Ask A Graduate Recruiter Anything!

[Lastseasonwonder]

Hi,

How long does it take for candidates who passed the SJT to hear back from A&O, for the summer VS? It's been about 20/21 days and I haven't heard back - is this bad?

Thanks

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi,

How long does it take for candidates who passed the SJT to hear back from A&O, for the summer VS? It's been about 20/21 days and I haven't heard back - is this bad?

Thanks

Probably best to post this in one of the A&O threads as I won’t know the specifics. It could well be the case that your application is under review though 20/21 days is no time at all really in a recruitment cycle

 

[SH414]

Hi Jessica,

SPB has a CV and personal statement as part of its application process, and I was just wondering if you knew approximately how long CVs should be for TC apps?

 

[AS2000]

Hi Jessica,

I am currently applying for a vac scheme at a US law firm at which I previously attended an Open Day. Some of the questions posed on the VS application form resemble those posed on the Open Day app. For example, the OD question was "Why do you want to attend an Open Day at XXXX?" while the VS question is "Why do you want to train at XXXX?". Is it appropriate to copy and paste bits and pieces from my previous successful application?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica,

SPB has a CV and personal statement as part of its application process, and I was just wondering if you knew approximately how long CVs should be for TC apps?

no more than two pages for a CV. It’s fine if it is one or somewhere in between one and two pages though.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica,

I am currently applying for a vac scheme at a US law firm at which I previously attended an Open Day. Some of the questions posed on the VS application form resemble those posed on the Open Day app. For example, the OD question was "Why do you want to attend an Open Day at XXXX?" while the VS question is "Why do you want to train at XXXX?". Is it appropriate to copy and paste bits and pieces from my previous successful application?

I would expect some parts of it to be different - training at a firm will be a very different experience to an open day. Where there is cross over (eg the type of work the firm does that won’t have changed) then it’s fine to C&P parts of your previous answers but I would critically evaluate whether the content could be upgrades either by your experience/knowledge gained from the open day, or just with a fresh out of eyes when it comes to written style

 

[AS2000]

I would expect some parts of it to be different - training at a firm will be a very different experience to an open day. Where there is cross over (eg the type of work the firm does that won’t have changed) then it’s fine to C&P parts of your previous answers but I would critically evaluate whether the content could be upgrades either by your experience/knowledge gained from the open day, or just with a fresh out of eyes when it comes to written style

Thank you very much for the advice Jessica!

 

[Nadima]

Hi Jessica

I am currently working on an application. I am extremely confused about one of the questions which asks if you were given the opportunity to change one thing about the firm what would that be? I've never come across such question in any applications. Is it possible if you could tell me what they could potentially be looking for and how to go about it?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica

I am currently working on an application. I am extremely confused about one of the questions which asks if you were given the opportunity to change one thing about the firm what would that be? I've never come across such question in any applications. Is it possible if you could tell me what they could potentially be looking for and how to go about it?

just answered this in the other thread.

 

[Lastseasonwonder]

Hi,

For firms that recruit on a rolling basis, when would you say it is too late to apply for them?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi,

For firms that recruit on a rolling basis, when would you say it is too late to apply for them?

Depends when the deadline is.

but it’s never too late to apply, unless the deadline is up.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica

I am currently working on an application. I am extremely confused about one of the questions which asks if you were given the opportunity to change one thing about the firm what would that be? I've never come across such question in any applications. Is it possible if you could tell me what they could potentially be looking for and how to go about it?

this might help

 

[NCLaw]

Hi Jessica,

I am drafting my work history section for applications and I am wondering how many work experiences I should include. Since graduating from the GDL in 2018, I have had experience in 4 different law firms as a paralegal. At university I had lots of part time jobs, as I did at school.

I know I should include as many of my work experiences as possible, but is this the case if I left school a while ago? I.e. should I still include part time jobs I had at school like waitressing if I have 4x paralegalling experiences to write about plus some different types of part time jobs at university? I realise there is no harm in including it all, but I am concerned about time restraints and wanting to get applications done.

Thank you very much

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica,

I am drafting my work history section for applications and I am wondering how many work experiences I should include. Since graduating from the GDL in 2018, I have had experience in 4 different law firms as a paralegal. At university I had lots of part time jobs, as I did at school.

I know I should include as many of my work experiences as possible, but is this the case if I left school a while ago? I.e. should I still include part time jobs I had at school like waitressing if I have 4x paralegalling experiences to write about plus some different types of part time jobs at university? I realise there is no harm in including it all, but I am concerned about time restraints and wanting to get applications done.

Thank you very much

I would include any jobs from 16 onwards - any done part-time during term time will show you managed your academics alongside a part-time job, any during the holidays will show you kept yourself busy then too. You may not want to go into significant detail about the older experiences or you might just want to provide them in an extra information section or something similar. Could even group experiences together (what I do on my CV even now) with very little detail. I have a section of my CV which is just job title, company, and dates with no description beyond the nature of the role (part-time/full-time; contract/temp/permanent role).

 

[Lastseasonwonder]

Do firms review apps in an order of when they have been submitted. Just curious as I got put into app review by A&O on 19/11/2020 for summer VS but still haven't heard back. Conversely, someone on a different thread got an AC invite but applied on 9th Oct.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Do firms review apps in an order of when they have been submitted. Just curious as I got put into app review by A&O on 19/11/2020 for summer VS but still haven't heard back. Conversely, someone on a different thread got an AC invite but applied on 9th Oct.

No not necessarily. They can prioritise applications on different markers and sometimes just they are allocated to different people to review and some people review quicker than others.

 

[Lastseasonwonder]

What is appropriate to wear during a virtual vacation scheme for a male? I heard it is weird to dress up to a full suit.

 

[Jaysen]

What is appropriate to wear during a virtual vacation scheme for a male? I heard it is weird to dress up to a full suit.

Unless you've heard otherwise, I'd wear a full suit to begin with. You can then judge it thereafter.

 

[Daniel Boden]

What is appropriate to wear during a virtual vacation scheme for a male? I heard it is weird to dress up to a full suit.

I went with full suit and no tie when I did mine in the summer. A few guys started off with ties but very quickly were told it wasn't necessary so i just went with shirt and jacket unless it was an assessed presentation/task where I wore a tie. Hope that helps!

 

[Jessica Booker]

What is appropriate to wear during a virtual vacation scheme for a male? I heard it is weird to dress up to a full suit.

As Jaysen has said - it’s quite easy to take off a tie of jacket if needed - much quicker to take them off to put them on and ensure they match etc.