Generally, no day is the same in the role of a Legal Recruitment Consultant - and that's the great thing about it!
Working with new and different people every day is exciting. Each individual has varying goals, skills, beliefs, obstacles and unique attributes. This, in turn, shapes our day and what we need to do in order to service our candidates and clients.
To give some insight into (generally) what we do in a typical day. Here's is a day in my life as a Senior Legal Recruitment Consultant at Sonder in the great City of London.
8am – Catch Up
First thing, I catch up on emails and see what's been happening while I've been asleep. I work with a lot of international candidates, with some based in Australia, so my mornings can be pretty busy. If I need to call a candidate based out there, I will do this now, before they go to sleep!
8:30am – Coffee and Team Chat
Every good day starts with coffee and a quick team chat regarding our day, what we did over the weekend, and everything in between. We're lucky to have a great rooftop café with views of the City, so I always pop up there first thing. Sometimes I'll tuck into a bacon roll after building up an appetite from biking to work.
9am- Candidates
My first priority is always the candidates I have in process. I make sure they have everything they need before starting any new projects. This can be anything from producing market maps to tailoring a CV, liaising with Partners or HR, organising interviews, negotiating salary, or, my favourite - informing a candidate they have been offered!
11am – Meeting
Jon (our London Director) and I usually catch up over a coffee to discuss candidates, pipelines and general goings-on in the market. We work together to ensure all our candidates have the best options.
12pm – Lunch
Sometimes we go out for lunch as a team. Shout out to Oie Truly Thai, All press coffee and Assenheims – our local fried chicken establishment. I try to go to the gym or for a run, I enjoy the London bridge circuit to Borough Market, then grab a hot shower in our office building before heading back to my desk.
1pm – New York Team Catch-Up
We catch up with the New York consultants a couple of times a week over teams. Here everyone provides a quick snapshot of what they are working on, the candidates we have in process and share market knowledge. Sometimes we work together on deals if a candidate wants to make an international move. Outside of work talk we discuss other exciting updates within the business.
2pm- Interview Prep
On this particular day, I had someone going in for an interview at a Magic Circle firm. It was their second round, so the Partners already expressed an interest, however, they wanted to be sure on the candidate's technical ability before moving forward. I had a morning briefing from their internal recruitment team regarding how the interview was likely to play out. I then advised my candidate accordingly and prepared them for any technical questions. This particular candidate was extremely excited about the prospect of working for the firm, so a lot was riding on this interview.
3:30pm – InMails
I always block some time out of my day to focus on finding new candidates. I scan LinkedIn profiles, use varies data platforms or scout people who may complement an open role I’m working on.
4:30pm – New Candidate Information Gathering
I look to educate new candidates by sending them information on the market and firms of interest. If anyone has replied to an ad or LinkedIn message, I also use this time to get back to them to offer advice or ask for a CV to get them into a formal process.
5:00pm – LinkedIn Jobs and Marketing Content
I work with our Marketing Manager to make sure all my jobs are advertised and to chat about potential new content we can share with our network.
I also post something about the market on LinkedIn at this point and take a look at all the latest deals online and move data.
5:30pm – Candidate Interview Feedback
After their interview, the candidate called me to let me know how it went. I felt their nervous excitement from the other end of the phone and despite their modesty, it sounded like a very positive interview. I’ll give the Partners some thinking time and then call in the morning for an update on their end.
5:45pm – Planning
Write down my ‘to-dos’ for the next day. I do this last thing so I can go into the next day full steam ahead. If I have any big updates from my afternoon, I also drop them into the group WhatsApp.
6:00pm – Home
I’m from Australia and have been living in London for just over a year. Therefore, I’m still exploring all the incredible restaurants and events London has to offer. On this day a grabbed a quick pint with the team in our local pub before heading to dinner plans.
