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Next edition: 30 November 2006
Trainee nightmares
Because someone always has it worse than you do….
In this section we give some short accounts of really grim experiences faced by our readers as trainees at firms in the City and elsewhere. We want to hear all about those occasions when firms get it completely wrong on the lifestyle front or in the way they handle (not literally, we hope) their trainees. These accounts can be just a single sentence or a full length story and remember – your privacy is of utmost importance to us so you can remain anonymous……
“I was once asked to buy my supervisor moisturiser: he refunded me but that wasn’t the point….” trainee, major City law firm
“My supervisor frequently tells me with a straight face to ‘have great evening’ as I leave the office at 11pm or later. Yeah, may be I’ll catch a movie, go to the theatre, meet up with my girlfriend for dinner or something (I wish I had the nerve to say). Instead, I go home, watch Channel 5 for half an hour, whisper hello to my asleep girlfriend who will probably be leaving me soon, and drink some liquor on my own.” Trainee, mid-ranking firm
“I was once told to tuck my dress-down shirt in to my trousers by the head of my department. It was a short-sleeve shirt, cut high, not designed to be tucked in. I had been in all night sticking labels on files. I wanted to tell him to stick it but I just smiled and tucked my shirt in, looking like a cretin for the rest of the day.” Trainee, major City law firm
“My supervisor called me from the pub the other day and started dictating the terms of an agreement to me over the phone. It was 10pm and he had left at 6pm. I took a stand, mentioned it in passing to one of the more senior partners in the group and they let me have Friday afternoon off – a happy ending. No indication of any job on qualification for me as yet……” Trainee, major City law firm
We want to hear your lifestyle nightmares!
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