2020-21 Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion

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Jessica Booker

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Could I ask someone what happens if you have secured vacation schemes in both spring and summer, but you get offered the TC after completing your spring vacation scheme. Could you then go on to complete the summer vacation schemes (if you've not accepted the TC offer yet)? How long does the TC offer generally last?
Some firms will allow you to sit on that offer until mid-September. Others will give your four weeks to decide.

If you accept a TC, really you shouldn’t be doing vac schemes elsewhere, but ultimately some people do.
 

Daniel Boden

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  • Sep 6, 2018
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    Speaking as someone who gets messages like this most days, I think there's a very definite right vs wrong way to do this. If you do it the right way, people will be more inclined to help you and really go out their way to do so. The inverse is also true, though - if you approach it badly, chances are someone will help minimally or not at all.

    Few pointers, again from the perspective of receiving messages:
    - tell me a bit about yourself! Context for your messages (a) helps me get to know you as a person and as a candidate, (b) gives me a much better understanding of the best ways I can help you, way more than you think it will and (c) means I'm more likely to invest time and energy in helping you as I feel like I'm dealing with a person rather than a robot applicant.
    - tone is incredibly important. Bear in mind that you're messaging someone who's a perfect stranger... overfamiliarity is probably the number one thing which grates on me if someone reaches out. That's not remotely to say that you need to be a grovelling wreck, begging for the slightest shred of attention and time - in fact, the opposite is true - but a level of professionalism and remembering that you're not chatting to your best mate is important.
    - "please" and "thank you"... you'd honestly be shocked the number of messages I get where there isn't a please or thanks in sight. Call me old fashioned, but manners cost absolutely nothing and there's no real excuse for not saying please or thanks in a message.
    - if someone responds to you, FOLLOW UP! I must admit that I hate it when I respond to someone via LinkedIn to help them out after they've reached out, they then read my message and don't bother to respond. Again, not asking for Shakespeare's Sonnets in thanks but just a little note or even a follow up question is always greatly appreciated and I'm 110% more likely to want to help you again in the future. It's also highly beneficial for me to know that something I've said is or isn't helpful, so I can best help people who get in touch!

    One final thing while I'm on the topic anyway is the issue of asking to see someone's previous, successful, application. Personally, I would never ask for this unless I knew the person really well. I think, generally, if someone helping you is happy to share their application, they're likely to volunteer to do so. I personally don't share my applications (with strangers at least, I've shared them with close friends who are applying to places) for a few reasons: partly because I think it has the capacity to distort the recruitment process which isn't the right thing to contribute to, partly because I don't know Joe Blogs well enough to be sure that someone won't just copy and paste my application to try and pass it off as their own (which would also reflect badly on me). Mostly, though, because I always made my applications highly personal and put in a lot of personal, often sensitive, information into them and that's not information which I would necessarily feel comfortable sharing with someone I don't know well (who's likely to know this stuff about me anyway).

    I really hope I don't seem like a self-important a--hole with this. Personally, I love helping candidates whenever I possibly can (my single biggest reason for being a part of the team here). Networking is definitely a skill, though, and there are definitely factors which can make you better at it! Hope this is somewhat helpful, sorry it ended up going down a bit of a rabbit hole! :)
    As someone who also gets a large number of messages like these on LinkedIn, I couldn't have said it better myself :)
     
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    KiranJ

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    Feb 22, 2021
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    I recently did a partner interview for a vs and one of the competency questions was to explain a time when I demonstrated innovation. The question stumped me, and I was wondering how would you answer this? I've been thinking it over this past week and what example to use but I truly feel as though i've hit a brick wall with this one. Any thoughts?
     

    CareerChanger

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  • Jan 5, 2021
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    Blimey Taylor Vinters assessment day felt a bit gruelling 😂 I think that’s potentially my last this cycle.

    An FYI for anyone that attended their ACs: they said we can all expect to hear either end of this week or early next week by email.
     
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    Jessica Booker

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    I recently did a partner interview for a vs and one of the competency questions was to explain a time when I demonstrated innovation. The question stumped me, and I was wondering how would you answer this? I've been thinking it over this past week and what example to use but I truly feel as though i've hit a brick wall with this one. Any thoughts?
    Innovation is anything about seeing something and thinking how it can be done better, either by improving quality or efficiency (cost of time or money). Does that help trigger any ideas?
     

