Ashurst - Winter Vacation Scheme 2023

[Erin]

An opportunity to undertake a vacation scheme at the firm, commencing in 2023.

The firm will be running a one-week vacation scheme from 4 December to 8 December 2023.

Apply here by 12pm GMT on 29 September 2023.

 

[FCL25]

Hi,

I am currently filling out the personal statement section of this application and there seems to be an overlap between Question 1 and 2 in regards to ‘Why Ashurst?’

I’m assuming question 2 (‘Tell us why you are applying to Ashurst and what you know about the firm in 250 words’) requires a more detailed explanation than Q1 but should I just leave this out of Q1? Don’t see the need to repeat my reasons twice especially considering the tight word limits!

 

[Jaysen]

Hi,

I am currently filling out the personal statement section of this application and there seems to be an overlap between Question 1 and 2 in regards to ‘Why Ashurst?’

I’m assuming question 2 (‘Tell us why you are applying to Ashurst and what you know about the firm in 250 words’) requires a more detailed explanation than Q1 but should I just leave this out of Q1? Don’t see the need to repeat my reasons twice especially considering the tight word limits!

It is tricky when the application questions are repeated! You're absolutely right - Question 2 is an opportunity to provide more detail to your reasons for applying to Ashurst and be very very specific about what you know about the firm to back this up (especially given this is phrased in the question).

In most of the applications we are seeing at the moment, candidates are identifying different reasons for applying in question two, but this doesn't have to be the case (as long as you aren't saying the exact same thing, it would make sense if there was some overlap).

 

[F12M34L]

It is tricky when the application questions are repeated! You're absolutely right - Question 2 is an opportunity to provide more detail to your reasons for applying to Ashurst and be very very specific about what you know about the firm to back this up (especially given this is phrased in the question).

In most of the applications we are seeing at the moment, candidates are identifying different reasons for applying in question two, but this doesn't have to be the case (as long as you aren't saying the exact same thing, it would make sense if there was some overlap).

Is it okay to show some extra-circular activities/hobbies in the personal statement to make it more personable?

 

[prospectiveswitcher]

It is tricky when the application questions are repeated! You're absolutely right - Question 2 is an opportunity to provide more detail to your reasons for applying to Ashurst and be very very specific about what you know about the firm to back this up (especially given this is phrased in the question).

In most of the applications we are seeing at the moment, candidates are identifying different reasons for applying in question two, but this doesn't have to be the case (as long as you aren't saying the exact same thing, it would make sense if there was some overlap).

@FCL25 In another thread someone said they asked grad rec in an online event about this, and they said #1 should be more focused on 'why you, why law' and #2 should be more focused on the firm.

 

[lawyergirl]

I was wondering for Q1, should we talk about ourselves and then link it to why we would be a good fit for the scheme? For example, why a certain hobby makes me a good candidate? Or should we simply speak about our hobbies/extracurriculars as they are?

 

[Jaysen]

Is it okay to show some extra-circular activities/hobbies in the personal statement to make it more personable?

Absolutely - particularly if you are using this to tell the firm about yourself and your skills.

 

[Jaysen]

@FCL25 In another thread someone said they asked grad rec in an online event about this, and they said #1 should be more focused on 'why you, why law' and #2 should be more focused on the firm.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Jaysen]

I was wondering for Q1, should we talk about ourselves and then link it to why we would be a good fit for the scheme? For example, why a certain hobby makes me a good candidate? Or should we simply speak about our hobbies/extracurriculars as they are?

I would think of the question as an opportunity to focus on you, your noteworthy achievements, skills and motivations.

Whether you link your experiences to Ashurst generally depends on the experience. There are some experiences you may want to discuss because it demonstrates what skills you would bring to Ashurst, whereas there are some experiences that can serve to provide a deeper insight into you, your personality and what passions you have.

The only thing I would avoid is forcing a link to Ashurst for the sake of it. This is usually obvious because candidates will mention an experience and then mention Ashurst in an unconnected way.

 

[F12M34L]

Thanks for sharing!

I would think of the question as an opportunity to focus on you, your noteworthy achievements, skills and motivations.

Whether you link your experiences to Ashurst generally depends on the experience. There are some experiences you may want to discuss because it demonstrates what skills you would bring to Ashurst, whereas there are some experiences that can serve to provide a deeper insight into you, your personality and what passions you have.

