After struggling to get his foot on the legal ladder, Krishnan Nair started blogging to stand out. Now, having landed a writing role, he argues why graduates from all disciplines should do it too
“A month after I’d completed the legal practice course (LPC) I was without a job – a fear for many LPC grads nowadays – and I was making applications for all manner of legal jobs; trainee solicitor, paralegal, legal secretary, legal adviser, legal advice line operator…the list goes on.
By this point, patience was wearing thin. I longed to do something more than merely making applications and passively waiting on responses. I wanted to get my name out there and do something most other law firm candidates hadn’t thought of.
And I remembered that I’d already started a blog in 2011. It was about the quality of post-millennium TV and how it was in steady decline; one post, few hits, highly forgettable. But it laid the foundations for my next venture; ‘self-promotion’. My first blogpost was about my ‘dream’ of becoming a lawyer and the wonders and magnetism of the profession; the more superlatives, the better. And to my surprise, I was getting noticed by a few people – mainly my peers and fellow strugglers.
A few posts later, stranger things started happening. I was being tweeted about, not just by sympathisers and contemporaries, but also by solicitors, journalists, careers websites, even a newspaper. While my early posts were far from special, people were interested in hearing about my experiences and the difficulties which confront anyone looking to climb the legal ladder.
And this is how blogging introduced me to Twitter. Twitter is a hotbed for the exchange of ideas, articles and opinions. Moreover, it’s a fantastic way to meet like-minded people and, of course, potential employers.
On seeing my blog, one law firm wrote to me and asked me if I’d like to write for its blog and get paid for it. Of course, I was happy to oblige. But more than finding concrete opportunities online, the blogging world gave me something of substance to talk about in interviews; something that set me apart from the hordes of other candidates. And that’s how I landed a job at Mulberry Finch – writing about immigration and employment law.
Blogging is bigger now than ever before. Starting a blog opens doors and creates opportunities, and I’d encourage anyone who feels they have something relevant to say to say it online. Get blogging, get tweeting. Don’t say anything incriminating or derogatory and it can only serve to benefit you.”
Krishnan Nair is an LPC graduate and writes about immigration and employment law for the Mulberry Finch Blog.
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