A bit lost after second year vac schemes

[GGLove]

Hi everyone,

Over the summer, I did two vacation schemes, one at an MC firm, the other at a regional firm's London office.

I got rejected from the MC's scheme, and the regional firm is not one that I feel particularly strongly about (the firm was quiet, nice, unexceptional, and left me feeling a bit dead inside). I see myself turning that firm down.

I therefore wanted to ask you guys a couple of questions about re-applying, if that's okay:

- Will the fact that I did two schemes count against me when I reapply in third year? Would it help if I explained that one firm rejected me and the other gave me an offer I turned down?

- Should I be aiming towards other MCs or good SCs this year? My grades are at a high 2:1 level (4/8 Firsts across first and second year, 68 average).

- What other work experience etc. should I be doing between now and October to improve my position?

- Are winter schemes a waste of time vs the full summer schemes? Should I apply for them?

- By when should I be sending in applications for 2019 summer schemes? They do say 'as early as possible', but I don't know whether that's a thing haha.

I'll obviously be putting in a lot of time reflecting upon this summer and preparing apps for next year, but I'm hoping to maximise my chances of getting something this time round.

Thanks in advance for all comments and advice. Much appreciated!

GGLove

 

[jess889]

Hi everyone,

Over the summer, I did two vacation schemes, one at an MC firm, the other at a regional firm's London office.

I got rejected from the MC's scheme, and the regional firm is not one that I feel particularly strongly about (the firm was quiet, nice, unexceptional, and left me feeling a bit dead inside). I see myself turning that firm down.

I therefore wanted to ask you guys a couple of questions about re-applying, if that's okay:

- Will the fact that I did two schemes count against me when I reapply in third year? Would it help if I explained that one firm rejected me and the other gave me an offer I turned down?

- Should I be aiming towards other MCs or good SCs this year? My grades are at a high 2:1 level (4/8 Firsts across first and second year, 68 average).

- What other work experience etc. should I be doing between now and October to improve my position?

- Are winter schemes a waste of time vs the full summer schemes? Should I apply for them?

- By when should I be sending in applications for 2019 summer schemes? They do say 'as early as possible', but I don't know whether that's a thing haha.

I'll obviously be putting in a lot of time reflecting upon this summer and preparing apps for next year, but I'm hoping to maximise my chances of getting something this time round.

Thanks in advance for all comments and advice. Much appreciated!

GGLove

I was in a similar position to you last year. I did two vacation schemes, although I was rejected by both for a training contract. On the whole, I think that has helped a lot for this year. I get the impression, law firms take me as a more credible candidate (although it may also be because I have more practice now).

Only once do I think it didn't look as good, and that was because they asked me why I didn't take those schemes and I had to explain I didn't get both - but you'll have a better answer to that. The other thing I was say is to prepare to answer why you did vacation schemes at a regional firm and then a magic circle firm - that's something I had to justify after doing a scheme at a UK firm and then a US firm.

I don't think you'll have a problem applying to MC firms with your grades - I interviewed at two this year and your grades are better than mine.

 

[Jaxkw]

Hi everyone,

Over the summer, I did two vacation schemes, one at an MC firm, the other at a regional firm's London office.

I got rejected from the MC's scheme, and the regional firm is not one that I feel particularly strongly about (the firm was quiet, nice, unexceptional, and left me feeling a bit dead inside). I see myself turning that firm down.

I therefore wanted to ask you guys a couple of questions about re-applying, if that's okay:

- Will the fact that I did two schemes count against me when I reapply in third year? Would it help if I explained that one firm rejected me and the other gave me an offer I turned down?

- Should I be aiming towards other MCs or good SCs this year? My grades are at a high 2:1 level (4/8 Firsts across first and second year, 68 average).

- What other work experience etc. should I be doing between now and October to improve my position?

- Are winter schemes a waste of time vs the full summer schemes? Should I apply for them?

- By when should I be sending in applications for 2019 summer schemes? They do say 'as early as possible', but I don't know whether that's a thing haha.

I'll obviously be putting in a lot of time reflecting upon this summer and preparing apps for next year, but I'm hoping to maximise my chances of getting something this time round.

Thanks in advance for all comments and advice. Much appreciated!

GGLove

What did you mean by feeling dead inside from the regional firm? Was it just boring?

In that interview with the guy who did six vacation schemes, I remember him saying that because Winter schemes are open to graduates and career changers as well as students, the competition is higher, so he didn't expect much from his scheme then. When I did a Winter scheme, the quality definitely felt higher than a summer scheme I did - the schemers were older as opposed to second years and a few of them had done schemes already. I wouldn't rule it out at all, but it's probably worth taking into account.

 

[GGLove]

I was in a similar position to you last year. I did two vacation schemes, although I was rejected by both for a training contract. On the whole, I think that has helped a lot for this year. I get the impression, law firms take me as a more credible candidate (although it may also be because I have more practice now).

