2020-21 Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion

[thewaythecookiecrumbles]

me receiving an invite for Arctic shores from TV having seen how much everyone on here thinks it’s a terrible measure

I've done the Arctic Shores game and I really liked it! I find it so much better compared to the traditional WG pretty much because you don't have to learn anything or prepare before hand to do well. Just go in really open-minded and it may surprise you.

Just thought I would put this out there to give my own positive, personal opinion so people can judge objectively for themselves.

 

[Tariq Kioumji]

I've got an AC next week

Congrats! When did you apply/ receive the invite??

 

[Grace_winter9]

I've done the Arctic Shores game and I really liked it! I find it so much better compared to the traditional WG pretty much because you don't have to learn anything or prepare before hand to do well. Just go in really open-minded and it may surprise you.

Just thought I would put this out there to give my own positive, personal opinion so people can judge objectively for themselves.

Also it’s actually quite fun

 

[Legalmel_99]

For video interviews mine says “extra time” does anyone know if this is for reading the questions and/or answering the questions?

Or if it’s just that I got extra days to complete the video in comparison to others??

 

[Polyglot]

I know it will vary, but what kind of general things in a reference could result in the offer being retracted?

I hope you don't mind me butting in, but the best advice I received about referees is always to make sure you ask someone who you know with some certainty will say good things about you.

From the referee viewpoint, providing references is a formulaic exercise - it basically confirms or denies what you said in the work experience bit of your application.

Any serious discrepancies between what you said and what the referee will confirm are obviously a red flag. Evidence of dishonesty, bad attitude, poor timekeeping etc which only surface in the reference are obviously bad news. But like Jessica said in relation to another matter, often it's about what isn't there as opposed to what is there.

Is there anything in particular you are worried about?

 

[cfm]

Has anyone got a Freshfields AC that they haven't done yet, i.e. invited? Or has anyone heard post-AC? I was just wondering if they've finished their ACs for vac scheme so I have an idea of when I'll hear back.

 

[corplaw0702]

Has anybody who did the Bakers VI for summer VS heard back yet?

 

[LegalNim]

Some firms will ask for quite significant feedback on a candidate from main referees. But it is very much up to the referee what they respond with. Many employers and academic institutions have a standardised policy to only provide factual information (e.g. employment dates, job title, grades achieved etc).

As a candidate, you won't be penalised if a referee doesn't provide more substantial detail. You may need to provide a subsequent referee who is willing to provide a character reference for you though. This happens with me a lot, even now as someone who is self-employed, and I have a university friend who is in a job that is deemed reputable enough and in a regaulated industry who has provided a character reference for me when my factual references haven't provided insight into my "character".

Thank you - it's so helpful to have someone with your insight on here. And, for the employer checks (not our provided references), what happens if they won't respond? I'm currently having issues with someone just not responding to a request for a reference and there doesn't seem to be any way to compel someone to respond.

 

[Polyglot]

Thank you - it's so helpful to have someone with your insight on here. And, for the employer checks (not our provided references), what happens if they won't respond? I'm currently having issues with someone just not responding to a request for a reference and there doesn't seem to be any way to compel someone to respond.

When that happened to me in my previous career, the firm asked for an alternative referee.

 

[AH97]

I hope you don't mind me butting in, but the best advice I received about referees is always to make sure you ask someone who you know with some certainty will say good things about you.

From the referee viewpoint, providing references is a formulaic exercise - it basically confirms or denies what you said in the work experience bit of your application.

Any serious discrepancies between what you said and what the referee will confirm are obviously a red flag. Evidence of dishonesty, bad attitude, poor timekeeping etc which only surface in the reference are obviously bad news. But like Jessica said in relation to another matter, often it's about what isn't there as opposed to what is there.

Is there anything in particular you are worried about?

I have lots of potential employer references who I know would only say good things, but I only have one real option for an academic reference - my dissertation supervisor!

Basically I handed a draft dissertation chapter in (very) late, but in the end I got 78 marks and he emailed me something very nice after the marks came out (calling me "a talented student who can think and write better than most students at the university" hahah). So I hope he wouldn't say anything bad (and I progressed to Jones Day interview following his submission of a reference), but the worry is always there!

 

[Jxmxs00]

For my academic reference I chose a tutor who I've had a lot of contact with over the last 2 years. I'm sure he'll say nice things about me because I've always contributed to seminars and gone to office hours etc. Only thing is, he doesn't know what marks he's given me because of anonymous marking. If a firm calls him for a reference, what would they be looking for?

 

[Polyglot]

I have lots of potential employer references who I know would only say good things, but I only have one real option for an academic reference - my dissertation supervisor!

Basically I handed a draft dissertation chapter in (very) late, but in the end I got 78 marks and he emailed me something very nice after the marks came out (calling me "a talented student who can think and write better than most students at the university" hahah). So I hope he wouldn't say anything bad (and I progressed to Jones Day interview following his submission of a reference), but the worry is always there!

