Ask A Graduate Recruiter Anything!

[Daniel Boden]

My thinking was that it may help secure a position now before starting TC?

The fact you have secured the TC (which I would absolutely put on the CV) will be more than good enough so I wouldn't worry about that

 

[Jessica Booker]

My thinking was that it may help secure a position now before starting TC?

your TC will do that alone.

no one puts jobs on their CV that didn't/won’t happen.

 

[Jessica Booker]

"qualify in you home country and then come over as an experienced associate" this was possible via the QLTS before but now even this method is going to come under the SQE right? @Jessica Booker

Yes - there will only be one qualification route, no matter what your background/experience. That will be the SQE.

 

[anulciak7]

Dear Jessica, I am currently preparing applications for direct TCs - how would you go about writing about meeting the lawyers from the firm but in another country? I have attended several open days and meetings with law firms in Brussels focused mostly on their competition law practices but I am now hoping to qualify in the UK. Thank you!

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

@Alice G @Daniel Boden @Jessica Booker Hey everyone, can you tell me how common is it for UK students to write research papers or blogs in journals etc? I have been through a lot of profiles of TC holders on LinkedIn but I don't remember seeing even one student getting his writing published. Why don't they? I mean definitely if they can hold TC offers at MC firms then publishing articles is easier than that I guess?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Dear Jessica, I am currently preparing applications for direct TCs - how would you go about writing about meeting the lawyers from the firm but in another country? I have attended several open days and meetings with law firms in Brussels focused mostly on their competition law practices but I am now hoping to qualify in the UK. Thank you!

I am assuming there was a reason you were in Brussels - eg

You explain it in something as simple as something like the following:

"Whilst studying in Brussels, I used the opportunity to spend time with local law firms X, Y, and Z."

"As a Belgian, I have explored a potential legal career in my home country".

 

[Jessica Booker]

@Alice G @Daniel Boden @Jessica Booker Hey everyone, can you tell me how common is it for UK students to write research papers or blogs in journals etc? I have been through a lot of profiles of TC holders on LinkedIn but I don't remember seeing even one student getting his writing published. Why don't they? I mean definitely if they can hold TC offers at MC firms then publishing articles is easier than that I guess?

In short, academic law is rarely like law in practice.

There will be students, trainees and lawyers who have had research papers published, but it just isn't a necessity for the career. Therefore you only need to do it for your personal interest, not to further your career prospects.

Blogs are very common though - lots of lawyers write blogs for business development purposes. Lots of students are involved in content generation too - but that isn't necessarily about law. It can be a good opportunity to show a range of relevant skills on an application.

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

Does it make sense for me to add those on my application- will they give me any brownie points?

 

[anulciak7]

Thank you so much Jessica! I did a traineeship at the European Commission (in Competition Law) and while I was there I was invited to attend networking events with law firms. I was wondering whether I could write about my impression of the firm and what I have learned about them after speaking with the lawyers (as the office that I visited was not located in London) or is it rather irrelevant? And that for example, after exploring opportunities there I still decided that working in the UK is more appealing to me.

 

[Crastle]

Hi Jessica

I have a question about preparing for commercial awareness questions. Lots of people say that you should know 3-4 commercial topics inside out to discuss them. I'm just struggling to work out what details about each topic are crucial to know - what sort of questions do interviewers tend to ask about commercial awareness?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Does it make sense for me to add those on my application- will they give me any brownie points?

yes - it is something to include.

no one gets brownie points for anything when it comes to applications

 

[Jessica Booker]

Thank you so much Jessica! I did a traineeship at the European Commission (in Competition Law) and while I was there I was invited to attend networking events with law firms. I was wondering whether I could write about my impression of the firm and what I have learned about them after speaking with the lawyers (as the office that I visited was not located in London) or is it rather irrelevant? And that for example, after exploring opportunities there I still decided that working in the UK is more appealing to me.

it’s completely relevant and rationale. Pretty much how you’ve described it here is what you’d put on an application

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica

I have a question about preparing for commercial awareness questions. Lots of people say that you should know 3-4 commercial topics inside out to discuss them. I'm just struggling to work out what details about each topic are crucial to know - what sort of questions do interviewers tend to ask about commercial awareness?