Only once do I think it didn't look as good, and that was because they asked me why I didn't take those schemes and I had to explain I didn't get both - but you'll have a better answer to that. The other thing I was say is to prepare to answer why you did vacation schemes at a regional firm and then a magic circle firm - that's something I had to justify after doing a scheme at a UK firm and then a US firm.

I don't think you'll have a problem applying to MC firms with your grades - I interviewed at two this year and your grades are better than mine.

Hey, thanksfor the input!

I have an explanation for both why I've turned down the regional firm and why I got rejected from the MC firm. I'll need to think about how to explain the fact that I applied to such different firms in the first place!

What did you mean by feeling dead inside from the regional firm? Was it just boring?

In that interview with the guy who did six vacation schemes, I remember him saying that because Winter schemes are open to graduates and career changers as well as students, the competition is higher, so he didn't expect much from his scheme then. When I did a Winter scheme, the quality definitely felt higher than a summer scheme I did - the schemers were older as opposed to second years and a few of them had done schemes already. I wouldn't rule it out at all, but it's probably worth taking into account.

Hi, I felt a bit dead inside because of a number of things: the 'quality' of the people and the amount of care they put into their work vs the MC firm, the fact that the office seemed to be a bit short of work with trainees and associates taking on jobs from other departments, the fact that the work itself was very boring, and the fact that no one seemed to particularly love the environment they were in. I left not really caring about the outcome of my application.

Thanks for the insight into the winter vacs - I don't need to do one urgently, so I'll probably only apply for one or two of them. It seems that most of the firms I'm considering don't mind taking on third year students for their summer vac scheme.

 

[Jaysen]

Hi everyone,

Over the summer, I did two vacation schemes, one at an MC firm, the other at a regional firm's London office.

I got rejected from the MC's scheme, and the regional firm is not one that I feel particularly strongly about (the firm was quiet, nice, unexceptional, and left me feeling a bit dead inside). I see myself turning that firm down.

I therefore wanted to ask you guys a couple of questions about re-applying, if that's okay:

- Will the fact that I did two schemes count against me when I reapply in third year? Would it help if I explained that one firm rejected me and the other gave me an offer I turned down?

- Should I be aiming towards other MCs or good SCs this year? My grades are at a high 2:1 level (4/8 Firsts across first and second year, 68 average).

- What other work experience etc. should I be doing between now and October to improve my position?

- Are winter schemes a waste of time vs the full summer schemes? Should I apply for them?

- By when should I be sending in applications for 2019 summer schemes? They do say 'as early as possible', but I don't know whether that's a thing haha.

I'll obviously be putting in a lot of time reflecting upon this summer and preparing apps for next year, but I'm hoping to maximise my chances of getting something this time round.

Thanks in advance for all comments and advice. Much appreciated!

GGLove

1. Having those vacation schemes on your application is a good thing. It tells recruiters that two law firms have already vetted you and decided you are good enough to be on their scheme. Just - as mentioned above - be prepared to explain your logic behind applying to two different firms.
2. Your grades/experience won't stop you from applying to either.
3. You already have some legal work experience to demonstrate your commitment to commercial law, so I suggest you go for something that interests you. That makes an interesting candidate and gives you something to talk about during your interviews.
4. Yes, you should apply for winter schemes - and also spring schemes. Either you can turn a scheme into a training contract or add another to your list.
5. Find out which law firms interview on a rolling basis. For those firms, you want to send your applications off early, or at least, not late. If you want to complete a winter vacation scheme first, so that you can mention it in your application form, then that's worth waiting for.

You're well on your way to securing a training contract in the next cycle. Above all, I suggest you focus on your applications. If you can nail that down, I don't see you struggling to secure interviews.

 

[Jaxkw]

Hey, thanksfor the input!

I have an explanation for both why I've turned down the regional firm and why I got rejected from the MC firm. I'll need to think about how to explain the fact that I applied to such different firms in the first place!


Hi, I felt a bit dead inside because of a number of things: the 'quality' of the people and the amount of care they put into their work vs the MC firm, the fact that the office seemed to be a bit short of work with trainees and associates taking on jobs from other departments, the fact that the work itself was very boring, and the fact that no one seemed to particularly love the environment they were in. I left not really caring about the outcome of my application.

Thanks for the insight into the winter vacs - I don't need to do one urgently, so I'll probably only apply for one or two of them. It seems that most of the firms I'm considering don't mind taking on third year students for their summer vac scheme.

Thanks for answering! That's part of the reason I'm far more keen on a bigger commercial firm/MC firm. I think it's definitely a work hard environment, but I also feel trainees get great responsibility, get to enjoy interesting work etc.. When I did work experience at some smaller outfits, I felt like a lot of the staff there were counting down the time each day, because they were waiting on work to come in and because they didn't really enjoy it!