Ask A Graduate Recruiter Anything!

[FutureCity]

A hobby or interest is something where there is no commitment and where no one else is dependent on you (eg photography, skiing, cooking).

It doesn’t matter if you do this in the university environment or not, it is just that other people are not relying on you to do it.

Thanks Jessica

 

[Cox]

will be easier now work permits will become a lot easier to obtain at the end of the year.

would have been near impossible before hand.

doesn’t mean it won’t be straight forward though. First you have the obstacles of interviews - many firms will want to see you in person (although Covid-19 is changing this)

There will also be a big question as to what you will do with your time out, and whether it would make sense to qualify in your home country during that time (and then come over as a qualified lawyer)

Thank you for your response. I have thought about this and I am currently using my time now to qualify in my home country. Also, the interviews have been my major problem and wondering if I can take advantage of this covid to have online interviews.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Thank you for your response. I have thought about this and I am currently using my time now to qualify in my home country. Also, the interviews have been my major problem and wondering if I can take advantage of this covid to have online interviews.

If you are qualifying in your home country, a training contract may not be a suitable vacancy for you.

 

[Alice G]

Thanks Dan

Do you mean rounding up/down at the end of each academic year? That would make the most sense but I have emailed my uni to check. I can't see anything on the website.

Hey there,
To echo what @Daniel Boden has said I have always taken my percentages from each year that counted for me (second and third year) without rounding up or down and have added them together to get my overall mark (my weighting was 50% for each year which makes the maths easier for me). Mine comes to a whole number but I would have thought I would have actually just stated it as a decimal in the input field where is asks for overall percentage. I’ve never really had to think about this as mine does come out as a whole number like I say, but I wonder if you can’t get a definitive answer from your uni whether this might be a good approach? Sorry to add to any confusion but just wonder if it might be more helpful to give the mark in this way

 

[Alice G]

Google: Allen & Overy and Fuse.

Just a shoutout- I work in Fuse for one of the businesses in there and so if anyone has any questions on this or legal tech more generally then please let me know

 

[Dennis Varghese]

Hey Jessica,
I graduated with an LLB from a UK university in Dubai, and I currently reside in Dubai. Would appreciate if you could respond to the below. Cheers

I've personally found it difficult in terms of narrowing down which firms I should apply to since only a handful (usually the big ones) sponsor international candidates. Since I can't afford to attend VS, I am currently applying for direct TC's (which further narrows down the firm list). In your opinion, am I at a disadvantage here even if I meet all the necessary criteria, especially now when taking into account the flight restrictions etc? It seems to me that firms would rather prefer regional candidates than take up the extra hassle that comes with an international candidate (like visa, transportation etc.). Do correct me if I am wrong here.

Thanks.

 

[Daniel Boden]

Just a shoutout- I work in Fuse for one of the businesses in there and so if anyone has any questions on this or legal tech more generally then please let me know

Subtle flex @Alice G

 

[S87]

Just a shoutout- I work in Fuse for one of the businesses in there and so if anyone has any questions on this or legal tech more generally then please let me know

Hi Alice,

My work requires the use of e-discovery platforms and I am trying to understand more about AI. Could you suggest a website or any other useful resource?

 

[Alice G]

Hi Alice,

My work requires the use of e-discovery platforms and I am trying to understand more about AI. Could you suggest a website or any other useful resource?

Hey! To be entirely honest AI isn’t something I’m especially knowledgable about. In terms of AI in legal tech, I would recommend The Legal Technologist as a magazine with a great wealth of info contained within it!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hey Jessica,
I graduated with an LLB from a UK university in Dubai, and I currently reside in Dubai. Would appreciate if you could respond to the below. Cheers

I've personally found it difficult in terms of narrowing down which firms I should apply to since only a handful (usually the big ones) sponsor international candidates. Since I can't afford to attend VS, I am currently applying for direct TC's (which further narrows down the firm list). In your opinion, am I at a disadvantage here even if I meet all the necessary criteria, especially now when taking into account the flight restrictions etc? It seems to me that firms would rather prefer regional candidates than take up the extra hassle that comes with an international candidate (like visa, transportation etc.). Do correct me if I am wrong here.

Thanks.

have you looked at the firms that offer combined U.K. and UAE training contracts?

Work permit processes are about to become a lot easier (end of 2020) so although there are still costs associated with applying for a visa, they now will be much easier to obtain.

