Ask A Graduate Recruiter Anything!

[Jessica Booker]

I am going away at the end of this week for roughly about 2 weeks. But I also have told them that I have a part-time job so I assume they would take that into consideration about my start availability

They could ask you in the interview when you are available to start. Just say after you need this two weeks off.

If they don't ask you this in the interview, then just explain it if/when you are made an offer.

Two weeks in the grand scheme of things is no time at all. They probably won't get paper work out to your until the end of first week and then you’ll probably need to go through some form of vetting which can take time too.

 

[Lily721]

They could ask you in the interview when you are available to start. Just say after you need this two weeks off.

If they don't ask you this in the interview, then just explain it if/when you are made an offer.

Two weeks in the grand scheme of things is no time at all. They probably won't get paper work out to your until the end of first week and then you’ll probably need to go through some form of vetting which can take time too.

Great, thank you!

 

[HorsesForCoursesNeighNeighNeigh]

Bit of a strange question--in the documents for a firm's TC, they have put a condition that if you fail to pass either the LPC or GDL on your first attempt then you will have to repay both the fees and your living allowance. Is this something they would ever be likely to enforce, if the worst came to the worst? So if for example you were ill or had some major unexpected issues you could not only lose your job, but also end up liable for a major debt...would they ever actually do this, it seems a very hostile way to treat students.

 

[Daniel Boden]

Bit of a strange question--in the documents for a firm's TC, they have put a condition that if you fail to pass either the LPC or GDL on your first attempt then you will have to repay both the fees and your living allowance. Is this something they would ever be likely to enforce, if the worst came to the worst? So if for example you were ill or had some major unexpected issues you could not only lose your job, but also end up liable for a major debt...would they ever actually do this, it seems a very hostile way to treat students.

Clauses like this are normally if there are no mitigating circumstances for why you didn't pass on the first attempt. I am certain that if you had good reasons for not passing that the firm would be amenable and would be very open to having discussions with you about it so I wouldn't worry

 

[Jessica Booker]

Bit of a strange question--in the documents for a firm's TC, they have put a condition that if you fail to pass either the LPC or GDL on your first attempt then you will have to repay both the fees and your living allowance. Is this something they would ever be likely to enforce, if the worst came to the worst? So if for example you were ill or had some major unexpected issues you could not only lose your job, but also end up liable for a major debt...would they ever actually do this, it seems a very hostile way to treat students.

Firms will apply mitigating circumstances to people who fail. So if you were ill, you’d most likely defer your exams and so you did them when you were better.

But yes, firms will enforce this. I had to create agreements in my time where people were paying back £300 a month for 8-9 years (and that was sometime ago when fees/maintenance was lower).

Law school isn’t cheap. It may seem hostile, but at the same time a firm paying out £40-45k worth of tuition/maintenance for someone they can’t employ when they need to is also exceptionally generous.

 

[JayB]

Hey @Jessica Booker

I recently started a paralegal position at a high street firm, but making direct TC applications to City law firms (where my interests lie) do you think I should not include them in the work experience section? As I am hoping to secure a offer with a City firm then hand in my notice.

or will it still be looked at as good experience despite me not really doing any practice areas which city law firms do, a part from commercial property transactions.

Thank you

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hey @Jessica Booker

I recently started a paralegal position at a high street firm, but making direct TC applications to City law firms (where my interests lie) do you think I should not include them in the work experience section? As I am hoping to secure a offer with a City firm then hand in my notice.

or will it still be looked at as good experience despite me not really doing any practice areas which city law firms do, a part from commercial property transactions.

Thank you

You definitely include it. Some work experience is better than no work experience

 

[JayB]

You definitely include it. Some work experience is better than no work experience

Thank you - but if I include it will the firms see it as a negative thing as my paralegal role is with a high street firm not a city law firm. Also if I do add them in my work experience section do I have to give them as my current reference? As they don’t know me very well as I just started, can I give my previous employer (I left that role in Feb).

 

[Jessica Booker]

Thank you - but if I include it will the firms see it as a negative thing as my paralegal role is with a high street firm not a city law firm. Also if I do add them in my work experience section do I have to give them as my current reference? As they don’t know me very well as I just started, can I give my previous employer (I left that role in Feb).

Any employment is better than no employment.

You need to provide a reference for both employers anyway (in time).

 

[JayB]

Any employment is better than no employment.

You need to provide a reference for both employers anyway (in time).

Oh! Do I have to give them as a reference, because the firm seems to want me to train with them, and accept their training contract offer and I don’t want to. If I provide them as a reference will they give me a bad reference? I know they shouldn’t, but it’s sometimes hard to know because they will want me to stay with them and I don’t want that haha!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Oh! Do I have to give them as a reference, because the firm seems to want me to train with them, and accept their training contract offer and I don’t want to. If I provide them as a reference will they give me a bad reference? I know they shouldn’t, but it’s sometimes hard to know because they will want me to stay with them and I don’t want that haha!

Yes - you will have to have all your employment confirmed for anything up to the last 7 years.

References are pretty standard these days - it will most likely just confirm your dates of employment and your job title.

 

[JayB]

Yes - you will have to have all your employment confirmed for anything up to the last 7 years.

References are pretty standard these days - it will most likely just confirm your dates of employment and your job title.

