2020-21 Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion

[Jessica Booker]

If a firm asks you what the biggest mistake you've made, can you say making a poor module choice? Also if I was asked when I had constructive criticism, is it poor taste to use the feedback from my first-year scheme at a different firm and how I've built on it?

Is that really your biggest mistake? It just seems a little “minor” in terms of impact or what you would have taken from it.

The second example is fine if you can show you have learnt from it or taken the feedback on into future work.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Brilliant thank you! I wasn’t sure if I should avoid talking about it or just remain impartial

I don’t think you need to even remain impartial. I think you just need to be able to see the different sides.

 

[Rob93]

What do we think law firms stance will be on the whole GameStop situation? If you are discussing this at an AC is it best to not share any form of political view?

I suspect that for most of them who knew what reddit was before this started, the (private) stance will be that this is very, very funny. I wouldn't suggest having a go about how hedge funds are evil vultures who deserve what they're getting, but any reasonable appraisal of the situation should be fine. I think it would be particularly worth picking up whether and to what extent this flags up the possibility of oversights in the financial system being exploited and leading to triggers of systemic risk. Following off of that, what should the SEC be doing about it?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Discrimination should be called out whether it is done "willingly" or not.

One isn't above criticism just by virtue of being "just here to help us".

*flies away*

It’s not the criticism that the problem - I love getting into a good debate about grad rec.

It’s the tone and attitude. It’s not pleasant.

 

[Rob93]

Same. Completed the tests on 9 December and waiting to hear back although I am terrible at the WG so not sure I want to hear back 😂

For what it's worth they apparently look at things quite holistically and WG isn't necessarily a make-or-break. There's a dedicated Links thread from the 2019-20 cycle that's still active, it's mentioned there that offers have been given to people who were in 20th percentile on WG while people in 90th plus got a PFO.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Does anyone have experience using the platform Impact (amberjack) for virtual AC? I found some YouTube videos introducing the platform but they only targeted the recruitment teams...

Any insights from a candidate's perspective would be much appreciated!

The platform is a bit like Topscore. It’s just their to facilitate each employers assessments rather than it being standardised assessments across employers. I haven’t got any guides (I have for Topscore) but from what I have seen of it , it’s a fairly straight forward platform to use. It’s not like you will need to prep for it

 

[hz1997]

Ropes & Gray are non rolling so should hear back after the deadline which is today

From what I understand, CRS is also non-rolling so we won’t hear back until after the deadline.

 

[Jacob Miller]

In an 'explain a time where you've been resilient' (as such) question I wrote about my experiences with mental health and how it impacted my studies etc. I've done this for another firm and was invited for VI, but now I'm worried that writing about it in my most recent app was too personal. I didn't go into any detail about my mental health itself but rather about what I learnt from it blah blah... I just feel it was risky discussing mental health. Does anyone have any experience with this?

I agree with everything Jessica has said here.

It's a very personal thing, so you have to decide whether you feel comfortable discussing it. I've discussed physical health challenges (broken back/ paralysis) before in this question and there's no doubt that the ongoing effects of that have had an impact on my mental health to some extent. Personally I don't shy away from this but 1) I emphasise the growth and development rather than the negative and 2) I have definitely found it exhausting/ upsetting to discuss in the past so I don't always bring it up. Really is a matter for how you feel.

 

[hz1997]

Is anyone still waiting to hear back from DLA after completing the WG test?

 

[JoeF]

Same. Completed the tests on 9 December and waiting to hear back although I am terrible at the WG so not sure I want to hear back 😂

Yep loads of us in that boat. I know that they run loads of ACs and do them in batches, my best guess is that they don't want to give some people considerably more lead time than others.

Thanks! Let's hope we hear soon then.

 

[Jacob Miller]

What do we think law firms stance will be on the whole GameStop situation? If you are discussing this at an AC is it best to not share any form of political view?

I'd tend to err on the side of cautious honesty. By that, I mean that I wouldn't go in for the jugular demonising funds and institutions who are likely to be on the firm's client database, but by all means be honest and say that you admire the WSB traders if you indeed do.
If you're worried about it, I would probably start the response as objectively as possible and then, once you've gauged the audience a bit, you could add a little more of a personal opinion.

 

[Rob93]

On the CC debacle, as both an old(er) and foreign applicant I know just how hard this process can be and that firms throwing up even more barriers is frustrating.

But please...

 

[Lalis]

Did anyone experience CVmail going down now? 😂

 

[Jacob Miller]

On the CC debacle, as both an old(er) and foreign applicant I know just how hard this process can be and that firms throwing up even more barriers is frustrating.

But please...

View attachment 2652

This is phenomenal

 

[Bugsy Malone]

Did anyone experience CVmail going down now? 😂

Haven’t been able to access it since around 3pm today 😣

 

[M777]

Did you get invited to AC?

I did my AC the other day, was invited in mid January.

 

[Lalis]

Haven’t been able to access it since around 3pm today 😣

Oh no and many deadlines are at midnight😭😭😭

 

[Rob93]

Oh no and many deadlines are at midnight😭😭😭

That's precisely why it's down.

 

[Law2022]

Who else is waiting to hear back from PM (London office)?

 

[Lalis]

That's precisely why it's down.

Yea can imagine. But does this mean we would not be able to submit apps? 😂 Shall we contact the firms as well or just check again around 11pm 😅