, or you’re not going to be doing your job well, and you’re not going to be making much commission for yourself. If a candidate works full time, it is worth understanding how they best respond to you: what time do they prefer to be contacted to make sure that you will get a response; what method should you use to contact them – a telephone call, a text, an email? Perhaps even a carrier pigeon! Do what will work best for the candidate. This means there will be days when you will have to give up your evening to talk to people. Though it might be a little upsetting, there are proactive ways of thinking about this, for example: yes, I am giving up a portion of my evening, but if I do not do so, I cannot honestly say I have done everything for someone; or even, yes, I am giving up my time, but if I do not do so, I am missing out of valuable time to talk to a candidate that if I am able to place, I will be financially rewarded for; or finally, I want my candidate to know that I will do everything for them, if that means taking up time from our evenings, they can honestly say that they are working with a good recruitment consultant who will do everything possible for me. Put simply, at Eventus Recruitment Group, we work to get the best legal talent. The best legal talent will very likely be utilising their talent during the working day.

I look forward to sharing more about my role as I go on. For now, though, roll on June!

Erin

John Hyde of the Law Gazette has recently published a really interesting short piece on what Legal professionals want from their employers, in light of the Pandemic. Put simply, Legal professionals want more flexibility in at least two ways: one, they want the ability to work from home; two, they want to be working less.

Having talked to various legal professionals, from secretarial to partner level, I have noticed the expression of similar sentiments. Which begs the question: what next? Will it be that law firms have to make room for the demands of their employees, and indeed, their prospective employees? Or, does this mean that employees will have to return to the way things were?

As a legal recruitment consultant, I’m very aware that we operate in a candidate-driven market, so I have been increasingly discussing the need to be flexible with my clients to attract the top talent. I’ve also noticed there’s a real spectrum in what law firms have been offering: from the opportunity to work entirely from home if a candidate prefers, to some days working from home, and then finally, the absolute inability to work from home.

[1] https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/lawyers-want-remote-work-and-even-reduced-hours-finds-survey/5108166.article?utm_source=gazette_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Dearth+of+jury+data+%7c+Crisis%2c+what+crisis%3f+%7c+Mother+in+law_04%2f16%2f2021

You may have noticed if you follow us on social media that throughout April we are running a series of Linkedin polls across our individual accounts. Each day every consultant in our business is sharing that days’ question, across a range of topics and we are very appreciative of your support so far!

Why are we doing this you may ask? Well, we are looking to gain further insight as to how the job market, people’s perceptions and aspirations have changed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic last year.

As we all know, 2020 challenged us all – whether that be an employer trying to ensure the safety of their employees whilst at the same time keeping the business afloat, or as an employee of said business worrying about job security whilst trying to home school the kids! Now that (hopefully) the worst is behind us, we are starting to think about the future and what impact this turbulent year has had on our career goals and aspirations.

The idea of the polls is for us to gather data that we can analyse and produce a comprehensive report into the current state of recruitment and that we can share with our clients to enable them to make better recruitment choices and positively impact retention.

Topics covered include;

• Attitudes to home working vs returning to the office
• Confidence in the recruitment market
• Interview preferences
• What would make people move roles, and conversely stay in roles
• Benefits packages and relative importance
• Job satisfaction factors
• Hiring preferences
• How you want to work with a recruitment agency

Each poll lasts for 7 days, so in early May, when we have all of the results we will be able to release our findings. With thousands of votes so far, we are confident that the report will make for interesting reading and to request a copy please email amy.watson@eventuslegal.com

 

We’re very excited to announce the newly appointed Jo Hood who has joined the Eventus Recruitment Group as Principle Consultant, heading up our brand new Cheshire office.

We interviewed Jo to find a little more out about her and what she’s most looking forward to in her role.

 

Home-town – Cheshire

 

Current location – Poynton

 

How long have you worked in recruitment?

So so long!  Feel far too young to have clocked up the years I have … 31 years (and I still am asking questions!!)

 

What specifically attracted you to work within the Accountancy & Finance Recruitment Sector?