    Elle W

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    Jan 12, 2021
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    I recently did a partner interview for a vs and one of the competency questions was to explain a time when I demonstrated innovation. The question stumped me, and I was wondering how would you answer this? I've been thinking it over this past week and what example to use but I truly feel as though i've hit a brick wall with this one. Any thoughts?
    I recently had this question in an interview and found it difficult too! I gave an example of a time where I was working in a restaurant and made up a non-alcoholic cocktail when somebody had said that they were disappointed with the alcohol-free drinks offering. I utilised the STAR approach to answer the question and focused a lot on the R part (e.g. earned money for the restaurant and ensured that the customer was happy). I didn't think it was the best example, but I got through to the following stage which I think shows even simple ideas work here!
     

    JayC

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    Jan 8, 2021
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    For the Baker McKenzie direct TC application, do people think it is too late to apply since it is rolling? Also, maybe this is a stupid question, but as someone not from any underrepresented groups myself, I am not sure how I should answer this question, or whether it would even be appropriate for me to answer it (@Jessica Booker any advice on whether I should just leave it blank, or could I perhaps mention instances in which I have volunteered on behalf of people from underserved communities?):

    'We are proud of our inclusive approach and how we have built an environment where people from diverse backgrounds can thrive, and are key to our success as a Firm. Please outline which diversity & inclusion Baker groups you would support, and detail any initiatives you may have previously been involved in. (300 words)'
     

    LS12

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    Guys would you have any tips on doing well on the watson glaser? I've been practicing but I've no had no success with the exam.
    Really understanding what each part requires!! I don't think you can do well unless you understand what skill each section is discussing.
    Secondly practising - I think you will pick up on subtle things for example in assumptions I only realised through practising that saying someone needs to do something doesn't mean they can.
    Thirdly, I think @Jessica Booker hit the nail on the head about doing the WG when you are most awake and have the most focus. Trying to do it in the evening after work meant my scores were a lot lower than when I was doing it in the morning.
    Finally I would say - for me personally - I do not double check my answers - I have found my gut is normally right and double thinking is where I make mistakes - in practises I highlight questions I've struggled with and really had to think about and I often got those wrong. When I go with my gut I have a higher chance of success.
     
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    djqb

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    Sep 6, 2020
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    Really understanding what each part requires!! I don't think you can do well unless you understand what skill each section is discussing.
    Secondly practising - I think you will pick up on subtle things for example in assumptions I only realised through practising that saying someone needs to do something doesn't mean they can.
    Thirdly, I think @Jessica Booker hit the nail on the head about doing the WG when you are most awake and have the most focus. Trying to do it in the evening after work meant my scores were a lot lower than when I was doing it in the morning.
    Finally I would say - for me personally - I do not double check my answers - I have found my gut is normally right and double thinking is where I make mistakes - in practises I highlight questions I've struggled with and really had to think about and I often got those wrong. When I go with my gut I have a higher chance of success.
    Thank you!!!
     
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    LawGrad2019

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    Feb 19, 2021
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    Guys would you have any tips on doing well on the watson glaser? I've been practicing but I've no had no success with the exam.

    In addition to all of the above, I would also keep in mind that they (usually?) don't ask trick questions and they state this at the start of the test. I really struggled with WG initially because I was reading into the text waaay too much - for example, if the text talked about 'firearms' but the question asked about 'guns', I would think that the question wasn't related.

    I prepared cheat sheets for myself this year containing the instructions of each section (also saves time in the real thing - I skip the instructions and the practice questions). There are some really helpful YouTube videos out there where they define things like 'strong argument' in lots of detail and I would have all of these notes on the cheat sheet ready to be referred to.

    Best of luck :)
     

    Dheepa

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    For the Baker McKenzie direct TC application, do people think it is too late to apply since it is rolling? Also, maybe this is a stupid question, but as someone not from any underrepresented groups myself, I am not sure how I should answer this question, or whether it would even be appropriate for me to answer it (@Jessica Booker any advice on whether I should just leave it blank, or could I perhaps mention instances in which I have volunteered on behalf of people from underserved communities?):

    'We are proud of our inclusive approach and how we have built an environment where people from diverse backgrounds can thrive, and are key to our success as a Firm. Please outline which diversity & inclusion Baker groups you would support, and detail any initiatives you may have previously been involved in. (300 words)'

    Don't leave it blank! At an Open Day I attended in 2019, GR said the point of this question is for you to
    1. Describe any diversity initiatives you've been involved in so far and by extension any causes you're passionate about (your volunteer experiences definitely counts!)
    2. Link these experiences to the networks and initiatives that Bakers as in place and how you wold stay involved in them. Here's a resource on this that I used in my own apps.
    You could also draw on situations where you've worked with a diverse range of people from different backgrounds and emphasise why you enjoyed doing so and what energised you about being in environments like that. Bakers has a BakerAllies group as well so not being from an underrepresented group shouldn't stop you from answering this question.
     
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