Ask A Graduate Recruiter Anything!

[Jessica Booker]

My preferred name is different from my legal name. How should I introduce myself at open days and at other networking events? What name should I put on my CV/resume and VS applications?

Preferred name at events, legal name on applications. You can often put a preferred name on applications too.

 

[LL]

Hi Jessica, I hope you are well.

For case studies during ACs, if we are advised to raise and summarise some legal/commercial issues to the partner in an email, are we expected to also offer some potential solutions or next-steps? I am tempted to offer suggestions on how to proceed, but I do not think partners would rely on trainees for that in real life. Thank you.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica, I hope you are well.

For case studies during ACs, if we are advised to raise and summarise some legal/commercial issues to the partner in an email, are we expected to also offer some potential solutions or next-steps? I am tempted to offer suggestions on how to proceed, but I do not think partners would rely on trainees for that in real life. Thank you.

I would include this detail.

 

[LL]

I would include this detail.

Thank you. And can I check whether it is okay to mostly rely on bullet points? Or would you personally recommend us to write in prose?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Thank you. And can I check whether it is okay to mostly rely on bullet points? Or would you personally recommend us to write in prose?

I would expect a mixture of both in a professional document to a colleague.

 

[Lastseasonwonder]

@Jessica Booker - is it a bad sign if I leave an interview and the interviewers did not give me a timeline of when I should expect to hear back (VS interview)? Or am I just overthinking this?

The interviewers did say that we went over time, so I guess that is somewhat of a positive.

What is your opinion / perspective?

 

[Jessica Booker]

@Jessica Booker - is it a bad sign if I leave an interview and the interviewers did not give me a timeline of when I should expect to hear back (VS interview)? Or am I just overthinking this?

The interviewers did say that we went over time, so I guess that is somewhat of a positive.

What is your opinion / perspective?

No - this is not a negative. It’s something many interviewers will forget or won’t go over, especially if time is of the essence.

 

[Lastseasonwonder]

No - this is not a negative. It’s something many interviewers will forget or won’t go over, especially if time is of the essence.

That is such a relief to hear!

 

[Will Jones]

I'd be interested to know how DEI works 'in practice' when it comes to applications. Is it a lens that's applied from the start or only when comparing two 'equal' applicants? One of my white, straight, male friends is worried about it being ultra competitive for his sort of demographic now. thank you!

 

[Jessica Booker]

I'd be interested to know how DEI works 'in practice' when it comes to applications. Is it a lens that's applied from the start or only when comparing two 'equal' applicants? One of my white, straight, male friends is worried about it being ultra competitive for his sort of demographic now. thank you!

You don’t see diversity data in applications. It’s hidden in the back end of reporting systems on applicant tracking systems and can’t be seen on individual records by recruiters.

So it would be impossible to know your friend is white, identifies as male (with the exception of if they put Mr as a title, but even titles are being removed these days), nor their sexuality when reviewing their application.

 

[Momo]

Hello @Jessica Booker i d like to ask a question.

I am an international student pursuing my LLM in the UK currently and i will be graduating in June/July. I will be opting for the 2 year graduate visa so i will be staying in the UK. However i am yet to secure any VS or TC offers and I am looking to apply for the winter VS when the new cycle opens.

My question is between June/July and late 2023 (when winter VS begins):

1) do you have advice on whether i should work during this time period?

2) If so, what kind of work would you recommend that would boost my resume?

I am afraid just sitting at home wont do much for resume and wont look good in the eyes of a recruiter. At the same time i am afraid committing to working might affect the quality of my applications since I am finding it hard to write applications while completing my LLM.

Thanks in advance

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hello @Jessica Booker i d like to ask a question.

I am an international student pursuing my LLM in the UK currently and i will be graduating in June/July. I will be opting for the 2 year graduate visa so i will be staying in the UK. However i am yet to secure any VS or TC offers and I am looking to apply for the winter VS when the new cycle opens.

My question is between June/July and late 2023 (when winter VS begins):

1) do you have advice on whether i should work during this time period?

2) If so, what kind of work would you recommend that would boost my resume?

