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Nobody likes to fail, least of all law students. But there is strength and hope to be drawn from the times when we stumble, writes Lawyers Weekly journalist Jerome Doraisamy.
I vividly remember being told I hadn’t secured the graduate position I thought I would have. It was crushing and humiliating in equal measure, even before I learned all my close friends had attained the roles they had sought.
Six years have since past, and over the last fortnight, I’ve written a number of articles announcing that old friends and classmates of mine had been promoted to senior associate at their respective firms. And yet — despite being unflinchingly competitive — I’ve felt not a screed of jealousy or resentment spawned from my aforementioned failure. I was, instead, pleased for them all.
Why? Aside from (hopefully) being a good friend, I take pride in what I have accomplished, both in spite and because of the health issues I suffered from late 2011 to early 2013, which threw my career trajectory wildly off its presumed course.
Because I stumbled in the first instance, I made achievements as a writer, public speaker and academic I never could have imagined. I’ve sold books on every continent only because I didn’t get the job I (thought I) wanted.
And while my humblebrag may be crass, it serves to underline this point: your first step into the workforce will define you only if you let it.
Many law students and young lawyers are currently in the midst of clerkship season, volunteer, intern and graduate applications. It is, undoubtedly, a taxing period fraught with uncertainty and existential crisis.
This is somewhat exacerbated by the structure and environment of law school, which is much more vocationally-driven than many other tertiary strands. While this approach aids the development of our professional skills, it can also create a bottleneck of perceived opportunity, whereby students all feel the need to apply for the same roles, rather than autonomously choose their own path.
It is understandable that you want to do well. But the outcome of the applications you are currently making will not be the end of the world, nor will they be definitive (unless you want them to be).
Falling short of your goals can be demoralising and disenchanting. But it can also help sharpen your focus on what it is you truly want to achieve and allow to lay the groundwork for a path to success that makes vocational sense to you.
As high school students, you probably felt that your year 12 exams were the be-all-and-end-all, and if you didn’t get the marks you wanted, you’d be a loser your whole life. I certainly felt that way. But, with the benefit of hindsight, you now know that high school is but one step in a larger vocational and personal journey. The same mantra is true for where you are right now.
Do not live and die by what happens at this juncture. If you achieve your own version of success right now, that’s awesome. But for those of you who don’t, keep faith. So long as you are true to yourself, do not put too much pressure on, allow yourself to stumble and are self-aware about your goals, you will be well-placed to get to where you want to be.
That’s how it happened for me. It took a long time to dust myself off and get back on my feet, both because of ill-health and my shaken professional confidence. But my failure to secure a job in 2012 has, ultimately, not hindered my ability to accomplish goals.
I’ve succeeded because I’ve failed. And while I hope you do not have to walk the treacherous path I did, please know that there is no hurdle you cannot overcome.
Jerome Doraisamy is a journalist at Lawyers Weekly and author of The Wellness Doctrines book series.
Jerome Doraisamy is the managing editor of Lawyers Weekly and HR Leader. He is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in New South Wales, and a board director of the Minds Count Foundation.
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