Firms who do sponsor visas aren’t really bothered about the costs of the visa, nor travel. Firms probably spend more on flowers/plants in their offices each week than they will do on someone’s visa. The issue with international applicants is always the question of why the UK and whether you will stay here. The firm is going to invest a lot of time in your development and they want to be able to see the return on that investment (and that to predominately be from a U.K. perspective).

This will all change with the SQE of course. 1) Qualifying work experience can now be gained anywhere in the world and 2) you can work across multiple firms to gain your qualifying work experience. This may mean that for individuals like you, there is more flexibility in gaining relevant experience

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

@Jessica Booker Hope you are fine. Wanted to ask you if it will be a blunder to tell the firm that we are applying to them because we do not have AAB which majority of the firms require. Obviously I am not going to tell them this straight- but is there anything they can do to twist this question looking at my A-levels?

 

[Daniel Boden]

@Jessica Booker Hope you are fine. Wanted to ask you if it will be a blunder to tell the firm that we are applying to them because we do not have AAB which majority of the firms require. Obviously I am not going to tell them this straight- but is there anything they can do to twist this question looking at my A-levels?

Yeah I haven't got AAB (have some mitigating factors which I explain) but otherwise I don't mention it/draw attention to it in my application. I'd definitely not mention it as one of the reasons you're applying - they want to hear about why you are interested in the firm, the work it does, opportunities it provides etc.

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

Thanks Daniel, one more quick question. If there is one golden rule which holds all tips together is to not be generic yet so many successful applicants mention how they found Partners and Associates friendly, isn't it a bit strange ?

 

[Daniel Boden]

Thanks Daniel, one more quick question. If there is one golden rule which holds all tips together is to not be generic yet so many successful applicants mention how they found Partners and Associates friendly, isn't it a bit strange ?

The way you avoid being generic is by mentioning the specific individuals you spoke to and the conversations you had with said partners and associates - that by definition is unique and not generic

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

Sure, understood! But then one question which still puzzles me is that what if the interviewer says to us - " Maybe if you would've talked to different people from different firms- maybe you could've liked that conversation more?" How do we tackle this then? I mean there this whole thing of friendly partners and associates comes in after you've chosen the firm based on other key factors right?

 

[Alice G]

Sure, understood! But then one question which still puzzles me is that what if the interviewer says to us - " Maybe if you would've talked to different people from different firms- maybe you could've liked that conversation more?" How do we tackle this then? I mean there this whole thing of friendly partners and associates comes in after you've chosen the firm based on other key factors right?

it’s about marrying what that conversation was all about to your own values and experiences and explaining exactly why this resonated with you so much. The absolute key is authenticity and being really specific and evidencing well. That’s what you’d do here, you’d evidence exactly why the conversation was so pivotal for you

 

[Daniel Boden]

Sure, understood! But then one question which still puzzles me is that what if the interviewer says to us - " Maybe if you would've talked to different people from different firms- maybe you could've liked that conversation more?" How do we tackle this then? I mean there this whole thing of friendly partners and associates comes in after you've chosen the firm based on other key factors right?

I'd be absolutely amazed if you got asked that question. Sure, you make a list of firms based on a number of factors e.g. what practice areas that interest you but then to add the key differentiator (since lots of firms are good at M&A for instance) you can then talk about the conversations you've had and people you've met

 

[Jessica Booker]

@Jessica Booker Hope you are fine. Wanted to ask you if it will be a blunder to tell the firm that we are applying to them because we do not have AAB which majority of the firms require. Obviously I am not going to tell them this straight- but is there anything they can do to twist this question looking at my A-levels?

This should not be a reason for applying for a firm - so it should definitely not be mentioned.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Thanks Daniel, one more quick question. If there is one golden rule which holds all tips together is to not be generic yet so many successful applicants mention how they found Partners and Associates friendly, isn't it a bit strange ?

If an application said they found partners and associates friendly, it isn't specifically that part that made their application successful - so it is not strange at all.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Sure, understood! But then one question which still puzzles me is that what if the interviewer says to us - " Maybe if you would've talked to different people from different firms- maybe you could've liked that conversation more?" How do we tackle this then? I mean there this whole thing of friendly partners and associates comes in after you've chosen the firm based on other key factors right?

It is not about conversations with associates/partners. It is about how much thought process you have put into the decisions you have made. That may have come from conversations with employees, but for many it just comes from their own research and analysis.

You wouldn't be asked that question - but you could be asked "what research have you done to ensure you are confident we are the right firm for you?". That will include not only researching their firm but also considering carefully other firms too.