I cannot believe I missed this. I only submitted yesterday so just now I quickly changed it in the application portal as it still allows changes. Although, the portal still says 'updated on 6th Jan' - not today's date! Was I wise to change it or should I have just left it? I am definitely overthinking this!
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2020-21 Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion
- Thread starter Jaysen
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I cannot believe I missed this. I only submitted yesterday so just now I quickly changed it in the application portal as it still allows changes. Although, the portal still says 'updated on 6th Jan' - not today's date! Was I wise to change it or should I have just left it? I am definitely overthinking this!
I have edited things on Freshfields a couple times due to a job update over Christmas and a formatting error on the personal statement I sent. Becasue its non-rolling, I assume editing it is fine and if they didn't want you to, they wouldn't let you.
I went to their evening session and they’re non-rolling so will only reply after the deadline
Does anyone have any guidance on what to do next year in case you don't secure a VS or TC? I just got a job offer for a grad role in another company and I am not taking it yet as I am not sure what to do regarding TC and VC applications.
@Alice G @Jacob Miller or any other trainees, can you offer some insight?
@Alice G @Jacob Miller or any other trainees, can you offer some insight?
Hi everyone!
I saw there was a thread somewhere with a list of various potential interview questions but I can't seem to find it. Does anyone have it bookmarked that they could share with me?
Thanks in advance x
I saw there was a thread somewhere with a list of various potential interview questions but I can't seem to find it. Does anyone have it bookmarked that they could share with me?
Thanks in advance x
Hi everyone- I was wondering if anyone has advice on dealing with rejection?
Someone told me that each cycle of applications has THE rejection (the most demoralising one), and I received THE rejection from my dream firm today
I know it's a bit cliche, but I would really love any tips on dealing with rejection in a positive way! I would also love to know how many applications are standard each cycle- should I try to apply to more firms to maximize my chances of getting an interview?
(Also, I just wanted to say thanks to everyone else who has shared here about being rejected in the past- it's reassuring to know I'm not the only one getting the dreaded "we regret to inform you" email)
Sorry, I usually reply to messages like this but must have misread it.
3 main things you need to hold in your head:
- Rejections from firms are not personal - do NOT doubt yourself
- You have literally years of your life ahead of you to re-apply. A friend of mine reapplied to A&O 3 times. 3rd time lucky!
- Rejections = redirections. Its like taking a turn off a motorway, and taking a different route - is that route wrong? Hell no! Enjoy it and ride it.
Here are some weird tips I suggest. If this rejection has upset you/distressed you - TAKE A BREAK! You cannot pour from an empty cup - look after yourself first and then keep going. So here are some ideas:
- Watch a silly sitcom - it'll take your mind off careers. I suggest something like HIMYM, Friends, or maybe something like Grey's
- Surround yourself with friends - albeit virtually.
- Put some headphones on and blast some empowering music - give yourself a big confidence boost.
Please feel free to message me if you are struggling
P.S. Humour is my favourite way to deal with difficulties, but you all know that anyway lol
Hey guys, can anyone point me in the direction of any resources to help prepare for a written exercise please? Alternatively, has anyone got any tips for written exercises? I have one coming up this month for the number 1 firm on my list and I have never done one before.
Hmm, tough question as it's highly personal to you, really! Also not a position I've exactly been in as I've been self-employed since starting Uni! Before I say anything else though, congrats on your other grad role!
IMO, you've got to be pragmatic here as well as take into account your long term plans. If I were in your shoes, I would probably take the job (although wait until closer to the deadline to accept incase any of your current apps do get back to you with good news) and then either try and book holiday around a VS or leave if you're offered a TC. If all your apps from this cycle have been rejections, you could then consider whether you wanted to apply for deferred TC's to let you see out a longer period in the grad role.
