2020-21 Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion

[Mxkry]

I just got this too, seems likely a very strangely worded PFO?!

yeah i'm not sure if it's a straight pfo or they genuinely have run out of spaces.

 

[Mxkry]

Sorry to hear that mate. Which office was this? I'm fully expecting a PFO after my VI anyway, but still curious.

London

 

[S87]

(Random q) How realistic is it to do the GDL full time and while working full time?

Mate..when I did it. I had more than 10 exams in less than 2 months

 

[Asil Ahmad]

Sorry to be a big cloud of negativity today but does anyone else just feel like giving up? I have A*A*A at A-level, go to a top RG uni with a solid 2.1 and some firsts (got an 84% once magically), have loads of extra-circulars including music sport and societies, have worked part time since I was 16, two formal work experience schemes yet still can’t get a TC offer? I know everyone works hard but I can’t help feeling like it’s wasted effort I literally do nothing but my uni work and applications but it feels like I shouldn’t have bothered

Look at @Jacob Miller reply to my message in ask 3 trainees forum when I asked something similar a week ago.

 

[Holly]

yeah i'm not sure if it's a straight pfo or they genuinely have run out of spaces.

Hey, I received that Simmons email too.

Considering some Simmons winter VS applicants were transferred to summer due to winter VS reaching capacity, I am convinced they genuinely ran out of AC and VS spaces for summer! Hope you feel encouraged that our VI and written exercises were good quality, but this cycle is just incredibly competitive due to a rise in the number of applicants for similar VS spaces

 

[Jessica Booker]

yeah i'm not sure if it's a straight pfo or they genuinely have run out of spaces.

I suspect it is a genuine they have run out of spaces. If they have had a strong year and few declines, it can be the case your recruitment targets earlier than usual

 

[Elle W]

Hey, I received that Simmons email too.

Considering some Simmons winter VS applicants were transferred to summer due to winter VS reaching capacity, I am convinced they genuinely ran out of AC and VS spaces for summer! Hope you feel encouraged that our VI and written exercises were good quality, but this cycle is just incredibly competitive due to a rise in the number of applicants for similar VS spaces

That's very true! I did my VI on the 23rd of December and have heard nothing yet (but expecting the PFO to arrive any second).

It seems quite annoying that Simmons was still handing out VIs and their assessments until quite recently if they were already getting too full though, especially given that they were quite time consuming!

 

[jan28]

Sorry to be a big cloud of negativity today but does anyone else just feel like giving up? I have A*A*A at A-level, go to a top RG uni with a solid 2.1 and some firsts (got an 84% once magically), have loads of extra-circulars including music sport and societies, have worked part time since I was 16, two formal work experience schemes yet still can’t get a TC offer? I know everyone works hard but I can’t help feeling like it’s wasted effort I literally do nothing but my uni work and applications but it feels like I shouldn’t have bothered

Well look at it this way: if you do give up, your achievements will definitely go to waste. If you don't give up, there is a still a chance for them to not go to waste/lead you to a TC.

 

[Matt_96]

Sorry to be a big cloud of negativity today but does anyone else just feel like giving up? I have A*A*A at A-level, go to a top RG uni with a solid 2.1 and some firsts (got an 84% once magically), have loads of extra-circulars including music sport and societies, have worked part time since I was 16, two formal work experience schemes yet still can’t get a TC offer? I know everyone works hard but I can’t help feeling like it’s wasted effort I literally do nothing but my uni work and applications but it feels like I shouldn’t have bothered

Some really good advice I received when I was feeling down after being rejected after three ACs at some good firms last cycle (including one I had been personally mentored at and knew grad recruitment well - that one really stung) was to just focus on controlling the controllables.

You can control how you come across, how you sell your experiences, how much time you spend preparing and how you write your application form.

However, you cannot control the quality of the other candidates, whether you can build a rapport with the person interviewing you, the state of the economy and each individual firm's recruitment priorities.

After a certain point, it's out of your hands, no matter what experiences or academic achievements you may have had. So the best thing you can do is probably just to try and focus on the positives of each interview you've had and keep plodding on! If law is really what you want to do, you will eventually end up in the right place and the right time if you keep your eye on the prize.

 

[deckoking123]

I did the MA Law (GDL equivalent) online last year full time whilst working full time in a demanding role in parliament. Overall, it worked - I came away with good grades, built a good reputation for myself at work and have no debt.

But, it was brutal.

