Ask A Graduate Recruiter Anything!

[Jessica Booker]

I have a question regarding mitigating circumstances - my a-levels aren't awful but were definitely below what I was predicted/expecting. My sixth form was created as an extension of my high school, and I was part of the first year-group to attend it - this meant all the teachers had no experience in teaching a-level previously, and as a result the whole year group underperformed I had never considered this a mitigating circumstance before but someone suggested it could be and I wanted to get some guidance as to whether it would be considered seriously, mainly for the purposes of applying to firms with strict A-Level requirements that wouldn't accept me without MC! Should I bother putting this down or not?

What are your grades?

 

[SLKEJRWOI97]

Hi Jessica,

Hope you're well. Thanks for all your invaluable advice on the forum!

I'm currently writing a Cover Letter to Orrick. It's 500 words but I'm confused as to what to include within it as the other questions on the App include what would usually go into a CL. Orrick say the CL is probably one of the most important entries on the application.

Would you be able to shed some light or guidance on this, please?

The App also includes the following questions:

Why specifically are you interested in training at Orrick? What makes us different to the other firms you have applied for? [250]

Describe your involvement and positions of responsibility in any extra-curricular activities including societies, sports, charitable and voluntary work. [250]

Why have you decided to pursue a career as a commercial lawyer working in an international law firm? What factors and influences have affected your decision? [250]

Please detail academic awards, prizes or scholarships and non-academic achievements at school, university and law school (if applicable). [250]

What would you say has been your greatest success to date and how did you achieve this? [250]

Have you been following any recent news stories or events that have attracted your attention and you think would have an impact, or be of interest, to Orrick? [250]

Thanks!

 

[Caitlin]

What are your grades?

BBB

 

[Holly]

1) think of it as an assessment rather than a group work task.

2) portray themselves in a manner they think they should rather than how they would normally act

3) forget the objectives of the task

4) try too hard (linked to 1 & 2)

5) forget to use other team members for support

basically there is a lot of rubbish advice out there about group tasks try at make people act in very specific ways. You can see right through it and it comes across as very unnatural. Step away from the advice blogs/articles that tell you how to do well in them and just think about the task itself. Too many people put their efforts into “acting” out the group exercise, that they forget the actual exercise.

Hi jessica, thanks again for the useful tips.

Please can you also explain what common mistakes applicants make in the case study presentation (aside from a lack of structure)? Thanks!

 

[Lawyerwithadream]

Hi @Jessica Booker

I received test link invitations for the WG and two other tests from two firms. Apply4Law states that I have until 10th February to complete them (7 days from receipt).
Does that mean I have the entire day tomorrow or until 12pm, for example, as the tests were sent last Monday at 12pm?

Thank you in advance!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi jessica, thanks again for the useful tips.

Please can you also explain what common mistakes applicants make in the case study presentation (aside from a lack of structure)? Thanks!

Not understanding the time constraints (going vastly under or over the time allocated)

Trying to list things out rather than focusing on the most important points

not using any evidence from the case study materials or any external evidence to support what you are saying

not thinking about the “role” the assessor is takin. If they are a senior lawyer, what they need to know will be very different to a client for example

not detailing any “calls to action”

not anticipating follow up questions

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi @Jessica Booker

I received test link invitations for the WG and two other tests from two firms. Apply4Law states that I have until 10th February to complete them (7 days from receipt).
Does that mean I have the entire day tomorrow or until 12pm, for example, as the tests were sent last Monday at 12pm?

Thank you in advance!

systems are unlikely to time out by the hour. They only typically time out by the date.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica,

Hope you're well. Thanks for all your invaluable advice on the forum!

I'm currently writing a Cover Letter to Orrick. It's 500 words but I'm confused as to what to include within it as the other questions on the App include what would usually go into a CL. Orrick say the CL is probably one of the most important entries on the application.

Would you be able to shed some light or guidance on this, please?

The App also includes the following questions:

Why specifically are you interested in training at Orrick? What makes us different to the other firms you have applied for? [250]

Describe your involvement and positions of responsibility in any extra-curricular activities including societies, sports, charitable and voluntary work. [250]

Why have you decided to pursue a career as a commercial lawyer working in an international law firm? What factors and influences have affected your decision? [250]

Please detail academic awards, prizes or scholarships and non-academic achievements at school, university and law school (if applicable). [250]

What would you say has been your greatest success to date and how did you achieve this? [250]

Have you been following any recent news stories or events that have attracted your attention and you think would have an impact, or be of interest, to Orrick? [250]

Thanks!

I’d focus it on “why you” but make sure you don’t repeat anything in the rest of your application.

 

[Lawyerwithadream]

systems are unlikely to time out by the hour. They only typically time out by the date.

Thank you Jessica

 

[Jessica Booker]

BBB

ok - they aren’t really extenuating circumstances as such, but there is no harm in stating them on an application. It’s useful to have any proof of what you are claiming though - would someone from your college be able to verify this?

Other thing to mention is that contextualised recruitment processes will pick this up anyway.

 

[Holly]

not detailing any “calls to action”

Thanks Jessica, I wasn’t sure what this meant so I googled it. Would you mind clarifying further just so I am 100% sure?

