2020-21 Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion

[Jessica Booker]

Random question: what proportion of applicants (roughly) get invited to AC stage and what proportion of those from the AC would be given vac schemes?

Typically take the number of vacancies on the vac scheme and times it by somewhere between 2.5 and 4.5 to get to the number of people they will invite to AC. The higher that number, the less likely they will have had earlier screening stages/assessments, the lower that number, they have probably had earlier stages such as testing/telephone or video interviews.

 

[MS2000]

Just got denied from bristows and Simmons post VI - just having no luck at all

 

[futuretraineecity]

Anyone know when Weil’s ACs are? Sent application off at beginning of jan and heard nothing so just wanna know if I’m too late!

 

[Legalmel_99]

Just got denied from bristows and Simmons post VI - just having no luck at all

Try and email them asking for feedback, I suppose if you’ve done both of these at VI your applications are good! Ive not applied to these firms but were the questions VI similar?

 

[Naomi U]

Just got denied from bristows and Simmons post VI - just having no luck at all

Sorry to hear @MS2000! It can be so disheartening at times.

Give yourself some time to relax before refocusing. There is light at the end of the tunnel, remember everyone's journey is different❤️

 

[Emily K]

Hope your okay? You did well to get the telephone interview and I didn’t get to an AC until my 3rd cycle 😕(my 4th now) and then got rejected after it! Keep going ❤️

I know how hard it is getting rejections and that nagging feeling that the process is against you at times but please do take stock and try to appreciate how far you have come. We all progress and grow at our own pace and your progress is undeniable, you are incrementally getting further towards your goal and you should be really proud of every step you take in the right direction. I hope you can get some constructive feedback to assist you with that growth too

I’m in the same boat with ACs! It’s a bit deflating but got to keep going.

I’m a big believer in making your own luck and that comes from perseverance.

Sorry to hear this... getting rejections is really tough and you're definitely allowed to feel hurt and dismayed! I found I just had a bit of a 'click' moment with applications where things began to fall into place, maybe you're just waiting on that click

Thank you all so much for these encouraging messages, think I needed to hear this today (I love this forum! ☺️) - going to reflect on how I can improve at interview stages and stay positive! It might not have been this time, but we'll all get there eventually 🙂

 

[Adrian_Healey]

Just got denied from bristows and Simmons post VI - just having no luck at all

Sorry to hear - did you get an email from Bristows saying your VI has been passed on to partners for screening?

 

[JayC]

My Sullivan & Cromwell rejection email had a typo in it - could I reject their rejection email on this basis and inform them that I will be attending an interview?

 

[Daniel Boden]

My Sullivan & Cromwell rejection email had a typo in it - could I reject their rejection email on this basis and inform them that I will be attending an interview?

I would love to see their response to that hahaha

 

[IceFloe]

Would it be unwise to allude to a dispute that a firm has lost in my application?

Although their client was unsuccessful on appeal to the CoA, the case established legal precedent in a niche area. I'm trying to evidence their wide-ranging expertise in litigation by saying something like "In addition to the firm's Tier 1 International Arbitration and Commercial Litigation teams, the firm has also established legal precedent in [niche industry]".

Would love to hear any thoughts on this!

 

[Kola]

My Sullivan & Cromwell rejection email had a typo in it - could I reject their rejection email on this basis and inform them that I will be attending an interview?

Honestly, do it! They might get a good laugh out of it and who knows, if the stars are align they might be impressed and could even progress you to the next stage aha! No harm done either way.

 

[Rob93]

Would it be unwise to allude to a dispute that a firm has lost in my application?

Although their client was unsuccessful on appeal to the CoA, the case established legal precedent in a niche area. I'm trying to evidence their wide-ranging expertise in litigation by saying something like "In addition to the firm's Tier 1 International Arbitration and Commercial Litigation teams, the firm has also established legal precedent in [niche industry]".

Would love to hear any thoughts on this!

