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2020-21 Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion
- Thread starter Jaysen
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I normally just spend the day before prepping I’d say. I have the competency answers prepped from beforehand but regarding the technicals and motivational questions I just do them the day before. I found that doing not over preparing meant that I can have a conversation with the interviewer - I’d rather not know the answer and show the interviewer how I work it out rather than have a prepared answer for everything under the sun
haha I was thinking the same thing although, many people are in the same boat! Plus, they are interviewing a lot pf people so hopefully it's not all that bad!
I just try and do a little a day- prepping general interview questions but I think it depends how intense the AC is. If there's lots of different assessments I try and spend a few hours on each just to get a hang of it!
I work full time so I only really prep on the weekends! Might do a bit on the weekday evenings but pretty unlikely if my favourite soaps are on 😂
Dheepa
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Tripping up on one question or even multiple questions only to still make it to the AC stage is so common. It can be hard to not overthink every mistake or error but don’t count yourself out just yet!
This made me laugh - whos excited for Love Island to return!!!!!! 🤣
I only watch it to improve my commercial awareness ofc 🌚
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One time a law firm told me a full month in advance about my AC date and I still only started prepping about a week in advance haha. I’ve said this before but ACs are like exams and no matter how much you prep you’ll probably never feel 100% prepared, so do what’s feasible for you. I whole heartedly agree with the little each day comment someone made. Breaking up what you need to do in parts and being systematic with what you need to cover on each day is a really good way to make sure you’re doing everything you can in manageable chunks.
I don't think it's necessarily either because Reed Smith sent out similar emails before they started making interview offers- I think it's just that the firm wants to keep people updated on their reviewing process!
Is anyone still waiting for Mischon post-VI - I assume a PFO
yes I am! i think they said they will let us know within the next two weeks x
Jessica Booker
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Will vary from firm to firm. Some will do it in batches, some will just do it all in one go.
Keep an eye on time, maybe set an alarm for 10-15m bursts so you know when to move on.
Have a clear structure, with headings, simple language, don't write everything in a huge paragraph because that's annoying af to read.
Include everything they tell you to include, it's easy to skip out on a bullet point, so don't!
Brush up on your commercial knowledge beforehand, it will definitely help.
If it helps, have a Word doc open and write your answer into there, then paste it into their box.
DM me if you have any other questions, but hope that helps!
Just had to cancel my interview with Jones Day next week (because I'm in a very fortunate position where I've already secured a VS but work full time so realistically couldn't take anymore time off work) - who do I think I am 😩
Depends a lot!
Most AC's I've done, I've known about for 2 weeks or more in advance and I've probably prepped for 10 days, spending more and more time each day leading up to it.
My Norton Rose Fulbright AC was a bit different as I only found out 48-27 hours in advance, so it was a bit of a rush to try and work on everything. Got there in the end though and got the VS!
I tend to think, with any sort of prep/ revision etc, that working well and focussing on the right things in the time you have are more important than spending "a lot of time" working on it as a general rule. I probably got more done in 36 net hours of prep time than I did in 50-60 hours of prep time for other ACs because I had to go full steam ahead and seriously focus in on the stuff I had time to. For example, that meant focussing on firm-specific questions rather than general competencies or non-firm-focussed answers for the most part, streamlining my research, memorising key bullet points and factoids etc rather than the more 'rounded' prep that I'd have otherwise done.
There's no particular right or wrong for how much time you 'should' spend prepping because there are so many variable factors: concentration, distractions, how quick you learn, what style of learning you adopt, whether it's your brain's sole focus or whether you've got other stuff (uni/ other ACs etc) on the side, how much sleep/ coffee you've had etc etc. It is also possible to over-prep - give your brain too much to remember, try and learn scripts for whole answers, being too prescriptive in your prep to the point of being unable to deal with anything unexpected, etc. All these things can lead to you actually not functioning as well on the day as you know you can! It's mainly a gut instinct thing, you'll know it when you're there instinctively
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