The only thing I would avoid is forcing a link to Ashurst for the sake of it. This is usually obvious because candidates will mention an experience and then mention Ashurst in an unconnected way.

This is so insightful @Jaysen - thanks for sharing.

 

[lawyergirl]

I would think of the question as an opportunity to focus on you, your noteworthy achievements, skills and motivations.

Whether you link your experiences to Ashurst generally depends on the experience. There are some experiences you may want to discuss because it demonstrates what skills you would bring to Ashurst, whereas there are some experiences that can serve to provide a deeper insight into you, your personality and what passions you have.

The only thing I would avoid is forcing a link to Ashurst for the sake of it. This is usually obvious because candidates will mention an experience and then mention Ashurst in an unconnected way.

Lovely, thank you!!!

 

[FCL25]

for those who have completed the 3 online psychometric tests, how did you find it? I don’t think I did as well as I could have because of how fast some of the questions flew by.

Also, does anyone know how much weight these tests hold when reviewing our applications?

 

[Patrick Milovic]

for those who have completed the 3 online psychometric tests, how did you find it? I don’t think I did as well as I could have because of how fast some of the questions flew by.

Also, does anyone know how much weight these tests hold when reviewing our application

for those who have completed the 3 online psychometric tests, how did you find it? I don’t think I did as well as I could have because of how fast some of the questions flew by.

Also, does anyone know how much weight these tests hold when reviewing our applications?

do you recommend any specific preparation ahead of the 3 tests?

 

[Jaysen]

Just one thing to flag as more Ashurst applications come in! For the question: 'In 250 words tell us what a commercial lawyer does':

I am reading a lot of answers where candidates are mentioning the same thing, along the lines of 'A commercial lawyer can be broken up into a transactional lawyer or a disputes lawyer'.

I'm not sure if this is because people are getting this from the same source, but it's something to keep in mind that this is being repeated in the application forms. You might want to take a step back and think about the broader role of commercial lawyers in the commercial world (and use specific evidence to back this up).

 

[Jessica Booker]

My advice for the question Jaysen has referenced above is “what is a lawyer’s purpose” and you might get to the crux of what the question is asking of you.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Just one thing to flag as more Ashurst applications come in! For the question: 'In 250 words tell us what a commercial lawyer does':

I am reading a lot of answers where candidates are mentioning the same thing, along the lines of 'A commercial lawyer can be broken up into a transactional lawyer or a disputes lawyer'.

I'm not sure if this is because people are getting this from the same source, but it's something to keep in mind that this is being repeated in the application forms. You might want to take a step back and think about the broader role of commercial lawyers in the commercial world (and use specific evidence to back this up).

This also completely misses advisory lawyers! So many lawyers are no transactional or disputes aligned!

I don’t think you need to categorise lawyers for this answer though. Think more about what are the common themes across these different categories.’.

 

[lawyergirl]

Hi everyone,

Just wondering if anyone knows when the psychometric assessments are sent to you after having sent the application off?

 

[prospectiveswitcher]

Just one thing to flag as more Ashurst applications come in! For the question: 'In 250 words tell us what a commercial lawyer does':

I am reading a lot of answers where candidates are mentioning the same thing, along the lines of 'A commercial lawyer can be broken up into a transactional lawyer or a disputes lawyer'.

I'm not sure if this is because people are getting this from the same source, but it's something to keep in mind that this is being repeated in the application forms. You might want to take a step back and think about the broader role of commercial lawyers in the commercial world (and use specific evidence to back this up).

Oh interesting, this is also exactly what I said but it was genuinely off the top of my head, I did not leverage any 'sources'.

My advice for the question Jaysen has referenced above is “what is a lawyer’s purpose” and you might get to the crux of what the question is asking of you.

I'm hoping I covered some ground here by referencing in a holistic / conceptual way what lawyers do for clients too (I mentioned things like effectively allocating risk, seeking out best interests of clients, being commercial as well as legal advisers?) along with the specifics of contentious / transactional work 😬 but a bit nervous if that answer was being rolled out by many.

 

[lawyergirl]

Hi everyone,

Just wondering if anyone knows when the psychometric assessments are sent to you after having sent the application off?

I've just completed the tests and they went so bad it's almost laughable :/

 

[KGNines]

I've just completed the tests and they went so bad it's almost laughable :/

You never know with these tests, it might have gone better than you thought! Out of curiosity, how long did it take for you to receive an invite for the tests after submitting your application?