How to find the perfect Residential Conveyancing role:
Job hunting is can be time-consuming, difficult and full of ups and downs so when you do come across the perfect residential conveyancing role you want to make the most of it. Here are some top tips to make sure you don’t let that role slip through your fingers.
Perfect your CV
First of all, if you want to get your dream job it all starts with your CV. It’s the employer’s first impression of you and you’re not going to get a foot in the door without a strong one.
Prepare both a relevant and a technical CV:
After you’ve nailed the basics, it’s important to make it both technical and relevant to conveyancing jobs:
- Include specifics about your experience, such as the size of your caseload e.g. the percentage split between sale and purchase files and the average number of completions you deal with each month.
- When describing your caseload, think about it as a checklist – are you running files involving sales, purchases, leasehold, freehold, new builds, remortgages, transfers of equity, shared ownership properties, enfranchisement etc.?
- Include your involvement across the conveyancing process, i.e. are you running files from instruction to post-completion, or from instruction to completion?
- Mention your experience with case management systems. This will help your future employer know if you need training on different case management systems so they can factor that in when you start. Having experience of using a particular case management system is always a bonus but only if it’s clear in your CV, so include which case management system you currently use or have previously used.
- Include the average value of each file/transaction – this can be a range or an estimation but the more tangible evidence you can provide the more confidence a potential employer will have in your ability.
Understand your own priorities
Next, you need to understand your priorities and aspirations when looking at prospective firms:
Neither you nor the firm want you to be unhappy with your choice and no one wants to waste their time. By thinking in-depth about exactly what you’re looking for, you can more easily decide which firm(s) is the one for you.
- Are you looking for increased support? For example, do you need an additional pair of hands to take instruction and set the file up/ deal with it post-completion? Or do you need more support digitally via a modern case management system and accounting system?
- Are you looking for more flexibility and autonomy? Each firm and team will have a different stance towards home working and working hours.
- Do you want to specialise or gain further experience within a certain area of conveyancing? E.g. sales, remortgages, sales and purchases etc.
Preparing for an interview
After you’ve ensured your CV is spot on, and you’ve settled on the firm(s) you’re interested in, in an ideal world, it’s time to prepare for the interview both professionally and personally:
You’ve done all this work to get here, why throw it away by being unprepared. This is the chance you’ve been waiting for, go ahead and grab it.
- The interview is a two-way street, make sure you understand what information you wish to gain from the meeting as well as what you’d like to communicate to the Interviewer(s)
- Fully understand the role and the reason for the position as this will feed into your own aspirations and priorities.
- It’s also a good idea to understand who you will be meeting and their role within the firm. You can prepare yourself more if you know who you’re talking to. Plus, in this case, surprises may not be so fun.
- Make sure you know how to commute to the role, is it office-based/home-based? And make sure you know where and when the interview is (this may sound like a simple task, but by being in the wrong place/ at the wrong time you may come across as unorganised to your prospective employer). The interview is your first chance to evidence your organisation abilities.
There’s an old quote I like from the late Anthony Bourdain you should remember; “Prior Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance”, and with all this Preparation I Predict a Positive Payoff
If you need any more advice, get in touch with our residential conveyancing recruitment team at hello@realmrecruit.com or give us a call on 03300 245 606.