You will no longer have a life. My schedule was to get up at 05.30, be in work by 06.30, finish work at 15.00, gym until 16.00, home by 16.45, making tea/prep for next day until 17.30, check back in with work remotely, then ideally start studying by 18.00, usually until ca. 00.00-01.00 and sleep. Weekends I would try and give myself 7-8 hours of sleep and the rest was just pure study time with an hour for exercise and hour for tea with a bit of Netflix (exceptionally 2 hours if my football team was on TV lol). I used all of my annual leave just to be able to have my exam weeks off, so no time for a break anywhere.

I don't necessarily regret doing it but it did have a major impact on my health. After my last exams it's like my body and brain finally accepted defeat. I gained a lot of weight in the later stages, largely due to Covid taking away my ability to maintain my routine at the gym but also because I was consuming so much crap, spending 19 hours per day sat at a desk staring at screens and just trying to push myself to keep going. Because I was relying on dangerous amounts of coffee and energy drinks to stay awake on minimal sleep for a year, I actually developed hyposensitivity to caffeine, so now if I have any it basically knocks me out! Physically it took a toll but the worst was the burnout that followed. I've been exhausted before but I had no idea how much real burnout truly sucks. Has taken me months to recover, I still have long periods of brain fog (although this has now significantly improved),

Sorry, I have now written way more than I thought I would but, in summary, it is very much doable, but my advice would be don't do it. Work part time at most (or do the GDL part time). However, if you do do it, be prepared not to have a life, take at least an hour of exercise every day and maybe don't consume ridiculous amounts of caffeine!

Good luck, whatever you end up doing!

Thank you for this! really appreciate the honesty. Also want to thank everyone else for their inputs

 

[MzM]

Thank you for this! really appreciate the honesty. Also want to thank everyone else for their inputs

Would also like to add that this year (at least at BPP) our exams have been open book. This means that the workload in terms of learning by heart case authorities is much reduced. I think if exams stay this way, then a part-time job would certainly be doable. I really can't see it being feasible if next year it goes back to full closed book exams.

 

[KirstyT]

I just received AC invite for Irwin Mitchell PLS!! This is my first ever AC so any advice would be really appreciated!

 

[Izzy Woodhouse]

Travers interview!!😮 Over the moon but slightly nervous only have until Tuesday to prepare!
Does anyone have any advice they could give? Is an hour long partner interview with no specific tests/prep

I had mine a couple of weeks ago and managed to get through! It's quite a nice conversational style, my partner didn't write anything down and we had a chat about how the GDL was going and then went pretty quickly into ethical / moral dilemmas! Super random and pretty much no way to prepare for those. The advice I got from a current TS trainee was to just be super chatty and bubbly - apparently that's what they like! message me if you have any particular questions - happy to help !

 

[LegalNim]

(Random q) How realistic is it to do the GDL full time and while working full time?

I did my Masters conversion (basically the same as the GDL but with a master's dissertation) whilst working full time and with a child at home full time too - I averaged above 80% overall. It completely depends on your situation though. I don't think I had a single social interaction (helped by Covid) - so if you need that for your mental health then I wouldn't recommend it. I also already studied contract and tort during my undergrad so it was easier for me. I'd only recommend it if you genuinely enjoy both the GDL and your job and won't feel awful spending ALL your time doing it - my dissertation is something that was SO SO SO SO interesting to me.

 

[E1998]

Thank you! I got an email but I emailed on Tuesday just to enquire about my application because I hadn’t got the standard email saying they were still reviewing and someone from grad recruitment replied to that email offering me an interview- I guess always worth emailing to ask about your application progress?

Congrats!

 

[Daniel Boden]

(Random q) How realistic is it to do the GDL full time and while working full time?

In short, if you value your health and the ability to have a life see friends etc. it's not doable haha. The GDL is very full-on with a lot of prep required (I'm treating it like a 9-5 job during the week and even then sometimes I still have to work longer than that) so I would highly recommend against working full time whilst doing it. On the other hand, doing the GDL whilst working part-time would be tough but definitely doable based on what I've seen and heard from my coursemates.

 

[Daniel Boden]

I’m genuinely curious as to what is causing the spike in applicants

I'd imagine the fact that a significant number of people early in their careers were sadly made redundant because of Covid has played a big role!

 

[Jacob Miller]

Travers interview!!😮 Over the moon but slightly nervous only have until Tuesday to prepare!
Does anyone have any advice they could give? Is an hour long partner interview with no specific tests/prep

Hey,

Many congrats! All my interview advice - which is definitely applicable to the Travers interview- is in my interview article, accessible via the link in my signature.

Travers are a great firm (albeit I'm a lil biased) - best of luck!

 

[Asil Ahmad]

For those of you who have received an interview from Travers Smith, any of you applied before December as I applied before the week of their winter VS began.

 

[acceleratedlaw]

does anyone know what travers' conversion rate is for VS to TC?