I say this for a couple of reasons: firstly, at the end of the day, you need money to pay bills and eat! There would be little to be gained from being idealistic and then realising you can't actually afford to make your rent/ mortgage payments. In addition to hat, I think it's important to show pragmatism in the process of applying to law firms and making a decision like that would be something worth talking about. Secondly, getting a grad role in any area in this job market is a massive achievement and just because it's not in law doesn't devalue this! What's more, you may actually end up loving it and realising that it's far more up your street than law ever would have been.
With all that said, that is only how I personally would think about things. It's a massively personal situation as it also depends a lot on your circumstances (say, for example, you're in the position of having family support so taking the job isn't essential from a financial perspective, then you'd be daft not to consider that too- similarly, if you're not, and the money is essential, then I tend to think that would be at the forefront of the decision and then you'd need to work future apps etc around that).
Very best of luck with your decision though, it's a tough one and I really don't envy you having to balance it up.
Hi Sekani,
It depends a lot on the firm as different firms might have totally different written exercises. Are you able to share what firm it is incase myself or any other members are able to guide you better?
Hi Olivia,Hi everyone!
I saw there was a thread somewhere with a list of various potential interview questions but I can't seem to find it. Does anyone have it bookmarked that they could share with me?
Thanks in advance x
I'm unsure if this is the specific one you mean but it might help nonetheless:
https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/forum/forums/interview-experiences-2019-2020-cycle.83/
There’s a thread which has a list of example interview questions so this wasn’t exactly what I was after, but thank you anyway
Hi Olivia, is this what you’re looking for? https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/175-training-contract-interview-questions-2/There’s a thread which has a list of example interview questions so this wasn’t exactly what I was after, but thank you anyway
Hi Jacob,
It is Willkie Farr, but as this is their first-ever recruitment cycle, I doubt anyone will have any insight into the firm specifically.
Oh amazing- I was reading about this firm recently. Very cool to be one of their first applicants! Does obviously make it harder in many ways, though.
In my general experience, written exercises tend to based around a due diligence exercise- by my memory, WF do quite a lot of M&A/ Private Equity work so I don't think it's an unreasonable presumption to make that it might be based on a mock deal. Again, in my experience, the scenario is usually that you're acting for the potential buyer and need to conduct DD about the target company.
Typically, in those scenarios, the candidate will be presented with an infopack which will outline the facts of the potential deal at hand and contain a number of other documents that they must also analyse and write about. In the context of the sort of circumstances I've outlined above, this might include excerpts from one of the target's key contracts, newspaper articles hinting at litigation surrounding the target firm, information about the firm's key patents, key people, lease contracts for real estate, information about its customers and its suppliers etc. The key is to analyse each point in respect of how it might impact on your client's stakeholders should the deal progress. You might also want to think about whether there are particular clear risks or opportunities surrounding the deal, and also how your client's negotiating standpoint might be relatively improved or weakened by any of the information that comes to light therein.
The firm will specify the format in which they would like the information to be presented (e.g., an email to a partner is quite common if you're then to go into a case study interview, or a draft of a letter to a client if this is not the case). It will obviously be timed, so I would always advise having a clock or watch that keeps good time nearby so you know exactly where you're up to.
In terms of specific resources on written exercises, I'm unsure if we currently have anything on this that maybe predates me being here but @Jaysen/ @Alice G might be able to advise as they've been here a lot longer!
Hope this is of some help to you, and very very best of luck!
Ah congratulations on the written assessment! When did you submit your VI
Is commercial acumen/lateral thinking considered an ‘attribute’? And if is, can I talk about how I have demonstrated this with reference to my work experience.
I found this useful:
https://www.squirepattonboggs.com/-/media/files/careers/training-contract-application-guide.pdf
I think you want to try and sell yourself first and foremost, however link these key skills you can show into why that would suit SPB particularly. You want to be able to show them that you've researched into their firm, and aren't just sending a generic personal statement to them! Hope that helps
I would say so, yes. Certainly, I always included these as personal attributes and used work experience etc to highlight them
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