Also, would you advise the candidate to explicitly say “calls to action” when detailing it so it’s clear to the interviewer(s) or would this sound unnatural?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Thanks Jessica, I wasn’t sure what this meant so I googled it. Would you mind clarifying further just so I am 100% sure?

Also, would you advise the candidate to explicitly say “calls to action” when detailing it so it’s clear to the interviewer(s) or would this sound unnatural?

no, you wouldn’t say call to action in an interview. You’ve can’t take things I say so literally as all you’ll be doing is repeating what I say (which will make no sense at all) rather than your own thinking/language/analysis.

What do you think I mean by call to action?

 

[Holly]

no, you wouldn’t say call to action in an interview. You’ve can’t take things I say so literally as all you’ll be doing is repeating what I say (which will make no sense at all) rather than your own thinking/language/analysis.

What do you think I mean by call to action?

Ok great, just wanted to double check.

So for example, if the case study exercise requires you to provide advice on the pros and cons of expanding into a new location and provide a recommendation on which one to take, I believe a call to action would be the actions that need to be taken to fulfil that goal. In this case, if I advise that they should expand into the new location, then the call to action would be having enough capital and resources to fund that expansion.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Ok great, just wanted to double check.

So for example, if the case study exercise requires you to provide advice on the pros and cons of expanding into a new location and provide a recommendation on which one to take, I believe a call to action would be the actions that need to be taken to fulfil that goal. In this case, if I advise that they should expand into the new location, then the call to action would be having enough capital and resources to fund that expansion.

it depends on the nature of the case study but I would expect something like having enough capital/resources to have already been considered, if the expansion was already at the point of considering locations. However you could be asked in the case study itself what factors like this you need to consider.

think about your audience though, what “actions” do you need them to do?

 

[Holly]

think about your audience though, what “actions” do you need them to do?

Well, as a trainee I believe it would be my role to carry out the research into that location from economic to political to legal. For the client or law firm, I believe one action includes actually purchasing the lease.

 

[carmela]

Hey Jessica,

You've mentioned that recruiters are very wary about resits.

Question: What if you had to study in another language?

Context: I did an exchange in France at a law school. Courses were taught and examined in French. This is my third language. I failed 3 exams out of 15, resat and passed 2/3 failed courses, but I still failed that one. It's worth mentioning that the failed course was a 9/20 in European Union Law (I know, this looks really bad).
I positively swing this by mentioning that I increased my second semester marks by 19% in comparison to first semester (including a first (75%) in international law and an 85% in a masters course in European politics), but there weren't real mitigating circumstances other than studying third-year law in French was really hard. It took time to adjust to French immersion and the new country.
I still graduated with a first because exchange marks didn't count towards degree classification (I mention this; GPA = 3.8/4.0 not counting exchange). But I still resat three exams and failed one after resitting.

Would this be an automatic rejection?

Also worth mentioning: I'm coming from Canada and I've worked in consulting, international insurance regulation, and in a project with the UN so there are transferrable skills to counteract the fail, but I'm just also aware of the extra cost that comes with sponsorship etc.

Am I completely at odds given that I'm international and failed an EU law course?

Not sure how heavily all these things weigh. Please let me know your thoughts and thank you in advance for your time!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Well, as a trainee I believe it would be my role to carry out the research into that location from economic to political to legal. For the client or law firm, I believe one action includes actually purchasing the lease.

We are getting down a bit of a rabbit hole here. A call to action is not about your actions, it is about what you need the other person to do.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hey Jessica,

You've mentioned that recruiters are very wary about resits.

Question: What if you had to study in another language?

Context: I did an exchange in France at a law school. Courses were taught and examined in French. This is my third language. I failed 3 exams out of 15, resat and passed 2/3 failed courses, but I still failed that one. It's worth mentioning that the failed course was a 9/20 in European Union Law (I know, this looks really bad).
I positively swing this by mentioning that I increased my second semester marks by 19% in comparison to first semester (including a first (75%) in international law and an 85% in a masters course in European politics), but there weren't real mitigating circumstances other than studying third-year law in French was really hard. It took time to adjust to French immersion and the new country.
I still graduated with a first because exchange marks didn't count towards degree classification (I mention this; GPA = 3.8/4.0 not counting exchange). But I still resat three exams and failed one after resitting.

Would this be an automatic rejection?

Also worth mentioning: I'm coming from Canada and I've worked in consulting, international insurance regulation, and in a project with the UN so there are transferrable skills to counteract the fail, but I'm just also aware of the extra cost that comes with sponsorship etc.

Am I completely at odds given that I'm international and failed an EU law course?

Not sure how heavily all these things weigh. Please let me know your thoughts and thank you in advance for your time!

no, not an automatic rejection - you just need to explain you were learning in a non-fluent language, like you have done above but in a more concise format.

the work permit is likely to be a much bigger issue as proving a RLMT (if you are not transferring from a student visa) can be particularly difficult.

 

[carmela]

no, not an automatic rejection - you just need to explain you were learning in a non-fluent language, like you have done above but in a more concise format.

the work permit is likely to be a much bigger issue as proving a RLMT (if you are not transferring from a student visa) can be particularly difficult.

Very helpful, thank you, Jessica!

 

[Holly]

We are getting down a bit of a rabbit hole here. A call to action is not about your actions, it is about what you need the other person to do.

Ok sure, that's helpful thank you