Thank you! That seems fine then, with regards to all employment. I have done quite a lot of internships and pro-bono projects how will they confirm those?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Thank you! That seems fine then, with regards to all employment. I have done quite a lot of internships and pro-bono projects how will they confirm those?

They will ask for a reference in the same way if you have deemed it employment in your application.

 

[ChuPnl]

Hi Jessica,

I hope you are well.

I'm having a bit of a hard time making a decision and do not know what to think...
I have an upcoming vacation scheme at the start of June and I'm graduating this year.

I have just been offered to do a 2 months internship in London (which would be an awesome opportunity), but have been asked if I'd be available either for June or September.
I could potentially start working for them mid-June, however I do not know whether I will have any additional interview following the week my VS takes place on that might clash with this internship?
And on the other hand, I could do it in September, but should I be successful for a TC I would then have to start the LPC in September - and if I wasn't successful, this internship would get in the way of any other job (I could only start job hunting in novembre 2021).

Do you have any advice regarding this type of situation? Should I risk doing June and eventually taking a day off for my VS interview ? (in case there is any?)

Thank you in advance.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica,

I hope you are well.

I'm having a bit of a hard time making a decision and do not know what to think...
I have an upcoming vacation scheme at the start of June and I'm graduating this year.

I have just been offered to do a 2 months internship in London (which would be an awesome opportunity), but have been asked if I'd be available either for June or September.
I could potentially start working for them mid-June, however I do not know whether I will have any additional interview following the week my VS takes place on that might clash with this internship?
And on the other hand, I could do it in September, but should I be successful for a TC I would then have to start the LPC in September - and if I wasn't successful, this internship would get in the way of any other job (I could only start job hunting in novembre 2021).

Do you have any advice regarding this type of situation? Should I risk doing June and eventually taking a day off for my VS interview ? (in case there is any?)

Thank you in advance.

I’d start the job after your VS and just make them aware you may need to take a day off. People are allowed to take time off work and it might only be an hour or so anyway, so you might not even need to take a full day.

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

Hello @Jessica Booker hope you are doing well. I wanted to ask you, in the partner interview at the end where they are asking us if we have any questions for them, should we ask them commercial questions relating to their practice area or can it be anything relating to their professional lives. I get that it is stupid to ask them about the training structure because that is more suited to the HR interview but what is it that can actually be asked?

Also, how many questions should we ask at most? My guess would be two?

Thanks.

 

[ASH26]

Hello @Jessica Booker

I'd like to thank you for the answers you have provided on here over the past few years! As an aspiring solicitor, they have been very helpful to read through.

I am a non-law grad applying for TC's. I graduated in 2019 and through a family member I have been able to do some part time paralegal work for a year alongside some shadowing to bolster my CV for TC's. The query I have is that I share the same name as the firm I was working for (X Solicitors) and it is a fairly uncommon name. I was wondering if this would appear in a negative light in the eye's of a recruiter, given that family references are a bit suspicious.

Many thanks!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hello @Jessica Booker

I'd like to thank you for the answers you have provided on here over the past few years! As an aspiring solicitor, they have been very helpful to read through.

I am a non-law grad applying for TC's. I graduated in 2019 and through a family member I have been able to do some part time paralegal work for a year alongside some shadowing to bolster my CV for TC's. The query I have is that I share the same name as the firm I was working for (X Solicitors) and it is a fairly uncommon name. I was wondering if this would appear in a negative light in the eye's of a recruiter, given that family references are a bit suspicious.

Many thanks!

Lots of people end up working in family businesses. You just need to explain that it is a family business - there’s not much else you can do about it 🤷🏻‍♀️

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hello @Jessica Booker

I'm torn on whether to self-fund a part time PGDL - as a STEM DPhil I feel it would help prove my motivation for law when I reapply next cycle, but do you think it would make a material difference to the application stage as a PGDL student rather than a STEM graduate (with no general work experience)?

At the moment, I've had some workshop schemes under my belt (mostly private equity/patent related) and some open days which I did over the course of this cycle. I've had 5 AC invites from a mix of MC/US/techy firms and another 6 progressed post-screening, but these are out of 40 applications. I don't think I sacrificed much quality to quantity but next year I will probably focus on fewer firms and in the mean time reach out to alumni who work(ed) at those firms.

If you are going to do the GDL this year, do it full time. The GDL could be a waste of time (as a qualification anyway) if most firms have converted to the SQE by the time you were able to start a training contract. Or make sure it is a combined GDL/SQE prep course (but the quaification will still mean very little).

 

[Matt_96]

Afternoon Jessica,

I've just received the Dechert VI and I'm in two minds about whether I should do it or not. On one hand, I want to give myself as many chances as possible with different law firms, as I only have one VS lined up and two other Direct TC interviews, but that is no guarantee of anything.

On the other, I've looked at the dates of their VS and they clash with exams that I simply cannot miss. I didn't know when I applied for the summer VS that I wouldn't be able to make the scheme as I hadn't yet started the LPC and my exam dates had not been released, and I am still quite keen on the firm.

Personally, I'd like to get in touch with them to ask them what they would advise me to do, but there is no phone number available, only an email, and I think that I probably wouldn't get a response before the time limit on the VI runs out given how busy all law firm recruitment departments have been this year.

What would you do in my situation? Obviously there is no guarantee I'd even be invited to the AC, but should I take a punt at the VI or just send an email declining and setting out my reasons?