Disgruntled
I am currently 3 odd months into my first job. I had a campus placement. I had missed the zero day and therefore landed a job at the first firm I interviewed for, which is a mid sized firm. I had heard a lot of good things about the work environment and credentials of the managing partner and firm and therefore saw it as a good opportunity for learning growth. I was initially under the impression that there would be a rotation policy which suited me fine as I had not zeroed in on a work area. I simply wanted good work experience and learning growth, and wanted to look at the option of doing my Master’s after two odd years of work experience. I was 7th in my law school batch with good research activities on my CV. Having started my job, firstly I see that there is a high attrition rate, especially given the size of the firm. People from the partner level to PQE1 seem to be quitting. Moreover, I am not entirely happy with the sort of work I am doing. Law school was different, but in practice, corporate/commercial law seems to be absolutely uninteresting to me. Also, my immediate boss is very hostile, favours other juniors, and is critical to the point of dismissive of any work I do. I also believe that I am not entirely out of fault here, since my quality also suffers, perhaps because of the sort of work, as well as coupled with the fact that I have a superior who is not encouraging and is dismissive. Although I seem to fit in socially, that doesn’t help. I also detest the irrational long hours and lack of holidays/ weekends. It has already come to a point where I am whiling away hours at my desk, waiting for the first opportunity to get home. I am trying to suck it up, and give this a chance, but it is getting really difficult everyday- I feel extremely unhappy, bordering tears sometimes. I am also not sure about what to do at this juncture- I don’t know if it is the workplace or just the work. Will shifting firms do me any better? Or will shifting to litigation be better? The latter also seems to be a problem in terms of satisfying parents. Although my family is well off (I don’t live with them in their city though), they seem to have the sort of traditional mindset where you equate success with money. Therefore, here if i am doing corporate and getting paid well, I am miserable. But, litigation with the little money that it pays, might not seem like a lucrative option to my parents. I am definitely not the sort of person who looks at climbing ladders, so I really don’t know if this is even a good idea. Is it too bad to be feeling like this at this point? Is this a terrible position to be in so early into my career. I feel like whatever I need to do, should be done as soon as possible. I feel really disgruntled and lost. Any advice will be really helpful, especially from people who might have ever been in this position before.
5 Replies
Dear Mr.,
Your words clearly signal that you are not sure where you are heading. The solution depends upon how much you are ready to stretch your limits.
1. Accept that it is you and only you (responsible) who has created the present disappointment.
2.Break up your problems in different parts. a. What are your short term and long term goals. b. Whether you have to stay in this firm for your short term goal or change it? c. If you decide to change, then what is the time period set for switching? d. If you decide to stay, then how to deal with your boss and the firm culture. e. Can you do something to improve your experience at the firm by creating small positive environment
f. If the people are really Nazis then best advised you immediately leave the firm than ruin your psychological balance.
Meanwhile, try removing stress with following initiatives:
1. Eat healthy food.
2. Go for sports/ exercise atleast an hour during the day
3. Talk to friends and families regularly.
4. Start writing more blogs or diaries.
Superb advice Anonymous! And, Disgruntled, I feel you, don’t despair, things *will* get better! Lots of love,
Kian
I guess you are working at Majmudar and Partners.
All of us who have been working in law firms have gone through this phase. So do not worry.
The first point that i want to make is that the fact that you have written about this problem and sought a solution for the same shows very clearly that you still care about what you do. You have not given up and you want to improve. That is a big positive. Some people would have walked away.
You need to identify what the exact problem is. Is it the work environment? If it is then you may consider having a word with the managing partner or other partner and explaining your point of view. However you need to keep in mind that sometimes you need to be thick skinned in this profession. A lot of things are said in duress unintentionally. You have to take these things with a pinch of salt.
If the long working hours is a problem then unfortunately not much can be done about it. We work in a profession that demands time. Unfortunately , these are the rules of the game. Even if you shift your job and go to a different law firm, chances are the expectation in terms of time will be similar.Accept this.
If the nature of the work is a problem then again having a word with your superiors might help.
Stay positive. And dont feel sorry for your self. Work your way through and the tough times will pass. As I have said, we have all gone through this phase.
1. Do not quit without another job in hand - Your market-value takes a nose dive when you start looking without a job.
2. Do not resign abruptly, if possible. Offer to serve a notice-period. If the law office you work with is known to sack its associates abruptly, when they express an intent to leave or for any other reason, then quit only with a job in hand. Shady people deserve shady treatment and will never change, not even for you. If you are unsure of their practices, then offer to resign only with a job in hand.
3. Ensure you leave with a letter of recommendation which briefly describes your achievents at the firm. This is more important than you think !
4. Be vary of recruitment-firms, especially the leading ones, if you are planning to quit without notice and a job in hand - read point 2.
Know this - these recruitment-firms exist only because of the law-frims they service. Their loyalties are with the law-firms before any thing else.
When you approach a recruiter, two things happen:
1 - your recruiter looks at this as an opportunity to approach your present-employer with prospects to replace you.
2 - your application is put in a talent-pool, which is shared with potential-empoyers.
Now, this may seem harmless, only that it isn’t!
You should also know: most of these recruiters are not bound by any form of self-regulation. Competition among them is cut-throat. They will not even blink before telling your present employer that you had approached them for a job- if it helps their cause. I say this with first hand experience.
What say, Kian?