I love the relationships that are built in Accountancy and Finance.  Your candidates so often become your clients and your clients your candidates!

 

What are you most looking forward to in your role?

Being part of the team and helping to build a finance market that I can be proud of.

 

What areas will you be covering? 

Cheshire, Manchester, Chester, Wales

 

One crazy fact about yourself that you dare share?

I love the Nolans- bet nobody has heard of them!

 

You can contact Jo via email at jo.hood@eventusfinance.com

In amidst the global pandemic, remote working has become the new ‘way of life’ and as employees, you either love it, or you hate it. Feedback from candidates over the last 12 months has shown me that the most popular option is a ‘mix of the two’. Candidates prefer to be in the office at least a couple of days a week to gain that office interaction, speak to colleagues and have just general ‘chit chat’.

So, when it comes to interviews, how did we manage to overcome the barrier of ‘stay at home’? Well, we switched to video and telephone interviews. At first, I think it took candidates by surprise the thought of interviewing for their dream role over a video call from their kitchen or their bedroom, but like anything, we soon adapted.

From a recruitment perspective, I am a little on the fence with video interviews. I like the flexibility of them in that candidates don’t need to book time off in advance to interview and so they can be available to interview quickly and at short notice which can speed up the whole recruitment process. However, it can then cause delays in the process as a ‘face to face’ meeting is still required after the initial video call.

I have made many placements during this pandemic straight from 20-minute teams interviews and it’s great to see the video interviews going so well and proceeding to offer stage.

It will be interesting to see if we return back to just face to face interviews once everything returns back to ‘normal’ or if we will continue with initial video calls.

Top tips to remember when interviewing via video:

1. Ensure you have a quiet environment, with NO distractions
2. Lighting – check the lighting beforehand, test your camera
3. Be aware of your surroundings, make sure there is nothing in the background i.e., if you are in your bedroom, make sure the bed isn’t directly behind you, it’s not the most ideal background for an interview!
4. You still need to dress smartly; it is just as important (if not more) to dress smartly as it will be harder to make an impression over a video call.
5. Make eye contact, you still need to look at the camera and be interacting with the interviewer
6. Practice! Make sure you don’t have any technological issues on the day (Here at Eventus we do all interview preparation on Microsoft Teams or Zoom) so there is a chance to make sure everything is working fine.

Be yourself, and most of all Good Luck!
For any interview advice, tips or techniques, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Eventus Recruitment Group are opening a further office which will be in Wilmslow and will mirror the office in Lancaster by recruiting Legal, Finance & Accounting and HR professionals on a contingent and retained basis.   We are beyond delighted to announce that Jo Hood will be joining us to head and develop this office.

Our MD Siobhan Courtney said “ I am so excited that we are developing the brand further by opening a Cheshire office and I have always had Jo in mind to head this office when I opened it so  when she agreed to join I was delighted.  Having worked with Jo many years ago, she really is the perfect addition to my management team.”

Jo said “I am so excited, proud and honoured to be joining the Eventus Recruitment Group.  Having worked in recruitment for over 25 years within the Financial and rec2rec sectors I can’t tell you how excited I am to be working with Siobhan and her team to further develop the Eventus Finance brand and also to head up their new Cheshire office. I feel that I have found the business that values integrity , honesty and quality as much as I do and reflects this in their relationships with clients and candidates alike. I am looking forward to building some strong relationships with Finance Professionals, who are looking for their next move or indeed their next recruit over the coming months. “

Jo can be contacted at jo.hood@eventusfinance.com

Eventus Recruitment Group are very proud to have raised over £1000 for the Bone Cancer Research Trust.

The Eventus Recruitment Group supported the Bone Cancer Research Trust in February with their ‘100 miles challenge’ and to celebrate Managing Director Siobhan Courtney being 20 years clear of Bone cancer.

This involved the team during lockdown completing 25 miles per week by walking to complete the challenge through the wind, rain and of course some lovely sunshine.

Business owner and mum-of-two found a lump on her leg while pregnant with her first child. She was advised by doctors to wait till her baby was born before undergoing tests, which she agrees was “the right thing to do”.

