Ask A Graduate Recruiter Anything!

[Daniel Boden]

Morning Jessica,

What is the best way of expressing interest in a particular practice area if you don't have a lot of experience it? I'm applying to a firm that does a lot of financial crime and fraud work (pretty much their only work tbh).

My reasons for being interested are:

1. that I am fascinated by the high profile nature of the work and how it overlaps with commercial affairs.
2. the fact that this firm's financial crime/fraud practice is very international -> I come from an international background myself and spent 2 years during my university years living, studying and working abroad and like working with people from different backgrounds
3. because I want to build a career in disputes law, which I am drawn to because of my work experience in the area.

I am concerned that these reasons might be fairly weak.

For point 1, I want to convey my enthusiasm for financial crime but don't think I'm doing it well. I feel I lack a strong basis to back up why I enjoy its overlap with the business world. Other than doing criminal law during my law degree and observing a few money laundering/fraud trials, I haven't done anything extra that could show my interest.

Point 2 is one that I've mentioned on a number of applications that have been rejected recently. It might not be the only reason, but are there better things I could be pointing out?

Point 3 is probably alright as disputes are the firm's only offering. But is saying you enjoyed work experience in the area enough?

I'm curious to know your thoughts.

Just a very minor point and I'm sure @Jessica Booker would agree (I hope anyway haha) I would try and avoid using words like 'fascinated' as I think they're a bit cliché. Say you're very interested by all means but I just think 'fascinated' could come across as a tad excessive.

Other than that your reasons look good to me! Just make sure you're able to say why they interest YOU specifically as that's the most important thing - best of luck!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Just a very minor point and I'm sure @Jessica Booker would agree (I hope anyway haha) I would try and avoid using words like 'fascinated' as I think they're a bit cliché. Say you're very interested by all means but I just think 'fascinated' could come across as a tad excessive.

Other than that your reasons look good to me! Just make sure you're able to say why they interest YOU specifically as that's the most important thing - best of luck!

I do agree on the language piece. You have to be really careful of over writing more general. The odd “fascinated” once or twice across a whole application might be ok, but if you are generally using lots of these types of phrases throughout its gets a bit 🥱😴🥱😴🥱.

I think you have to save such phrases for the very specific detail of the things are you “fascinated” by so that it comes across as far more genuine/sincere than if they are used throughout.

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

Hello @Jessica Booker hope you are doing well. How much work experience should a person have in the non-profit sector to convey that he/she is really interested in pro-bono and it really matters to him/her.

I have an 8-week stint at an NGO but other than that I have nothing which can show my inclination.

Thank You.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hello @Jessica Booker hope you are doing well. How much work experience should a person have in the non-profit sector to convey that he/she is really interested in pro-bono and it really matters to him/her.

I have an 8-week stint at an NGO but other than that I have nothing which can show my inclination.

Thank You.

They don’t need any at all. Proof of your interest in this area doesn’t come from work experience alone.

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

They don’t need any at all. Proof of your interest in this area doesn’t come from work experience alone.

Wow! I really didn't know this. Ma'am, how does the Grad Rec then assess whether the candidate is genuinely interested in Pro-bono or not? Isn't this against Freshfields' core principle of "show not tell"?

Thank You.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Wow! I really didn't know this. Ma'am, how does the Grad Rec then assess whether the candidate is genuinely interested in Pro-bono or not? Isn't this against Freshfields' core principle of "show not tell"?

Thank You.

Work experience doesn’t confirm you have an interest in pro bono, just that you did it.

You don’t even need to have an interest in pro bono, so there doesn’t even need to be any showing of it.

But even if you did want to show your interest, you could do this through your extra curriculars, through your research, through what you have read etc.

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

Work experience doesn’t confirm you have an interest in pro bono, just that you did it.

You don’t even need to have an interest in pro bono, so there doesn’t even need to be any showing of it.

But even if you did want to show your interest, you could do this through your extra curriculars, through your research, through what you have read etc.

Got it. Thank you so much.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi @Jessica Booker think the answer to this is blatantly obvious but I just want someone else’s opinion before I cry lol. I had a pre recorded video interview today. Unfortunately didn’t get any retakes but have the opportunity to replay my answers now. Just realised one of the questions was “what is your core strength and how would you utilise this as a trainee” but I answered it as “what is our core strength...” as in the firm’s. Do you think this matters? my answer for what I thought was the question was pretty good if that’s worth anything 😂thanks

Isn't necessarily a no.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi @Jessica Booker, I hope you are well.

I have noticed that some firms give candidates a relatively short period of time to complete their VI (2-3 days) whereas others prescribe a longer timeframe (7 days). Could I ask if they have the same level of expectations with regard to candidates' performance? I have found it hard to prepare thoroughly for a VI that is due within a short period of time even if I drop everything to prepare for it. Thank you!

Ultimately if every candidate has 2-3 days to complete it, the performance or expectations across firms doesn't matter, as they are only assessing one group of people fairly who have all had the same time.