That is actually a lovely story - my previous career was in academia, so I can provide some insight.

1. Most work is submitted very close to deadlines. He won't even remember yours was almost late.
2. Huge compliments to take away from this - your 78 grade and the lovely comment he sent you clearly meant he saw your potential. I would always make sure I told my exceptionally talented students that they were exceptionally talented. It was the best part of the job and I always meant it.
3. Marking a dissertation where you can award a high first is a huge pleasure. It makes a massive change from wading through the majority of other assignments, which are mostly not that amazing.
4. Based on points 1, 2 & 3, you have nothing to worry about.

 

[Mxkry]

When did you do yours? I did mine on 19th January and haven't heard back yet! A friend of mine who did it after me got rejected already so idk whats the process.

Did mine on the 27th of January so only a 2-week wait so far lol. I kinda bombed the interview and the written exercise so not expecting the best, but you never know!

 

[Samantha]

Anyone heard from Macfarlanes in awhile?

 

[Jxmxs00]

Anyone heard from Macfarlanes in awhile?

My friend got PFOed last week, presuming you're talking about application stage

 

[Jessica Booker]

Thank you - it's so helpful to have someone with your insight on here. And, for the employer checks (not our provided references), what happens if they won't respond? I'm currently having issues with someone just not responding to a request for a reference and there doesn't seem to be any way to compel someone to respond.

Have been posting about this a lot recently. The ideal is to get it from the company. But sometimes the company doesn't respond and so they look for alternative means to confirm the employment. There's various ways they can approach that - getting a more personal reference from someone reputable to confirm your employment at that time (e.g. a colleague) or for you to provide documentation that confirms the employment did happen.

This recently happened with me and a recruitment agency I had worked through. They said they had no record of me which was crazy! So I provided the reference check company with correspondence that confirmed the contract (which confirmed the agency should know who I was) and bank statements to show the period of time I had been paid by them (which demostrates length of service beyond the initial contract).

Ultimately how much a reference check company/team will place on how important that specific information is depends on your profile and the experience they are struggling to get the details from. If it is a more substanital piece of work experience, in a more comparable employer setting, more recent, or a job that is more comparable to the one you are applying to, they will care about it more and will strive to get full details/confirmation of it. With my example above, it was 5 and a half years ago, and although substantial in other ways (9-10 months, very senior role/experience), the reference company had received all my other references for the past 7 years with no problems and everything else added up. And so when I could show the agency employed me for at least 9 months based on the payments received into my bank account, and provided the signed contract I had, the reference company didn't really care that the agency didn't provide a reference. It might have been different if that was my only employment.

 

[LegalNim]

When that happened to me in my previous career, the firm asked for an alternative referee.

View attachment 2799

Thank you. I meant that Jessica has previously said that they'll check all our employment history for a certain period of time prior to our application and check it ties in with what we've written in our application. What happens if the employer won't confirm anything? Doesn't that negate the whole process if they just give you the benefit of the doubt unless someone actively says "this person did not work for me".

 

[Sam55]

anyone still waiting to hear back post weil ac? I had mine on 20th jan

 

[Polyglot]

Thank you. I meant that Jessica has previously said that they'll check all our employment history for a certain period of time prior to our application and check it ties in with what we've written in our application. What happens if the employer won't confirm anything? Doesn't that negate the whole process if they just give you the benefit of the doubt unless someone actively says "this person did not work for me".

Have been posting about this a lot recently. The ideal is to get it from the company. But sometimes the company doesn't respond and so they look for alternative means to confirm the employment. There's various ways they can approach that - getting a more personal reference from someone reputable to confirm your employment at that time (e.g. a colleague) or for you to provide documentation that confirms the employment did happen.

This recently happened with me and a recruitment agency I had worked through. They said they had no record of me which was crazy! So I provided the reference check company with correspondence that confirmed the contract (which confirmed the agency should know who I was) and bank statements to show the period of time I had been paid by them (which demostrates length of service beyond the initial contract).

Ultimately how much a reference check company/team will place on how important that specific information is depends on your profile and the experience they are struggling to get the details from. If it is a more substanital piece of work experience, in a more comparable employer setting, more recent, or a job that is more comparable to the one you are applying to, they will care about it more and will strive to get full details/confirmation of it. With my example above, it was 5 and a half years ago, and although substantial in other ways (9-10 months, very senior role/experience), the reference company had received all my other references for the past 7 years with no problems and everything else added up. And so when I could show the agency employed me for at least 9 months based on the payments received into my bank account, and provided the signed contract I had, the reference company didn't really care that the agency didn't provide a reference. It might have been different if that was my only employment.

I think Jess pretty much covered this just as you were typing your message

 

[Emily Kate]

Hi - I'm doing Weil's VI this weekend and can't seem to find out much information about it, does anyone know the questions they are asking this year?