2020-21 Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion

[Andrew M]

Oh my god did I recall people posting Drag Race on here

That would be me

 

[Lily721]

Yes - I’ll do this now, apologies for the delay!

Thank you!

 

[Celestie]

That would be me

Dead at some memes I found of HP - will pm you. But looking to start the show!!! Should I start at season 1?

 

[S87]

Not Macfarlanes asking for a whole dissertation christ

Have you had a look at Fried Frank app or Bakers?

 

[Celestie]

Have you had a look at Fried Frank app or Bakers?

No? And do I want to?

 

[Andrew M]

Dead at some memes I found of HP - will pm you. But looking to start the show!!! Should I start at season 1?

Season ones a bit meh. 2 and 3 are entertaining. I started with season 4 and I still think 4-6 are the best the show has given. The two UK ones are on par with those too though.

 

[whisperingrock]

Season ones a bit meh. 2 and 3 are entertaining. I started with season 4 and I still think 4-6 are the best the show has given. The two UK ones are on par with those too though.

All stars two is the best of all. Absolutely legendary television.

 

[Matt_96]

Not Macfarlanes asking for a whole dissertation christ

I went back through my (successful--at least to AC) direct TC app there from last year and put everything together in one doc. Calculated I wrote like 2000 words not including work experience!

 

[Jacob Miller]

How long does it take to prepare for an (NRF) AC? This is my first, just for context.

Also, I was asked to complete a SWIFT test (by "Saville Consulting") and apparently "The results of this test will not have any impact on your assessment day, or the outcome." So then what is this test? I am very confused with being asked to take it? Are all candidates sent this test?

@Dheepa @Jacob Miller would really appreciate your input here having completed an NRF VS!

Hey Dwight,

In re the SWIFT test, this really is nothing to worry about - for admin reasons i actually ended up doing mine after my VS offer was made!

In re prep for the AC, it's almost impossible to give a firm answer. I actually discussed this quite recently - have a look here - and basically what I'd say is that it depends on about a billion factors! Have a think about all these relative to yourself and start to draw conclusions from there.

 

[PositiveVibesOnly]

How long does it take to prepare for an (NRF) AC? This is my first, just for context.

Also, I was asked to complete a SWIFT test (by "Saville Consulting") and apparently "The results of this test will not have any impact on your assessment day, or the outcome." So then what is this test? I am very confused with being asked to take it? Are all candidates sent this test?

@Dheepa @Jacob Miller would really appreciate your input here having completed an NRF VS!

I did the SWIFT prior to their Winter Vac last year (edit* this was actually 2019 but my concept of time is clearly out due to the pandemic! at the disco) (believe I actually did it post AC) and it genuinely never came up again so not sure at all how they utilise it

 

[Andrew M]

All stars two is the best of all. Absolutely legendary television.

AS2 is obviously good but you wouldn't start with it. And I personally don't think it tops 4-6. I'd put it just behind them. I'm a little harsh on it because I thought it was a bit *too* obviously rigged.

 

[whisperingrock]

AS2 is obviously good but you wouldn't start with it. And I personally don't think it tops 4-6. I'd put it just behind them. I'm a little harsh on it because I thought it was a bit *too* obviously rigged.

 

[Andrew M]

No disrespect to the person who won - she deserved it. But they literally set it up so that it was a popularity contest, and half the competition was friends with her. And there were episodes when she should have been pulled up for things and wasn't. Basically they made it look like she did much better than she really did.

I think the producers fixing these narratives, rather than letting the show unfold organically, is the reason the past few series have disappointed fans, to honest.

 

[Asil Ahmad]

Have you had a look at Fried Frank app or Bakers?

Bakers Mckenzie application was not bad this year. TW is really long and Frarr and Co is long

 

[whisperingrock]

No disrespect to the person who won - she deserved it. But they literally set it up so that it was a popularity contest, and half the competition was friends with her. And there were episodes when she should have been pulled up for things and wasn't. Basically they made it look like she did much better than she really did.

I think the producers fixing these narratives, rather than letting the show unfold organically, is the reason the past few series have disappointed fans, to honest.

Oh I fully agree. I just found it incredibly entertaining.

 

[Adrian_Healey]

How do people tackle the ‘what’s a historic event you’d like to witness’ question? I got PFO’ed from 2 firms asking this (I know lol) that I was otherwise quite confident with.

My answers were about Alexander the Great and how some of his issues still relate to us today. I chose this because I’m a STEM grad and wanted to show I’m curious about other things and just generally admire him/can talk about him in an interview.

Was this a bad approach? And no I didn’t link it back to the firms for this particular question..

 

[AJLegacy]

Does anyone know how many takes you have for the Mishcon VI?

 

[Jacob Miller]

How do people tackle the ‘what’s a historic event you’d like to witness’ question? I got PFO’ed from 2 firms asking this (I know lol) that I was quite confident with.

My answers were about Alexander the Great and how some of his issues still relate to us today. I chose this because I’m a STEM grad and wanted to show I’m curious about other things and just generally admire him/can talk about him in an interview.

This is a super interesting question! I've never actually been asked it, but I would approach it with a few key principles in mind:

1. The firm is far less interested in the particular example you choose, and much more interested in the reasons and justifications you give and, most importantly, your ability to back up your reasoning if pushed
2. Authenticity in an answer like this is key: talk about something you're genuinely interested in rather than feeling like it has to be legal/ 'prove something' etc
3. The answer doesn't have to be legal/ relate to the firm, etc, but I think it does necessitate a 'basis' - try and tie it to something to add gravitas to your justification
4. Pick 2-3 key justifications rather than taking a scatter-gun approach

I think I would choose VE day, personally. Often thought it would be amazing to experience it - it's remembered as a day of joy and celebration now, but I've got a gut feeling that it would probably have been more relief and sadness, in many ways. Either that, or the Battle of Passchendaele - my great grandpa served in it was was wounded in battle (shot in the head, but survived, minor miracle in those days!) - I think having the opportunity to be a fly on the wall would bring me a lot closer to the lived experiences of my ancestors.

 

[Legalmel_99]

I applied to travers got the email other day saying they will get back to me, I’ve just seen a spelling error which now makes more sense why I’ve not heard back since I applied in November 😅 others have heard back and done the whole process I am definitely assuming PFO but congratulations to everyone who’s got onto the VS! ❤️

 

[JoeF]

Hi all, for the BCLP situational judgement/WG test, did people receive email confirmation after completing it?