Does the personality of your firm matter? And does it have one anyway? 
 
My answers are yes — and yes. 
 
The first time I realised how firms that looked identical on paper could feel very different in reality was when I was interviewing for training contracts. I applied to 52 firms. Their characters varied widely. 
 
Two recent conversations reminded me how little has changed. 
 
The first was with a trainee in her first seat. The positivity radiated from her. She was enjoying the work, and the reality of the firm matched what she had been told during the selection process. 
 
That matters for a lot of reasons, a big one being that it gives her a reference point for what “good” looks like that will stand her in good stead for the inevitable ups and downs of working life in the years ahead. 
 
I asked how it was for others she knew. She mentioned someone from a vac scheme she had been on who had said they would be willing to "stab people in the back" to get ahead. 
 
They are now at a well known firm. 
 
There are many possible explanations for that. Recruitment is complex, and no process is perfect. It's a topic I'll return to in a future post. 
 
But attitudes like that don’t stay isolated. Unless the firm excels at spotting the signs and getting things back on track quickly, the impact on the firm and others will be serious. 
 
The second conversation was with a group discussing firms they would never want to work at, based on reputation. 
 
One firm was described as hierarchical, old-fashioned, and requiring deference to partners. 
 
I didn't say anything, but thirty-three years ago, I turned down a training contract from that same firm for similar reasons. 
 
Their response at the time was to contact my Director of Studies to ask why. 
 
He had no idea — I hadn’t spoken to him about it. 
 
If they had asked me, I would have told them. But they didn’t. 
 
That, in itself, said something. 
 
Firms do have personalities. 
 
They are shaped over time by who they recruit, what is rewarded, and how issues are addressed. 
 
And while firms do evolve, some patterns can be surprisingly persistent. 
 
The takeaways? 
 
For firms, who you let in says at least as much as what you say about yourself. 
 
For individuals, if you want to understand what a firm is really like, its reputation — and the people you meet when you’re not being actively wooed — are important data points.