Ask A Graduate Recruiter Anything!

[Jaysen]

Hi @Jessica Booker,

Just received this message - would be curious to get your thoughts?

'I wanted to inform you of an update which we received from CMS yesterday, in case you would like to update the information on TCLA:

Internship Weeks:
We have taken the difficult decision that we will not be in a position to offer the internship weeks this year. Our offices currently remain closed, with staff continuing to work from home. We will instead channel our efforts into providing you with a fantastic virtual experience on our Business of Law week. The focus of the week will be on your development as opposed to assessment, and it is therefore in your best interests to attend. Following the Business of Law week we will be making Training Contract offers based on our pipeline requirements. We will confirm dates during the business of Law week as to when offers will be made. For the avoidance of doubt offers of a training contract will only be made to those who attend the Business of Law week.

I would love to know your thoughts on this update. It is rather disheartening that the firm has chosen cryptic language such as "pipeline requirements".'

 

[S87]

Cryptic indeed

 

[Alice G]

Hi @Jessica Booker,

Just received this message - would be curious to get your thoughts?

'I wanted to inform you of an update which we received from CMS yesterday, in case you would like to update the information on TCLA:

Internship Weeks:
We have taken the difficult decision that we will not be in a position to offer the internship weeks this year. Our offices currently remain closed, with staff continuing to work from home. We will instead channel our efforts into providing you with a fantastic virtual experience on our Business of Law week. The focus of the week will be on your development as opposed to assessment, and it is therefore in your best interests to attend. Following the Business of Law week we will be making Training Contract offers based on our pipeline requirements. We will confirm dates during the business of Law week as to when offers will be made. For the avoidance of doubt offers of a training contract will only be made to those who attend the Business of Law week.

I would love to know your thoughts on this update. It is rather disheartening that the firm has chosen cryptic language such as "pipeline requirements".'

I just imagine there will be a flood of emails from people rightly asking for clarity on what is meant by this. This could mean a competency framework so this would indicate AC assessment notes would be used and also maybe some assessment in the business internship week. Or, maybe this means actual TC numbers they have to give and in that case, this does not give any clarity on assessment and chances.

 

[Flk10]

Cryptic as

I believe CMS do not take more people on the VS than they have TCs available for so it could be a case of offering one to everyone who attends the online week so long as they still have that number of TCs available?

 

[Alice G]

I believe CMS do not take more people on the VS than they have TCs available for so it could be a case of offering one to everyone who attends the online week so long as they still have that number of TCs available?

I considered this too though I was of the belief that there were just slightly more VS spaces than TCs - I could very well be wrong. Even so, if this was the case, I would have thought they might have just been better saying this as it would probably have calmed everyone more than this email probably has done

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi @Jessica Booker,

Just received this message - would be curious to get your thoughts?

'I wanted to inform you of an update which we received from CMS yesterday, in case you would like to update the information on TCLA:

Internship Weeks:
We have taken the difficult decision that we will not be in a position to offer the internship weeks this year. Our offices currently remain closed, with staff continuing to work from home. We will instead channel our efforts into providing you with a fantastic virtual experience on our Business of Law week. The focus of the week will be on your development as opposed to assessment, and it is therefore in your best interests to attend. Following the Business of Law week we will be making Training Contract offers based on our pipeline requirements. We will confirm dates during the business of Law week as to when offers will be made. For the avoidance of doubt offers of a training contract will only be made to those who attend the Business of Law week.

I would love to know your thoughts on this update. It is rather disheartening that the firm has chosen cryptic language such as "pipeline requirements".'

I don’t see it as cryptic as such, just a poor use of recruitment jargon. The email is a bit all about the place anyway, so I think it just hasn’t been written carefully more than anything.

This just means they will make offers based on the vacancies they have available. There’s nothing sinister about it - same goes for any firm making offers to people (you can only make offers where you have vacancies!).

 

[S87]

What I know, from people who got a TC at CMS, is that they automatically offer a tc once you get the VS. So, this is all too strange and a worrying tendence.

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

Hello @Jessica Booker , hope you are doing fine, wanted to ask you how many tasks are there on the Vac Scheme in which you are required to email, does it make sense to do a book on business email writing?

