Hi, personally I would suggest that this question is asking about 'why commercial law' as well as what's been discussed.
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- Thread starter Jacob Miller
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Hi, personally I would suggest that this question is asking about 'why commercial law' as well as what's been discussed.
No problem! I think why commercial law indirectly ties into the question as you'll be showing why through your answer to why OC (aka why you find their work as a commercial law firm particularly interesting). You'll also be showing your understanding and interest of the role of a commercial solicitor through the skills element. So I do think it indirectly ties in quite nicely as Jacob said
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Hi @Jacob Miller
I hope you are doing well.
I have been reading some of your responses and you have been amazing so far working for TCLA. Your answers are so honest and genuine, it gives a refreshing and real response to questions.
I am applying to Travers Smith's Summer VS and hope you can answer the following questions.
Btw these are the app questions: CL; Please give details of your main extra-curricular activities and leisure interests; Please give details of any positions of responsibility and achievements or awards at school, university or elsewhere
1) Do TS hold cv blind interviews or will interviewers read candidates' applications beforehand
2) Ok so CL is why com law, why TS, why me. I have included why me throughout the first two parts and sometimes when I answer why me I use EC activities and that stuff but that is already a question itself. As I don't want to repeat, should I just do the why me but with the embedded parts of why com law and why TS only.
3) In your opinion, what differentiates TS from other firms. I think the international approach (partner firms) is one but how can I show my interest in training at TS. I am kind of a social guy and perform better with in person activities and speaking so how can I demonstrate this on the app.
I hope you are doing well.
I have been reading some of your responses and you have been amazing so far working for TCLA. Your answers are so honest and genuine, it gives a refreshing and real response to questions.
I am applying to Travers Smith's Summer VS and hope you can answer the following questions.
Btw these are the app questions: CL; Please give details of your main extra-curricular activities and leisure interests; Please give details of any positions of responsibility and achievements or awards at school, university or elsewhere
1) Do TS hold cv blind interviews or will interviewers read candidates' applications beforehand
2) Ok so CL is why com law, why TS, why me. I have included why me throughout the first two parts and sometimes when I answer why me I use EC activities and that stuff but that is already a question itself. As I don't want to repeat, should I just do the why me but with the embedded parts of why com law and why TS only.
3) In your opinion, what differentiates TS from other firms. I think the international approach (partner firms) is one but how can I show my interest in training at TS. I am kind of a social guy and perform better with in person activities and speaking so how can I demonstrate this on the app.
Hi Dwight,
First of all- thanks for the kind words! I really appreciate it.
I'll go through your questions chronologically to try and keep everything nice and clear:
1) I have to be completely honest and say that I can't quite remember- I've checked back through my old emails too but no dice unfortunately. I have a vague memory that my interviewer had maybe read my cover letter but not CV, but I wouldn't take this as gospel. One of the nice things about the Travers interview is that you're informed in advance who your interviewer is
2) I'm slightly unclear on what you mean here. The general approach I would suggest with the CL in terms of the 'three whys' would be that the 'why me' would be more spread throughout, with relevant examples as you see fit; that's obviously in some contrast to the other two whys which, in my experience, lend themselves more to being quite specific, obvious sections of the piece.
3) There are various things that make Travers unique. As you mention, their international strategy is a common talking point here but there are others. I would really say, though, that showing interest in training there in your application should be based on things that you find genuinely exciting or engaging. As such, I would probably suggest some more general research to find what these are for you - at the end of the day, you'll find different things more or less exciting than I will, it's not that either of those are wrong, they're just different. In terms of feeling like it can be harder to express yourself in the written application than in person at an interview etc, I can sympathise. Generally speaking, the core bit of advice I would really give is to try as hard as you can to let your personality really shine through the written application: Grad Rec want to get to know as much about you as a whole so you're more of a known quantity even before interview!
Very best of luck with your application
Hi Dwight,
First of all- thanks for the kind words! I really appreciate it.
I'll go through your questions chronologically to try and keep everything nice and clear:
1) I have to be completely honest and say that I can't quite remember- I've checked back through my old emails too but no dice unfortunately. I have a vague memory that my interviewer had maybe read my cover letter but not CV, but I wouldn't take this as gospel. One of the nice things about the Travers interview is that you're informed in advance who your interviewer is
2) I'm slightly unclear on what you mean here. The general approach I would suggest with the CL in terms of the 'three whys' would be that the 'why me' would be more spread throughout, with relevant examples as you see fit; that's obviously in some contrast to the other two whys which, in my experience, lend themselves more to being quite specific, obvious sections of the piece.