I disagree with that advice.

even senior partners don’t know a subject inside out, so there isn’t an expectation for someone who hasn’t even started their career to do this.

Commercial awareness isn’t actually about knowledge. It’s a combination of interest in commercial matters, analytical skills and some common sense knowledge on how businesses work, but demonstrating this with a real willingness and drive to learn more (which is basically going to be what your career is all about).

Because of this, you aren’t going to get particular questions. I have probably heard 1000s of different commercial awareness questions over the years - these vary from firm to firm, from the experiences of each individual candidate, and what’s happening in the economy at that particular time.

The key theme in answering all of those questions is about thinking on your feet and demonstrating you have a genuine interest in commercial matters, and because of that you’ve picked up some of the basics relevant to the firm you are applying to (eg M&A for a firm that specialises in that, Litigation if a firm is strong in that practice area, that you understand how IB works if you are hoping to work for a firm that predominately works in Finance).

 

[Jessica Booker]

To follow on from my last post, I have lost count how many times a senior associate or partner has basically inferred or directly said the following in an interview:

You are going to give them the opportunity to learn the technical stuff during their training contract and it’s necessary for that learning to be constant throughout their career. What I can’t give them is their analytical ability, their want to learn, nor their ability or want to give things a go. Therefore it isn’t paramount that you get technical questions right if you can demonstrate all the stuff I can’t give you that’s important to us and your future career.

 

[tractor12]

Hi Jess,

If I were to get a TC offer starting in September 2022 and they have no preference as to where I complete my LPC, would I be able to choose between starting from this September and September 2021?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jess,

If I were to get a TC offer starting in September 2022 and they have no preference as to where I complete my LPC, would I be able to choose between starting from this September and September 2021?

Most likely up to you if they are not making you go down the SQE route.

 

[Crastle]

Hi Jess

I was wondering by the time you make it to AC stage, how much importance is generally placed on other factors of your application - eg grades, work experience. Is the final decision generally made entirely from your performance during the AC?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jess

I was wondering by the time you make it to AC stage, how much importance is generally placed on other factors of your application - eg grades, work experience. Is the final decision generally made entirely from your performance during the AC?

In terms of a decision on whether to hire or not, practically none unless there is a concern over something specific that comes from your assessments. For instance, your written exercise is a little weaker than they like, they may double check your English grades or more likely your pyschometrics test grades. Similarly, if you claimed you were fluent in a language and that was tested and the results suggested you weren’t fluent.

Where evidence on your application is utilised to make decisions is to try to understand where the benchmark of your ability/understanding of something should be right now. Eg studying law vs psychology vs economics, completing no vacation scheme vs completing six. I have known interviewers to have higher/lower expectations for very specific factors and say things like:

“considering this person has never studied law and their legal experience is very limited they were able to articulate their thinking on legal matters very well”

vs

“for someone who has done a LLM and 6 vacation schemes, they still couldn’t really articulate why they wanted to work as a commercial lawyer with us”.

 

[TChopeful2021]

Hi Jessica. When a firm asks if you require permission to the work in the UK in a vacation scheme application, are they referring to whether you need sponsorship for your training contract or just for the duration of the vacation scheme?
Furthermore if one does not need sponsorship during the training contract but need it for any post-TC/NQ positions, should they still disclose it at the application stage?

 

[amb98]

Hi Jessica, questions re qualifications:

- In an application, when a firm asks ‘have you ever had to resit an exam’ - is this referring to all the exams I’ve ever done or just at degree level. Asking this because in my school it was quite common to have a few sits at exams especially at GCSE, so for example could sit maths once in year 9 then again in year 11 to improve my grade. Degree transcripts show number of sits but GCSE and A-level do not so another factor to bear in mind.

- Secondly, after receiving an offer, are you required to provide proof of all qualifications including GCSEs or just A-Levels and degree?

Thanks!