Ask A Graduate Recruiter Anything!

[Jessica Booker]

@Jessica Booker I'm having a panic about the work experience section of the application form. It is the only part of my form that is not tailored to a firm ( i am guilty of using the same wording in all my apps). i write factually about about what I did and the skills i have gained. I do not always use the full word limit (if its 200-250 words) as I do not want to waffle nor do I use anecdotes to describe what I did. Do you think this is detrimental to my apps?

Many thanks

the lack of tailoring won’t be detrimental as such but it is missing an opportunity to ensure it is more aligned to what each firm wants. The word count won’t really matter - it’s better to be concise/on point

 

[Cory]

Hi Jessica, I hope you've had a good Christmas!
I was wondering how grad recruitment look at stages such as video interviews. Would they look at these video interviews on their own merit or would they also look at them in light of their application and online tests.
So if someone had an amazing application and online test but his video interview was slightly sub-par, could the application and online test make the grad recruitment still intrigued enough to put him through to the next round? Or are the previous assessments irrelevant?
Would this be the same during assessment centres or vacation schemes?
I hope this makes sense and thank you in advance!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica, I hope you've had a good Christmas!
I was wondering how grad recruitment look at stages such as video interviews. Would they look at these video interviews on their own merit or would they also look at them in light of their application and online tests.
So if someone had an amazing application and online test but his video interview was slightly sub-par, could the application and online test make the grad recruitment still intrigued enough to put him through to the next round? Or are the previous assessments irrelevant?
Would this be the same during assessment centres or vacation schemes?
I hope this makes sense and thank you in advance!

A sub par video interview won’t get you through to the next round. You would need to perform in it well enough to be put through to the next round otherwise there is no need for that stage. You have to remember by this point every application and test results are strong to have got through to the video interview stage - the weaker ones have already been selected out.

it’s slightly different in an assessment centre as there different things are assessed in more depth. For instance, if you have a written exercise that’s slightly weaker and they need to check whether there are any concerns on your verbal comprehension or written skills they could go back and look at your application or your verbal reasoning/WG test scores. But also competencies are assessed across assessment centres - you could be slightly weaker in team working in your interview, but make up for team working in a group exercise or vice versa.

But if you were weaker throughout your AC, again the standard is that high by that point that it cannot be compensated by your application or test scores as everyone else will have a similar standard of application and test scores and will have performed better in an AC.

 

[EvaK]

Hi Jessica, for applications that require you to upload your CV, is it advisable/necessary to remove your name and address from that document?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica, for applications that require you to upload your CV, is it advisable/necessary to remove your name and address from that document?

no - I wouldn’t remove a name from a CV unless advised to do so with some form of name blind recruitment process.

Addresses on CVs are rare these days anyway. Typically an email address and telephone number are sufficient on a CV.

 

[IntrepidL]

Hi @Jessica Booker, I was wondering when discussing deals at interview, how recent should the deal be? One of the deals that I am interested in, and which I feel I could talk about in depth at interview, was a deal the firm worked on in 2018.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi @Jessica Booker, I was wondering when discussing deals at interview, how recent should the deal be? One of the deals that I am interested in, and which I feel I could talk about in depth at interview, was a deal the firm worked on in 2018.

That’s generally fine. Be ready to talk about it though as if it had happened in the last 6 months (what might have been different about it).

 

[DJMG]

Hi Jessica, I applied for a Winter Vac scheme with NRF and was rejected post-telephone interview. This was my first ever interview and I am confident that I have learnt from the experience. Do you think it would be a bad idea to apply for a Summer Vac with NRF? Am I less likely to get through the initial app stage if they see that I was already interviewed and rejected this cycle? I have checked and it isn't against their 'rules', as I didn't make it to AC, but just wondering if it would count against me? Thank you in advance!

 

[Legal_rawn]

I am doing an application which asks about your most significant non-academic achievement. I am trying to decide between my grade 8 piano or the fact that I turned a temporary christmas job into a permanent one which I have now had for 4 years. For some context with my job I have interviewed people for roles alongside doing normal shop stuff. Thanks!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica, I applied for a Winter Vac scheme with NRF and was rejected post-telephone interview. This was my first ever interview and I am confident that I have learnt from the experience. Do you think it would be a bad idea to apply for a Summer Vac with NRF? Am I less likely to get through the initial app stage if they see that I was already interviewed and rejected this cycle? I have checked and it isn't against their 'rules', as I didn't make it to AC, but just wondering if it would count against me? Thank you in advance!

I don't think you'll be eligible for the summer programme. If you were eligible for winter, then you won't be eligible for summer and vice versa (FAQ mentions this - FAQs | United Kingdom | Global law firm | Norton Rose Fulbright)

 

[Jessica Booker]

I am doing an application which asks about your most significant non-academic achievement. I am trying to decide between my grade 8 piano or the fact that I turned a temporary christmas job into a permanent one which I have now had for 4 years. For some context with my job I have interviewed people for roles alongside doing normal shop stuff. Thanks!

Which one do you consider to be your biggest achievement?

