There are plenty of law graduates and qualified lawyers struggling to keep their legal career on track these days. We have heard some fairly desparate stories of application after application being knocked back. News that firms have instructed recruiters to search only from the ranks of the employed and not from the large pools of redundant solicitors is galling for those out of a job but not wholly surprising. With a surfeit of candidates to choose from it’s an obvious criteria to use in the filtering process. Despite the current difficulties, Law Career Blog has some pointed advice – Lies on a CV…don’t do it ; for anyone tempted consider this extract:

A recent confessional on www.traineesolicitor.co.uk revealed a guilt-stricken trainee who lied on his CV. In his own words (and grammar!): “I think I made a very big big stupid mistake on a recent TC interview. I went to an interview in London but I told them I was still working for a firm in Birmingham which I left for personal reasons. I had previous interviews where I was criticised for leaving, one partner saying ‘’I threw my dummy out of the pram’’ so I genuinely believed I’d get no where by being honest by saying I couldn’t take that particular firm. I was unbelievably desperate the day I sent my CV to the firm and could not bring myself to telling them I didnt work there. I really want to be honest and ring them up to explain my personal reasons and why I lied but in a recent conversation with the SRA, I was told they may refer me to the law society under rule 20(4) of professional conduct and I could lead to me being struck off depending on the stance taken by the firm (but there still is a chance) . . ."

Given the state of the recruitment market, one can see how this misguided (admittedly desperate) trainee went beyond the typical embellishment of facts on his CV into the realms of outright dishonesty. If the ensuing personal angst isn’t enough to put others off they should consider the potential consequences too.