A BENEFIT claimant has landed his dream job – after almost 100 pleas to find work were rejected.
Taz Aldeek yearned to become a barrister.
The 29-year-old, from Wilmslow has three degrees, including a master’s, yet he kept getting knocked back.
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Taz said: "It was a very difficult time for me.
“My physical health was deteriorating and I was trying my best to stay positive but felt like I was in a dark place.”
After a gruelling 18 months, he has now secured a job as a case officer at the Information Commissioner's Office.
And he will be starting a pupillage at the Crown Prosecution Service in September.
Taz said: "Now I'm ready for the job.
“I've got the experience nationally and internationally and I'm as ready as I'm ever going to be.
“I'm happy to be in crime and public service with the CPS.
"It feels like I'm making meaningful impact in my community."
Taz graduated from Sheffield University with a 2:1 honours degree in law and criminology in 2016.
A year later, he gained a post graduate degree after studying Master of Laws in corporate and commercial law.
But he says he felt like he 'didn't fit the mould' of a barrister and volunteered at Manchester Crown Court Witness Service whilst working in a hotel to save money.
Taz knew his interests lay in criminal law and took on a voluntary internship in a death row office in America as part of the Louisiana Capital Post Conviction Project.
On his return to the UK, Taz worked at a law firm for six months and then applied for a scholarship through The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn - recognised as being one of the world's most prestigious professional bodies of judges and lawyers.
Despite being turned down the first time, Taz applied again and was successful finally giving him the freedom to apply for pupillages and internships.
After being rejected for roles in law and various jobs, he was forced to apply for Universal Credit in November 2020.
Taz said: "I look back now and it has very much been a redemption story.
“I went to state school and was in the bottom set for everything.
"I scraped into law school and at university, it's a financially difficult experience.
"Without the scholarship from Lincoln's Inn, I couldn't have done the bar course to qualify as a barrister.
"From 2017 until 2022, I was getting rejections every year and now, I've finally made it happen.
"But I had to sign up to the Job Centre and I was on Universal Credit while applying for jobs - nothing was coming through.
"It's very difficult because you start off confident but when you're going through the meat grinder your self-esteem takes a knocking.
"I was just surprised. I had three degrees and essentially everywhere I was applying wanted experience.
“I'd invested so much into law that outside of that path I was struggling to get any job.
"Without me being able to live at home with the support of my dad none of this would have been possible.
"Even now I'm in £10k of debt from that time aside from actual debt of student finance."
Taz now posts about his desperate struggle to find work on YouTube under the handle @TazAldeek to offer hope to other aspiring lawyers.
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