 

[EvaK]

Hi Jessica, I have another question:

When referring to a US or international law firm’s work either in the context of an “interesting news story and how it might impact us” question or when justifying your interest in the firm, how important is it to focus specifically on deals or cases done by the UK/London office?

I am applying to US and international firms who are “mid-size” in the UK and have often found myself wanting to mention important cases/deals from partners who are based in other European offices. Is that OK so long as it e.g. doesn’t relate to a practice area that the UK office doesn’t cover and that you would therefore not be exposed to as a trainee?

 

[Matt_96]

Hi Jessica,

I've been totally stumped by parts of this question.

Please explain in not more than 600 words why you wish to train at our firm, why we should invest in your career, and what contribution you might expect to make to the business both during your training contract and (if retained) thereafter.

Answering the first part is straightforward enough, but the second and third parts have confused me a little. I have a gut feeling that I should be talking about my skills developed through my life/work experience and giving examples, but honestly, it feels like I could use that for either part, and I wouldn't know what to focus on for the remaining one!

Do you have any suggestions about how I should approach this?

Cheers!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica, I have another question:

When referring to a US or international law firm’s work either in the context of an “interesting news story and how it might impact us” question or when justifying your interest in the firm, how important is it to focus specifically on deals or cases done by the UK/London office?

I am applying to US and international firms who are “mid-size” in the UK and have often found myself wanting to mention important cases/deals from partners who are based in other European offices. Is that OK so long as it e.g. doesn’t relate to a practice area that the UK office doesn’t cover and that you would therefore not be exposed to as a trainee?

I think it is important to ensure the work at least crosses over into the London office. A lot of US firms will have work that is focused in the US but that parts of it will fall to the London office. If you are talking about why you want to work at the firm, it’s going to be important to reference work you are actually likely to be doing, rather than the work your colleagues in offices elsewhere will be doing. It’s slightly different in “commercial news stories” as this is more about just assessing your interest in subject matters.

 

[Lauren]

Hi Jessica,

I have a few questions.

I have been invited to an assessment centre at DLA Piper which I am quite nervous for as they have recently switched to a strengths based interviewing method.

Should strengths based questions still be answered in the STAR method? Also, do you know of any good resources I could look at for preparing answers to strengths based questions?

Thank you for any help on this.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica,

I've been totally stumped by parts of this question.

Please explain in not more than 600 words why you wish to train at our firm, why we should invest in your career, and what contribution you might expect to make to the business both during your training contract and (if retained) thereafter.

Answering the first part is straightforward enough, but the second and third parts have confused me a little. I have a gut feeling that I should be talking about my skills developed through my life/work experience and giving examples, but honestly, it feels like I could use that for either part, and I wouldn't know what to focus on for the remaining one!

Do you have any suggestions about how I should approach this?

Cheers!

To me this is much more looking forward rather than looking backwards. The "why should we invest in your career" is basically asking you to explain why you are worthy of a significant investment of their time and money - ultimately why are you going to stick around beyond the training contract (which also links into the final part too). You can talk about your skills too though - that will back up the part about being retained (basically suggesting there is little to no risk of you not being retained). I don't think you have to deal with the last two points seperately though - you could take the approach you are suggesting and incorporate the last two points as they are ultimately complete linked together.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica,

I have a few questions.

I have been invited to an assessment centre at DLA Piper which I am quite nervous for as they have recently switched to a strengths based interviewing method.

Should strengths based questions still be answered in the STAR method? Also, do you know of any good resources I could look at for preparing answers to strengths based questions?

Thank you for any help on this.

No - STAR only works for competency based questions.

Strengths based questions are much more about how you approach things (what your natural defaults are) and what energises you/what drains your energy.

I'll see if I can track anything down that might be useful, as I don't have any thing specific that would help with strengths based interviews.

The links below might help though:

Strengths-based interviews for graduate jobs | TARGETjobs
Strength-based interviews | Prospects.ac.uk

 

[Shelly AA]

Hi Jessica,

Regarding this question.

In 2015 Bates Wells became the first UK law firm to be awarded a B Corp status. If successful, how would you help the firm continue to be a socially responsible organisation?

"Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose".

Do you think they are referring to how I would help with specific socially responsible volunteer work?

Accept stating that I will uphold the values that certified B Corporations implies I cant think of anything else.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica,

Regarding this question.

In 2015 Bates Wells became the first UK law firm to be awarded a B Corp status. If successful, how would you help the firm continue to be a socially responsible organisation?

"Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose".

Do you think they are referring to how I would help with specific socially responsible volunteer work?

Accept stating that I will uphold the values that certified B Corporations implies I cant think of anything else.

I think that is just one of many ways you could help. There will be many other ways employees contribute to a company’s ESG strategy - CSR initiatives will only be a small part of that.

 

[Lauren]

No - STAR only works for competency based questions.

Strengths based questions are much more about how you approach things (what your natural defaults are) and what energises you/what drains your energy.

I'll see if I can track anything down that might be useful, as I don't have any thing specific that would help with strengths based interviews.

The links below might help though:

Strengths-based interviews for graduate jobs | TARGETjobs
Strength-based interviews | Prospects.ac.uk

Thank you!