I am a third-year law student at the University of the West of England and completed a week’s work experience in January at Burges Salmon as part of the UWE Futures Programme, working in the People Team. Whilst I have mostly had tunnel vision for a career as a solicitor, the UWE Futures Programme has enabled me to broaden my horizons by getting an insight into alternative business professions, as well as learning about the business side of law firms.
During my time at Burges Salmon, I rotated around each of the different departments within the People team, namely Resourcing, Corporate Responsibility, Learning and Development, and People Advisory. This was an extremely insightful experience as it enabled me to get a flavour of each of the different roles and what they entailed.
My week in the office consisted of a range of varied activities such as attending calls and meetings, drafting and proofreading documents, and attending skills development sessions. Alongside this, there were plenty of opportunities to network, and I found that everyone was super friendly and always open for a chat. I managed to speak with a range of business professionals and learn about the ins and outs of their roles, as well as getting the chance the speak with a few trainee solicitors and hear about their experiences of getting into law.
Although I was based in the People team, throughout my work experience the firm’s collaborative nature shone through as I often found myself in meetings and calls with a range of different people from all different parts of the business. This was a bonus for me as it meant I got even more exposure to different professions and got to see the process of how departments work together to ensure the smooth running of the business.
I would highly recommend the UWE Futures Programme to all students, whether you have got your career thought out yet or not. I got so much out of the experience, from getting a feel of the nature of working in an office to exploring what different job roles involve and meeting the amazing people that do them. Additionally, all the staff made me feel so welcome and were super supportive throughout my time on the programme.
This article was written by Jagjeevan Kaur, third-year law student at the University of the West of England.