I think if you make it clear that you know the precedent in question was established at first instance and they lost appeal on other grounds you'll be fine.

 

[cem]

I applied early December for VS (can't remember the exact date), but I applied to the Scottish Offices so they're probably quicker and it's an abstract reasoning test.

Is this for VS or TC, and which office did you apply to please?🙂

Well done! What psychometric testing does Pinsent Masons use? Thanks

congrats! can I ask when you applied?

Well done,
May I ask which office this is and when you applied?

 

[Jammo58]

Random question: what proportion of applicants (roughly) get invited to AC stage and what proportion of those from the AC would be given vac schemes?

For a winter vac scheme I attended in December, they told us these figures:

Applications: 900+
Telephone Interviews: 250 130
Assessment Centres: 32
Vac Schemers: 22

But I can see this varying from firm to firm.

 

[IceFloe]

I think if you make it clear that you know the precedent in question was established at first instance and they lost appeal on other grounds you'll be fine.

The precedent wasn't established at first instance but at appeal and on the very grounds their client lost

 

[Alice G]

Just got denied from bristows and Simmons post VI - just having no luck at all

I am so sorry to hear this. I don’t know if this will help but VIs used to fill me with such dread. I’ve had difficulty with public speaking because of stage fright and I used to get that same nervous and foreboding feeling whenever I needed to do VIs. I don’t mind speaking off the cuff and naturally so much but it was that pressure, the time limits and worrying about stumbling on my words/not having anything to say/losing my train of thought. They made me so nervous, I honestly nearly didn’t apply to a firm I really liked because they had a VI in their process.

So, in my opinion, actually just being able to do a VI and piece together a coherent answer to the questions is a huge achievement and something to be really proud of.

I’m not sure whether feedback would be possible at that stage but I do hope you take heart in knowing you did a good job for completing the VIs (a truly big win in my book) and for getting to that stage too.

 

[Jessica Booker]

My Sullivan & Cromwell rejection email had a typo in it - could I reject their rejection email on this basis and inform them that I will be attending an interview?

HR aren’t very good at spelling (just look at my posts) 😂

 

[Jessica Booker]

For a winter vac scheme I attended in December, they told us these figures:

Applications: 900+
Telephone Interviews: 250
Assessment Centres: 32
Vac Schemers: 22

But I can see this varying from firm to firm.

Jeessuusss - that’s a lot of telephone interviews. I’d normally expect it to be more like 100-125 telephone interviews for that many hires. Whoever that is, they clearly like to see (or should that be hear) as many candidates as they can.

 

[MS2000]

I am so sorry to hear this. I don’t know if this will help but VIs used to fill me with such dread. I’ve had difficulty with public speaking because of stage fright and I used to get that same nervous and foreboding feeling whenever I needed to do VIs. I don’t mind speaking off the cuff and naturally so much but it was that pressure, the time limits and worrying about stumbling on my words/not having anything to say/losing my train of thought. They made me so nervous, I honestly nearly didn’t apply to a firm I really liked because they had a VI in their process.

So, in my opinion, actually just being able to do a VI and piece together a coherent answer to the questions is a huge achievement and something to be really proud of.

I’m not sure whether feedback would be possible at that stage but I do hope you take heart in knowing you did a good job for completing the VIs (a truly big win in my book) and for getting to that stage too.

Thanks Alice I really appreciate this. I actually get that as well, I was semi expecting it with Bristows because nerves got the better of me. But for Simmons I sort of managed to stay calm. So it has been a positive learning curve!

 

[Alice G]

The precedent wasn't established at first instance but at appeal and on the very grounds their client lost

Just to follow on this, whilst their involvement may have been impressive because it’s a niche area, it sounds as though the firm didn’t argue the point which then became precedent. On this then, it seems their involvement in the making of the precedent and connection to it is quite incidental and it could have been another firm in their place given they did not make the influential argument. On this basis, I am not entirely convinced it’s the best argument to put in an application but please tell me if I’m misreading this and have made an error in my thinking somewhere.