Six weeks after the birth, a midwife urged Siobhan to have the lump checked out. One week later, she was diagnosed with an aggressive type of bone cancer called osteosarcoma.

The condition usually develops in growing bones and is most common in teenagers and young adults. It is most often found in the arms or legs, particularly around the knee joint.

“It was really hideous as it completely took over my life,” said Siobhan, who owns The Eventus Recruitment Group. “I wasn’t able to walk or feed my child because I was so ill. I developed a couple of infections too.”

Siobhan underwent six months of chemotherapy, and had all of her fibula bone and 30 per cent of the muscles in her leg cut out.

Before her diagnosis, Siobhan showed no other signs of cancer, and felt no pain until towards the end. Despite this, an X-ray revealed a nine inch tumour on the bone of her leg.

“At 28, I was a lot older than most patients with osteosarcoma, as it’s mainly a teenage cancer, which often gets misdiagnosed as growing pain,” she said. “I was one of the oldest people to have it.

“People aren’t aware of this kind of cancer, so if you’re a parent or patient and unhappy with the diagnosis, then ask for an X-ray. My GP had been practising for many years but had never come across it until my diagnosis.”

Now 20 years clear of cancer, Siobhan said she was one of the lucky ones and cannot praise the NHS enough.

Siobhan Courtney of Eventus Recruitment said “Raising awareness is the key to saving a life and we need to talk about it in schools, as it’s so common in that age group. I was one of the lucky ones and NHS staff were my absolute gods. My team have been amazing with supporting me with this challenge and we can’t thank everyone who sponsored us enough”.

A survey of 394 primary bone cancer patients, survivors and bereaved families showed one in four patients (26%) had waited more than seven months before receiving a diagnosis – with 13 per cent waiting more than a year.

The Bone Cancer Research Charity revealed a quarter of all patients (26%) made seven or more visits to their GP or other healthcare professional before receiving a diagnosis.

According to the charity, patients are faced with a five-year survival rate of just over 50 per cent.

You can find out more about the Bone Cancer Research Trust by clicking this link Home | Bone Cancer Research Trust (bcrt.org.uk)

Meet Nikki Phillip who joined us on Monday 22nd February as one of our newly appointment Recruitment Consultants.

We interviewed Nikki to find a little more out about her and what she’s most looking forward to in her role.

Name – Nikki Phillips

Home town – Morecambe

Current location – Lancaster

How long have you worked in recruitment or what did you do before  this role ? – Most recently I worked as a Divisional Manager for a Washroom and Waste company but prior to that I was a Recruitment Consultant in the Engineering sector.

What specifically attracted you to work within Legal Recruitment ? – I had been keen to get back into recruitment and wanted to work in a specialist, professional sector. The variety of disciplines within the sector and the diversity within the day to day duties are a big attraction. Also after speaking to Siobhan and Amy I was super keen to join such a great team.

What are you most looking forward to in your role? – Speaking to people! The thing I like most about recruitment is speaking to people, with regards to candidates it’s all about finding out about what they want and their ambitions and with clients finding out all about their firm, culture and vision and values.

What areas will you be covering? –  Lancashire and Cumbria

One crazy fact about yourself that you dare share ? – I’m currently the youngest adult that lives on my street!

You can contact Nikki via email at nikki.phillips@eventuslegal.com

Now, more than ever, it is so important to be tuned into our Mental Health. The current global pandemic has sent the world into a spiral and our world ‘as we know it’ has changed somewhat significantly. To working from home, not visiting family or friends, no meals out or entertainment, it is so easy to get bogged down and feel low, without perhaps even realising it.

I attended a webinar this week called ‘Mental Health in the Legal Sector’ focusing on how mental health is having an impact on junior lawyers and affecting them at the moment. It was a very useful insight into how important it is that we keep an eye on our mental health, and those around us.

The World Health Organisation suggests that one in four people in the world will be affected by mental health or neurological disorders at some point in their lives. An estimated 268 million people worldwide suffer from depression and a Lancet Commissioned report into mental health said mental disorders are on the rise in every country globally.

