Ask 4 future trainees ANYTHING! *New TCLA Team Members*

[rain2801]

Hi @rain2801 I definitely think you should still give it a shot. Firms have always cared a lot less about high school grades than about university performance, simply because that is most relevant to assessing your potential in the industry. They do not expect you to have always have a flawless academic record, and being able to show you have had struggles but managed to overcome them and then excel is certainly and attractive trait. And this has been a trend that has accelerated recently, with many firms significantly lowering or even dropping GCSE/A-levels requirements completely. Even those that have kept them in practice tend to treat them more as a 'soft expectations' than a mandatory field, as there are many examples of forum members who did not meet the A-level requirements of Magic Circle firms, but chose to still apply and ended up getting TCs.

Considering that you have more than made up for the final high school year performance by getting into a top law school (which you should definitely emphasize in your application, as recruiters may not be familiar with it - perhaps mention national rankings and admission statistics) and by getting top results there (again, if possible, quantify these with respect to your year group), I would not worry too much about them. This is even more the case since you have mitigating circumstances, even if not officially recognized by your institution. Simply explain the circumstances and why these weren't recorded in the system back home; this is an issue many international students face and recruiters will be familiar with it.

As for the 4 year gap, I once again do not think this is a significant impediment. Firstly, the work you have undertaken during this period will have built skills which you will definitely be able to leverage in your application - this will be an advantage compared to people who are applying straight out of university. Secondly, there are many more mature successful applicants than you would think, and age does not seem to play any part in firm's assessment of a candidate - in fact, in many circumstances age discrimination would be illegal. As a great example of success as a more mature applicant, @Ram Sabaratnam (one of our community assistants) actually only started applying in his early 30s and got a TC from Cooley!

In terms of advice, besides my usual line to focus on writing as many high quality applications as possible, there are two things I would mention specific to your circumstances: (i) make sure you provide a convincing explanation as to why you want to work in the UK even though you were educated and lived in a different country; and (ii) ensure you can explain how after high school and during your gap you became attracted to law and how your university experience confirmed this.

All the best with your applications and feel free to tag me with any further questions !

Thank you so much for this! It's quite encouraging to know this.

 

[hello123]

Hi @Amma Usman, I have been invited to a first stage interview with Gibson Dunn and I am very nervous as this will be my first ever. As the focus is mostly motivational and competency-based, I was hoping you could share some advice to help me prepare. In particular, I’m curious about who you’d consider Gibson Dunn’s main competitors and how the firm differentiates itself from them. It would be great to understand what sets the firm apart from others.

@Kay Aston @Andrei Radu @Ram Sabaratnam if you have any general tips on how to approach the interview, especially in terms of preparation or standing out, I’d really appreciate it.

Thanks so much for your help!