Mika Singh knew early on in her career that culture was very important in her working environment. Having had a taste of both good and bad culture, she was determined to work at a place where she felt challenged, supported and comfortable. Enter Susan Pincus, a national careers professional who provides careers consultations for College of Law students. Insights spoke to Mika about what careers consultation involved, and how it's helped her land an in-house role with Master Builder Association of Victoria.
Mika was undertaking practical legal training with the College of Law while working as a graduate lawyer when she learned about the College's careers counselling services.
"Being able to do PLT online, with a variety of session times, is what attracted me to the College of Law,” explained Mika.
“I was working full time as a graduate lawyer and was able to seamlessly commit to completing my PLT at College of Law online. PLT at College of Law was also quite interactive, so I was able to really practice my advocacy skills, which was definitely something new! .
Prompted to explore broader opportunities in law
While she enjoyed PLT, she was growing increasingly aware that she wanted something different to her then graduate role.
"I wasn’t very happy with the culture of the firm and wanted to know what other opportunities were out there in the legal profession,” said Mika. This spurred her to book a careers counselling session with Susan Pincus. "I found it useful to talk to someone and come up with possible solutions about how best enjoy my time in the legal profession."
The session led her to an opportunity which became a steppingstone to her current role.
"The consultation helped me actively think about my career decisions and reflect on where I wanted to go."
An invaluable opportunity for more diverse legal work
"I am stoked in my new role,” enthused Mika, who is now the Junior Legal Counsel at the Master Builder Association of Victoria (MBAV).
"The role involves me advising a range of MBAV members on various construction law matters and providing legal advice to MBAV as an association. It has provided me with an invaluable opportunity to get involved in a diverse range of legal work as well as develop my understanding of various practice areas, including construction law, commercial law and advisory work. The challenge and diversity of the work is fantastic. I'm lucky to also have an unbelievably supportive team."