3) There are various things that make Travers unique. As you mention, their international strategy is a common talking point here but there are others. I would really say, though, that showing interest in training there in your application should be based on things that you find genuinely exciting or engaging. As such, I would probably suggest some more general research to find what these are for you - at the end of the day, you'll find different things more or less exciting than I will, it's not that either of those are wrong, they're just different. In terms of feeling like it can be harder to express yourself in the written application than in person at an interview etc, I can sympathise. Generally speaking, the core bit of advice I would really give is to try as hard as you can to let your personality really shine through the written application: Grad Rec want to get to know as much about you as a whole so you're more of a known quantity even before interview!
Very best of luck with your application
Thank you for this!
For 2) I meant that atm I have the "why me" throughout but have two more points about why me that cannot be linked to the first two parts. Is it ok to have a separate last part just on why me in addition to the why me bits linked to why com law and why TS?
Further, what are the key qualities/competencies that TS look for in a trainee. Looked everywhere and cant find them.
EDIT: how much is too much words for the CL? Is 850-900 too much? Same question for other app questions.
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Thanks for clarifying.
To be honest with you, there isn't a hard and fast rule as to what is right or wrong in the cover letter. If you feel the points you have are relevant and appropriate, go for it; similarly, if you feel that there are other things you ought to discuss in their place, then reconsider. The written application should be representative of what you personally feel is the right content to include and where you feel the emphasis should be focussed!
In regards key qualities/ competencies, I generally feel that these are pretty universal and should more be related to how each quality/ competency fits in with part of the given firm's model/ approach in a given area.
Finally, in re the cover letter length, again it's a measure of what you feel is necessary. Personally, the actual content of mine was about 1.5 pages, paragraphed and size 12 font for reference. Some people feel you shouldn't go over a page; in my opinion, the key metric shouldn't abstractly be how long it is but more whether everything contained within it is put in as concise and clear a manner as possible.
Hello! Thank you all very much for this thread
I was just wondering how you'd approach the interview question: what are your long-term career ambitions?
I think there are quite obvious things like becoming a qualified solicitor at the firm, working on client matters etc. but I was wondering how specific you should be with these answers (e.g. should I mention the type of seats I think I would like to try out) as I am open-minded about trying out different seats but at the same time I'm afraid of sounding too generic/vague.
Thank you again!! This thread has been really helpful!
I was just wondering how you'd approach the interview question: what are your long-term career ambitions?
I think there are quite obvious things like becoming a qualified solicitor at the firm, working on client matters etc. but I was wondering how specific you should be with these answers (e.g. should I mention the type of seats I think I would like to try out) as I am open-minded about trying out different seats but at the same time I'm afraid of sounding too generic/vague.
Thank you again!! This thread has been really helpful!
Hi guys! I was wondering if you might have any tips on how to speak more conversationally in interviews? To prevent myself from waffling, I've been rehearsing my answers quite a number of times but I've begun to sound a little robotic and less natural (based on the practice interviews I've been doing with my friends). Any advice would be extremely helpful!
To prevent myself from waffling, I've been rehearsing my answers quite a number of times but I've begun to sound a little robotic and less natural (based on the practice interviews I've been doing with my friends). Any advice would be extremely helpful!
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Hi Nina,Hello! Thank you all very much for this thread
I was just wondering how you'd approach the interview question: what are your long-term career ambitions?
I think there are quite obvious things like becoming a qualified solicitor at the firm, working on client matters etc. but I was wondering how specific you should be with these answers (e.g. should I mention the type of seats I think I would like to try out) as I am open-minded about trying out different seats but at the same time I'm afraid of sounding too generic/vague.
Thank you again!! This thread has been really helpful!
Great question! This can often be somewhat intimidating as you want to balance ambition etc with not seeming presumptuous etc. I would tend to say that the overarching thing here is that your answer has to be authentic, so it should be based genuinely on what your ambitions are. In terms of mentioning types of seats etc, again it's a bit of a personal thing. One thing to be absolutely sure of, whatever the firm, is that they have a practice area in that seat- I would also tend to advise making sure these are aligned with the firm's focus (i.e. if they're a massive private equity firm then you probably wouldn't want to talk too much about litigation if they only have a small litigation practice). Personally, I was always very truthful in this answer: My gut instinct is that I'm more interested in transactional work (maybe with a private equity focus) but I'm generally open-minded and wouldn't shut any doors.