The firm who gives you 2-3 days could easily not want you to prepare lots though. It is feasible they want more of a "think on your feet" performance rather than days of prep. But it could just be that they need you to complete it quickly so they can review all the video interviews given their time constraints/resource.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Thank you for your reply. I was also wondering if it is possible to obtain a copy of my VI? I took a look at the service provider's privacy policy but it made no mention of whether candidates can receive a copy of their VI, so I was wondering if that is plausible? Thanks a lot again.

You'd need to ask the firm as it is technically their information.

You have a right to request it where it is your data though, but a firm doesn't have to provide it to you (unless you put a SAR in).

 

[Ole1999]

Hi Jessica, I submitted a cover letter for a vacation scheme application last week. I’ve only just realised now that I completely forgot to put the date on the cover letter😖 Do you think they will see this as a big issue/error ?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica, I submitted a cover letter for a vacation scheme application last week. I’ve only just realised now that I completely forgot to put the date on the cover letter😖 Do you think they will see this as a big issue/error ?

No - not a deal breaker

 

[Legalmel_99]

Hi @Jessica Booker

I have an AC on Thursday and they’ve asked “”we would like you to chose one aspect of the firm which attracted you to apply for the Vacation Scheme and prepare 5 minute spoken presentation on how you can demonstrate this and/or why it is of interest to you.””

I am slightly confused does this mean a department in which the firm has? Or could it be something like D&I, a recent case they’ve done, CSR?

 

[FlapJack3000]

Hi @Jessica Booker,

I am a non-UK/non-EU citizen and graduated with a law degree from a UK institution about a year ago (my Tier 4 visa has expired). I was wondering whether the fact that I require visa puts me at a disadvantage or are law firms changing their perspective on this after Brexit and the new visa system?

Thank you in advance!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi @Jessica Booker

I have an AC on Thursday and they’ve asked “”we would like you to chose one aspect of the firm which attracted you to apply for the Vacation Scheme and prepare 5 minute spoken presentation on how you can demonstrate this and/or why it is of interest to you.””

I am slightly confused does this mean a department in which the firm has? Or could it be something like D&I, a recent case they’ve done, CSR?

Can be anything - could be a department but could also be something like D&I too. I would tae the "which attracted you" part very literally here. Don't choose something you think they want to hear, choose something that is truly something you are interested in/attracted to.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi @Jessica Booker,

I am a non-UK/non-EU citizen and graduated with a law degree from a UK institution about a year ago (my Tier 4 visa has expired). I was wondering whether the fact that I require visa puts me at a disadvantage or are law firms changing their perspective on this after Brexit and the new visa system?

Thank you in advance!

It is not that law firms are changing their perspective, it is the UK Government has. As of the beginning of this year, the process to apply for a visa for you is the exact same process as someone studying within the UK. In the past, a firm would have had to prove for someone like you who wasn't converting from a Tier 4 visa that they couldn't have recruited from within the UK/EU with whats called a resident labour market test (basic proof they went through all UK/EU applicants first and couldn't hire from that pool). The RLMT no longer exists and it is just a standard points based system that many large firms will easily met the points requirement for.

In short, the UK government has made it a lot easier to recruit candidates like you as of 2021.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Thank you so much Jessica, this is an extremely helpful clarification. Another question I had was: how likely are law firms are then to sponsor visa for paralegal roles? Is this something that does not really happen? If this was unheard of before, would you say after the abolishment of the resident labour market test, they may be more likely to consider doing so?

Unlikely due to cost and being able to find people in the UK market and many paralegal roles may not meet the points based system requirements anyway.

By the time a firm adds their lawyers fees on for applying for the visa it is usually about £6-8k for them. They aren’t going to do that for a role with a high flight risk and paying a relatively low salary. And that’s assuming they even meet the points based system.

Exceptions will be if the paralegal needs a very specific set of language skills that you are less likely to find from UK citizens.

 

[Kubed]

Hi @Jessica Booker - I have a one-to-one interview scheduled for early next week which I confirmed on Friday. I found out yesterday that I have a commitment at work which means I can't get the time off for the interview (I did initially have the time off approved, which is why I accepted the interview time).

I emailed yesterday (late afternoon) asking if it would be possible to reschedule the interview (to a later time in the day or to another day) but haven't heard anything back yet.

When would it be appropriate to follow-up? I'm hoping they're trying to find another available spot in the diary but also anxious that they may not have received my request. Thanks for any advice you can offer.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi @Jessica Booker - I have a one-to-one interview scheduled for early next week which I confirmed on Friday. I found out yesterday that I have a commitment at work which means I can't get the time off for the interview (I did initially have the time off approved, which is why I accepted the interview time).

I emailed yesterday (late afternoon) asking if it would be possible to reschedule the interview (to a later time in the day or to another day) but haven't heard anything back yet.

When would it be appropriate to follow-up? I'm hoping they're trying to find another available spot in the diary but also anxious that they may not have received my request. Thanks for any advice you can offer.

Wait until Friday lunchtime this week and then contact them if you haven’t heard back then. It is rare for an interview to be rearranged in less than 24 hours, especially at the moment with everything going on.

 

[Kubed]

Wait until Friday lunchtime this week and then contact them if you haven’t heard back then. It is rare for an interview to be rearranged in less than 24 hours, especially at the moment with everything going on.

Thanks very much - I need to be a bit more patient I think!