I am afraid just sitting at home wont do much for resume and wont look good in the eyes of a recruiter. At the same time i am afraid committing to working might affect the quality of my applications since I am finding it hard to write applications while completing my LLM.

Thanks in advance

Yes - I think it is important to try and work in some capacity once you graduate for the reasons you mention. Any job (even part time work in retail/hospitality) is better than having a gap in your CV.

I think it will be important to either prioritise your applications or time to balance both commitments. There is an expectation that this is what most candidates do.

 

[Momo]

Yes - I think it is important to try and work in some capacity once you graduate for the reasons you mention. Any job (even part time work in retail/hospitality) is better than having a gap in your CV.

I think it will be important to either prioritise your applications or time to balance both commitments. There is an expectation that this is what most candidates do.

Thanks for the response! I appreciate it

 

[Lastseasonwonder]

Hi @Jessica Booker,

I am curious what you would do in the following situation.

Firm A offers you a FTC paralegal role that ends at the end of a week in a certain month. Firm B offers you a VS that begins at the beginning of that same week of that same month as when Firm A's role ends. Just a matter of days that clash and at the end of the paralegal role. For instance, example dates would be Firm A paralegal role ends 28/04 and Firm B VS starts 24/04.

What would you do to complete both?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi @Jessica Booker,

I am curious what you would do in the following situation.

Firm A offers you a FTC paralegal role that ends at the end of a week in a certain month. Firm B offers you a VS that begins at the beginning of that same week of that same month as when Firm A's role ends. Just a matter of days that clash and at the end of the paralegal role. For instance, example dates would be Firm A paralegal role ends 28/04 and Firm B VS starts 24/04.

What would you do to complete both?

You can leave the FTC early, either taking annual leave for the last few days or resigning early (check what your notice period is).

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi @Jessica Booker I’ve just accepted a TC and I know I have to do employment checks but realise that I put Aug as start month for agency work (when I technically joined) but my first shift was in Sep - will this matter?

When in September? And how long were you working for the agency in total?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Just to follow up from this, I realised that I only put one agency down when it was actually two (the first one I worked with until Dec) and the other one until Mar when I said the original one ended. The reason I changed agency was that the venue I worked at was no longer using the original agency. Do you think this will be an issue if I explain?

That won’t be an issue.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Successful interview was end of august and shift was first week of September. Worked over a period of 1.5 years

This won't be an issue then. I would flag up the discrepancy when you send the employment checks off but just state the difference was when you signed a contract vs when your first shift was.

The reference company will be used to seeing these type of differences all the time, especially with this type of work.

 

[Momo]

Hi @Jessica Booker i d like to ask for your opinion on this. Im an international student pursuing my LLM in the UK currently and I will be completing my LLM in June 2023.

I will be converting to the 2 years post graduate visa in hopes of securing a VS or TC. I do have family members staying in London so i will be staying with them during the period.

The issue is I am interested in applying for a business associate program that is 9 months long in the Middle East. It consists of academic courses explaining fundamentals of business and consulting and also work placement with a few of the well-known companies in the Middle East. This program starts in September 2023 and ends in June 2024.

After contacting previous candidates, they mentioned the 9 months program is intensed leaving not much free time to do other activities. So this will clearly put me out of the next application cycle for VS.

Furthermore even if I secure a VS in the UK or Middle East itself, i wont be able to attend it as there is only 1 week holiday for this program.

i am conflicted whether I should apply for this program because I dont want to miss out on securing a VS during the next application cycle since my end goal is to secure a TC. At the same time, this program provides valuable work experience esp in the business sector, which I feel i may be lacking in my CV.

Currently, my work experience consists of 4 internships all in a foreign country where i did my LLB (4 months at an MNC legal department, 3 months at a law firm, 2 weeks mini-pupilage and 1 month at a bank). So i was wondering whether I should still apply for this business associate program or stay in the UK and work other part time jobs until I secure a VS.

Thank you in advance, and sorry for the long explanation. Wanted to give some context to the issue.

 

[Maddie M]

@Jessica Booker please can I PM you?