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For a start, because the competition is so tough, you are being forced to consider your personal marketability—and your skills—in a way that your immediate predecessors never had to do. They were simply able to ride the crest of the economic boom, with training contracts and law firm positions in great supply. However, just to compete, your generation needs more: in effect, you need the “X factor”.

So . . . where exactly is the silver lining? Let me explain.

Until recently, lawyers enjoyed a relatively straightforward path:  excel, prove themselves able, and work hard—in short, concentrate on technical ability. Of course, there were always the rare “rainmaker” types—those extroverts with a special knack for bringing in clients—but these were generally the exception rather than the rule. However, the current market has changed everything. Now everyone is expected to be a rainmaker. Even junior lawyers are being measured (even hired and fired!) on their people skills, as well as on how they differentiate and market themselves.

The problem is that many lawyers have never had to think about these things before, and find it difficult—in some cases even impossible—to suddenly be asked to take account of them.  In essence, they find themselves outside their “comfort zone,” floundering to demonstrate skills beyond their experience.

However, I strongly believe that your generation will be different.  The market is forcing you (at the onset of your careers) to consider those skills most helpful long-term.  When your firm asks those inevitable questions, “So, how are you different?” and, “Can you generate business?” you’ll have answers that those already practicing might lack—because, unlike previous generations, you should already boast a foundation of realism, self-awareness, and strong people skills.

And if this thought still fails to console you, then consider my personal experience.  I graduated from a top tier (U.S.) law school in the midst of the early 90s recession—a market not dissimilar to today’s—including major law firm redundancies and widespread cancellation of new intake programmes. 

Worst still, upon graduating I suddenly learned that my anticipated job no longer existed.  After hundreds of applications and what felt like a lifetime sitting by the phone (pre-internet and mobiles!), I finally secured a position—not in the New York City firm I had hoped for, but in a small firm concentrating on the emergent area of technology law—something I knew very little about. 

As it transpired, this firm gave me the chance to truly develop, and to work directly with clients from an early stage of my career.  And because I appreciated the opportunity, I was determined to make the most out of it.  I took computer courses to better understand my clients’ business and techie language.  I also got involved in the industry, and wrote loads of articles addressing client concerns. In short, I worked hard to become a genuine specialist and this eventually led me into the kind of firm I’d always dreamed of working in, while still at law school.

Like so many law graduates in a tough market, my career didn’t begin quite as spectacularly as I’d hoped, but I refused to believe that I couldn’t achieve what I set out to do.  And so can you.