Not for the first – or, I suspect, the last – time I am ashamed of my profession.

I have received ten cvs in the past three days for the advertised role as the Minister’s factotum.  Only one of those cvs has been from someone carrying a dyed-in-the-wool Anglo-Saxon name.

The other eight came from candidates with names that suggest they don’t form part of the British National Party’s plans for world domination.

The quality of two of those candidates certainly leaves something to be desired and, like the Anglo-Saxon-monikered Boris Johnson acolyte, they have received “close but no cigar” responses.

Of the remaining seven, every one has relevant experience and good academic qualifications.  On paper, at least, three of them have a rather better academic pedigree than me to the point that they have been awarded academic scholarships from “traditional” (ie pre-1992) universities.

Most have already funded themselves through either the Legal Practice Course (not that that’s worth a bucket of warm spit) or the Bar Vocational Course.

While some people obviously do not interview well there is, on paper, no obvious reason why any of these people should not already be pursuing careers as Trainee Solicitors or Bar pupils in London (assuming that’s what they want to do) instead of casting around for paralegal/legal executive scraps in the Northern Home Counties.

I wonder why they haven’t already been snapped up already…?

There’s always a chance one of them might turn up at interview next week with ‘CLASS WAR’ tattooed on his or her forehead but, having spoken with most of them by phone in the past 48 hours, I suspect not.

Three have been asked to form an orderly holding pattern and four will be interviewed next Monday and Tuesday.

Is it good form to ask candidates to brew up at the start of the interview?