In particular, mental health is a growing concern in the legal sector. A Solicitors’ role often comes with long hours, financial targets, tight deadlines and if this is not controlled and dealt with, it can have a seriously negative impact on mental health.

Junior lawyers in particular are feeling the stresses and strains of needing to perform well in their new roles to prove themselves, they have recently qualified and been thrust into this new role as a Solicitor and they want to make sure they prove that they can do it. They may take on more work than they can deal with, work longer hours to get the work done and not realise that they are letting the pressures of the role affect them mentally. This is then causing a build-up of stress, which is the biggest risk factor behind rising mental health problems.

Of course, the work needs to be done, and to a high standard, but the important aspect to remember is to keep your work allocated to the time given for ‘work’ and make sure you are taking time out for ‘yourself’. Working too long hours has the opposite effect as you are not working productively and just draining yourself mentally, resulting in a vicious cycle of feeling more stressed as your body cannot cope. This will only result in poor performance at work and make the whole situation heightened.

So, what can companies do to limit the negative effects of mental health on their employees?

One major component to enhancing our mental health has come from the new work from home culture. The global pandemic has entered us into a new world of flexible working that we perhaps wouldn’t have reached for another 5 years or so and employees are benefiting from a better work life balance.
When speaking to candidates working from home, I often find them saying that they are happy to do that little bit of extra work after 5pm because they don’t have a long commute afterwards and they are already in the comfort of their own home. We are therefore able to get on top of our job roles more easily and thus resulting in less stress!

It is important for employers to recognise the important of this in the workplace and perhaps hold monthly or weekly 1-2-1’s with their staff, provide access to counselling, hold webinars highlighting the importance of managing stress and taking care of your well-being.

The golden rule is ALWAYS speak out if you are struggling, after all, they do say – ‘A problem shared is a problem halved’. The chances are, somebody is having the same struggles as you are, and you can seek the help you need before it really gets on top of you.

With lots of opportunities out there in a strong market, what makes a good company to work for? 

The usual answer: short hours and a decent salary.

Back in reality, we all have our own tastes and preferences when it comes to the kind of place we want to work. But as you’re exploring potential roles for yourself it can be hard to know where to focus your attention.

To get you started, here are four key areas to consider.

1. FLEXIBILITY

A large percentage of candidates would turn down a job that didn’t offer flexible working for one that did. But flexibility isn’t just about letting people chose their hours or work from home.

Often, a great-sounding company will build flexibility into your contract from the start. However, that flexibility soon disappears once you’re on the inside – suddenly the ‘flexible’ arrangements you agreed to become remarkably rigid.

As a result, it’s important to consider the big picture on flexibility – not just what you can get now, but how you can retain your flexibility long term.

2. CULTURE

Every business comes with its own culture and set of values, whether they’ve spent the money to define and record them or not. It’s there in the attitudes of the people they employ, as well as the beliefs and personality of the business itself.

These are all things that are hard to pin down from the outside looking in and, often, companies put their best foot forward when they’re recruiting. Here, taking an active role in an interview and trying to speak to existing team members can be invaluable.

3. RECOGNITION

Companies that recognise the achievements of their employees are where people want to go – and stay, businesses with a high ‘recognition culture’ have lower staff turnover.

In part, this recognition can come in the form of financial incentives and performance-based rewards. But even something as simple as leaderboards can make you feel like your efforts are being seen.

4.DEVELOPMENT

If you’re anything like me, it’s not what a job can offer right now – it’s what it looks like in 5/10 years time.

The challenge for candidates is that finding a great company to work for is part research, part predicting the future. What seems wonderful today might be irrelevant tomorrow.

That’s why training and developing new skills is so important it’s one of few ways that companies can encourage progression, bring variety to roles and keep people engaged and happy in the workplace.

Flexibility, a good culture and recognition are all things that employees need to be satisfied. But development, change and growth are more – they’re the things that humans need to thrive.

For professional, experienced advice on your next role you can trust the advice and opinions of Eventus Recruitment group with many years experience to make your next job move the best decision.