@Naomi U @Jacob Miller
Thanks again for your response. Last question on this- do you think talking about diversity and inclusion is appropriate here (I’ve mentioned it in my other applications when answering why the firm) or do you think I should prioritise the word count on firms practise areas/strategies instead given that I also have to answer the skills I have within this question.
Thanks,
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I sympathise with this! As someone who practiced interview responses hundreds of times over, this is an issue that I ran into before.Hi guys! I was wondering if you might have any tips on how to speak more conversationally in interviews?
What I did to try and compensate for it was, instead of actually scripting a full answer, to write key bullet points for all the points I needed to hit and, when practicing, making sure my response was slightly different each time while hitting all my key points. I found that helped me come over more naturally and took away some of the contrived feeling of a scripted answer. It also made me much less anxious about being 'knocked off script' by a follow-up question or whatever, and also made me feel like I had less to 'remember' heading into the interview so I was much more relaxed.
hi guys, i wondered how long you think an interview answer should be for 'why do you want to work here?' I have written 5 reasons, all with quite long explanations and i'm worried its a bit much / will take too long to speak about everything. Also - if i've already answered the question on my app form, should i repeat the points i've already made in slightly more detail? Thanks!
Personally here, I would focus first and foremost on fee-earning stuff like practice areas, strategies etc, and then D&I secondarily. D&I is absolutely a great thing to mention, but remember that a lot of firms have D&I efforts now so make sure that any references you do make to D&I are specific to that firm.
Hard to be super specific here, it depends on hundreds of factors. Typically, my answers to the 'three why's' (why comm. law, why us, why you) would be longer than most of my other answers- I wouldn't suggest speaking for more than three to five minutes though. In terms of referencing things you've mentioned in your app, I would expand on them slightly but try and focus on bringing new material to the interview to supplement this.
Thanks!! Also - I once had an interview where they asked what skills I could bring / why I thought I was suited to the role so I started talking about teamwork in the STAR technique. Then later on they asked me a teamwork competency question and I felt as though I was repeating my answer. Any advice here? Should I have avoided a STAR answer in response to the former question? Thanks for your help!
I think the key here is to bring forth a variety of skills/ reasons for a question like the first one. Yes, teamwork is important but firms also need someone who can show leadership/ self-start/ self-direct/ use various other skills which, in an answer to a question like the first one you mention, would give a much more multi-dimensional answer than just to discuss teamwork.
I would also have more than one example for various key competencies like teamwork so that, even if there is overlap in answers, you can give more than one example.
Personally I feel that the STAR structure is generally best-suited towards competency questions, but I think the key idea that it carries of breaking down examples into a clear 'situation, cause and effect' type structure is fairly universal to maximising the impact of any example you use to back up any question.
Thanks this is helpful - if you feel as though STAR is not the best approach as it is not a competency, would you give briefer evidence in an answer to the question 'what can you bring to the role'?
To me, a more 'what can you bring to the role' would encourage me to break down groups of skills which relate to each of the key competencies the firm looks for (if it specifies them- if it doesn't, just the sort of competencies expected from a trainee in general). From there, I would go through and exemplify a time I've displayed each of those skills without necessarily doing a full STAR as it would begin to really drag on at that point.
Hello! Thank you all very much for this thread
I was just wondering how you'd approach the interview question: what are your long-term career ambitions?
I think there are quite obvious things like becoming a qualified solicitor at the firm, working on client matters etc. but I was wondering how specific you should be with these answers (e.g. should I mention the type of seats I think I would like to try out) as I am open-minded about trying out different seats but at the same time I'm afraid of sounding too generic/vague.
Thank you again!! This thread has been really helpful!
Hi @nina_123
No problem glad to help!
I don't think there's really a right or wrong answer per se. I think if I was approaching this question I would respond as you suggested by focusing on an area I find particularly interesting and maybe explain the type of work I hope to take on and why e.g. anticipated changes in that practice area or industry/ global nature etc,
I don't think there is any harm at all in showing interest in a specific area especially if this is one of the firm's key areas but even if it's not! You could start by saying something like " I am quite open-minded right now, but I would hope to xyz"
Hope this helps!
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