Opportunities Are Endless - Don’t Give Up On Your Dreams!

I am returning to my final year of studying my undergraduate law degree at University of Bradford after recently completing my placement year with the Government Legal Department. It has been the best employability experience till date!

The school years

At 15 or 16, you are not expected to have your life sorted out. Enjoy the journey and keep learning. Do not limit your learning. Expose yourself to networking, volunteering, unpaid work experience and explore your passions whatever sector. These days, there are a rise in apprenticeships and skills-based qualifications. I wish in my schools’ days, I had those but they were only emerging. Consider apprenticeships, jobs and other ways of qualifications if a degree is not for you.

The phase of being in unemployment

I have been through that phase! I finished my GCSE's and A levels, I was applying for part time jobs and getting nowhere. Honestly, the worst phase but everything happens for a reason. I managed to do volunteering in Age UK for like a couple of months from 2019-2020. Covid hit as well! I joined back in 2021, in another branch of Age UK as the previous one was shut down permanently. Here I built my experience in cash handling and customer service.

Law LLB Hons Degree including Placement Year

In 2021, I begun my Law degree and managed to secure part time jobs on Campus as Student Ambassador and 2022 as Receptionist. These have been my kick-starters in employment. I am grateful for the University in giving me that.

In 2023, I secured my year long Placement with the Government Legal Department. GLD has been amazing. I worked in the Ministry of Justice, Private Law and Inquest Team. I assisted in Inquests work and Private Law from personal injury, human rights and civil claims arising from Inquests. I worked in the Employment Directorate. I enjoyed attending Employment Tribunals seeing cases in action from Counsel examination of witnesses and Claimants submissions.

I have gained plenty of workplace skills and gained insights into the legal profession. I am aspiring to qualify as a Solicitor Advocate in the future InshAllah (God willing). I enjoy client-based work in the office however advocacy comes natural to me. By this I mean I enjoy public speaking very much. Therefore, I would like to embed a career that requires me to do advocacy yet do the preparation for cases in the office. I love working with people.

Outside of studying and working

I volunteer as Youth Panel Member for Bradford City of Culture 2025.I have enjoyed working in sub committees, attending events, exhibitions, networking with businesses and senior leaders in Bradford. I am excited for the great initiatives that we are planning with colleagues at Bradford 2025. Really excited! I do hope Bradford gains long term changes. We do aim to leave a legacy, and colleagues already are doing it.

We live in a digital age now, most of our information comes from social media. From a professional perspective, I would make a LinkedIn page and connect with people that align with your career interests. Build a professional portfolio of your achievements and learning. This can be events you have attended or people you met that impacted your learning.

Message people for advice and arrange meetings if you want mentoring. I managed to get a mentor called Zainab Zaeem, Solicitor and now Director! Zainab has played a role in my applications drafting, sharing her journey and advice for navigating a legal career. Also from a cultural perspective, Zainab has been easy to converse to about cultural matters as South Asian females. I have another mentor from the CPS who helps me in application advice and works at the CPS.

Also advice for when you get your first job. Being nervous is normal, I was nervous in the Civil Service. Luckily, my colleagues were understanding that I have not worked in an office background for a lengthy period. I learned the basics from scratch and got better over time professionally. However, I would aim to build a rapport with your line mangers from the day you join the organisation. It helps when you get to know your job better, management and the support they can offer you to excel in your job.

Concluding my blog, my main message is the opportunities are endless. You have got to utilise the digital platforms we have and take advantage of networking as much as possible. Meaningful conversations and mentoring can help you grow as a person. Remember often opportunities don't come twice. Make most of the opportunities.

Maleehah Hussain