 

[Jessica Booker]

I just imagine there will be a flood of emails from people rightly asking for clarity on what is meant by this. This could mean a competency framework so this would indicate AC assessment notes would be used and also maybe some assessment in the business internship week. Or, maybe this means actual TC numbers they have to give and in that case, this does not give any clarity on assessment and chances.

I’m pretty confident it means TC numbers, but to be fair to them no firm provides details of “chances” as you can’t do that (too many variables).

As for assessment it seems this will be based on the recruitment process to date and how well you get on during the week. That’s no different to an in person internship.

 

[Jessica Booker]

What I know, from people who got a TC at CMS, is that they automatically offer a tc once you get the VS. So, this is all too strange and a worrying tendence.

Automatically giving everyone a TC is a pretty rubbish approach if that’s what they have done in the past.

If that is the case, this suggests they will have more vacation scheme students than TC vacancies and therefore will only offer a select group from the cohort.

This wouldn’t be any different to any other firm, so I don’t really see the issue unless people were told they had a guaranteed TC when they were made the vac scheme offer (highly unlikely in my opinion).

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hello @Jessica Booker , hope you are doing fine, wanted to ask you how many tasks are there on the Vac Scheme in which you are required to email, does it make sense to do a book on business email writing?

Pretty much most responsibilities as a vac scheme student will be via email.

 

[Jaysen]

I don’t see it as cryptic as such, just a poor use of recruitment jargon. The email is a bit all about the place anyway, so I think it just hasn’t been written carefully more than anything.

This just means they will make offers based on the vacancies they have available. There’s nothing sinister about it - same goes for any firm making offers to people (you can only make offers where you have vacancies!).

Brilliant, thanks - will pass it on!

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

So should we consider doing a business writing book?

 

[Alice G]

I’m pretty confident it means TC numbers, but to be fair to them no firm provides details of “chances” as you can’t do that (too many variables).

As for assessment it seems this will be based on the recruitment process to date and how well you get on during the week. That’s no different to an in person internship.

Yeah I suppose that does make sense, just agree with what you say about the confusing wording. I guess I just meant they haven’t really mentioned whether there will be assessment on the internship but maybe they’ve assumed that would be taken as a given. Anyway thank you for clearing things up @Jessica Booker, sure this will help many people!

 

[Flk10]

I was at a CMS presentation last year and they said very clearly that they have a TC available for every VS participant and they said that something like 95% were offered one last year. They also don’t seem to recruit at all from direct TC applications, so I guess they may not be sure how many roles they have available at this stage as they’ve said they won’t be assessing on the virtual week.

 

[Alice G]

So should we consider doing a business writing book?

No I don’t think this is needed. Just research email etiquette and triple check everything you send. If you feel very unconfident about this and think it would help your mindset though then it would not hurt- I just wouldn’t pay a lot to do a course though if they’re free then why not

 

[S87]

Hi Jessica,

I am currently answering to a question where I am asked about personal qualities to be a successful lawyer. Does personal qualities refers to team-skills, resilience, proactiveness and so on?

Thank you

 

[Jessica Booker]

So should we consider doing a business writing book?

I wouldn’t expect this to be necessary for most candidates - it depends how confident you are in writing emails I guess though

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica,

I am currently answering to a question where I am asked about personal qualities to be a successful lawyer. Does personal qualities refers to team-skills, resilience, proactiveness and so on?

Thank you

yes anything an individual can have that is driven by their personality.

 

[Jessica Booker]

I was at a CMS presentation last year and they said very clearly that they have a TC available for every VS participant and they said that something like 95% were offered one last year. They also don’t seem to recruit at all from direct TC applications, so I guess they may not be sure how many roles they have available at this stage as they’ve said they won’t be assessing on the virtual week.

to me this suggests the wording of the email is to manage expectations then.

In the past they haven’t offered all vacation scheme students (just the majority), and that has probably been down to them assessing students during the scheme. As they are no longer assessing candidates during the virtual week, they are probably trying to manage expectations that not everyone will get an offer - that might not just be down to the number of TCs available, but also could be down to them wanting to be reassured they are hiring the right people (when they haven’t assessed them in the same way as previous years).

Think this is also complicated given the move to the SQE - which will impact some summer interns going in this year (especially if they are penultimate year non law grads).