Ask A Graduate Recruiter Anything!

[AK105]

Hello @Jessica Booker
I hope that you have been doing well.

My question was about references. I had some very hands on work experience in an immigration/property law firm aged 17. I blatantly remember having to mark up leases, prepare client questionnaires, copy type letters to the home office for entry clearance etc. The firm has now shut down, however I still managed to track down my previous employers. They do not remember me at all, and refuse to believe that I did any of the work I listed. I feel kind of weirded out, because I blatantly remember working with paralegals and solicitors and doing a lot of hands on work, and one employer cant believe that she would have given this much work to a work experience candidate.

Should I include this work experience on an application form? I am worried that if HR does an employment check and they track down my previous employers, my training contract will be taken away from me if my previous employers do not admit the amount of work that they piled on me. I do think its really unfair, because I had a lot of hands on experience.

Regards,
Rijul

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hello @Jessica Booker
I hope that you have been doing well.

My question was about references. I had some very hands on work experience in an immigration/property law firm aged 17. I blatantly remember having to mark up leases, prepare client questionnaires, copy type letters to the home office for entry clearance etc. The firm has now shut down, however I still managed to track down my previous employers. They do not remember me at all, and refuse to believe that I did any of the work I listed. I feel kind of weirded out, because I blatantly remember working with paralegals and solicitors and doing a lot of hands on work, and one employer cant believe that she would have given this much work to a work experience candidate.

Should I include this work experience on an application form? I am worried that if HR does an employment check and they track down my previous employers, my training contract will be taken away from me if my previous employers do not admit the amount of work that they piled on me.

Regards,
Rijul

References very rarely substantiate the work you have done. Just that you were there. If a company no longer exists then it's quite common for references to not be obtained.

The firm wouldn't be able to get a reference by the sounds of it, let along ask someone to verify the details of what you actually did.

So basically, nothing to worry about here.

 

[AK105]

References very rarely substantiate the work you have done. Just that you were there. If a company no longer exists then it's quite common for references to not be obtained.

The firm wouldn't be able to get a reference by the sounds of it, let along ask someone to verify the details of what you actually did.

So basically, nothing to worry about here.

Thank you sm Jessica!

 

[Numerius Negidius]

Hi Jessica, do you have any advice on video interviews where the questions are very similar to the application form (eg why law/recent commercial issues)? Should I talk about things I didn't bring up in my application or answer as I otherwise would?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica, do you have any advice on video interviews where the questions are very similar to the application form (eg why law/recent commercial issues)? Should I talk about things I didn't bring up in my application or answer as I otherwise would?

It's either about providing more depth or a slightly different angle to what you have presented in your application or providing more variety. Stating exactly the same as your application wouldn't be a great idea.

 

[SLKEJRWOI97]

Hi Jess,

Hope your weekend has been well.

This may be a FAQ but I wanted to know, how should candidates effectively answer the "Why us" question?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jess,

Hope your weekend has been well.

This may be a FAQ but I wanted to know, how should candidates effectively answer the "Why us" question?

I guess by why us, you mean why the firm?

If so, it’s about aligning your career aspirations to what the firm can offer. There is little point in just factually stating things the firm already knows about itself unless you are explaining why they are important to you and therefore demonstrating there is a decent chance you will be happy/motivated doing the job in their firm.

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

Hello @Jessica Booker hope you are doing well. Could you please tell me, how does Freshfields' workshop's personal statement (400 words) differ from their TC personal statement (800 words)? What is it that can be omitted in the workshop statement but must certainly be included in your TC personal statement?

Thanks in advance.

 

[LEL]

Hello @Jessica Booker hope you are doing well. Could you please tell me, how does Freshfields' workshop's personal statement (400 words) differ from their TC personal statement (800 words)? What is it that can be omitted in the workshop statement but must certainly be included in your TC personal statement?

Thanks in advance.

Not Jessica, but I was successful in passing both so I may be of help. The workshop statement is essentially a shorter TC personal statement. For eg instead of including three motivations for applying to the firm, I mentioned two and condensed them more. I also cut down my 'why law' paragraph. My structure was one reason for why law, two reasons for why the firm, and 2 reasons for why me, all condensed but still getting my main point across. I wouldn't say there's anything you must include in the TC one, to be honest
Not sure if I explained that well! Let me know if you have other questions

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

Not Jessica, but I was successful in passing both so I may be of help. The workshop statement is essentially a shorter TC personal statement. For eg instead of including three motivations for applying to the firm, I mentioned two and condensed them more. I also cut down my 'why law' paragraph. My structure was one reason for why law, two reasons for why the firm, and 2 reasons for why me, all condensed but still getting my main point across. I wouldn't say there's anything you must include in the TC one, to be honest
Not sure if I explained that well! Let me know if you have other questions

Thank you so much for your answer.

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

Hello @Jessica Booker hope you are doing well. I was just filling out the Linklaters application and there is a question that goes something like "Is your primary undergraduate degree a law degree or a non-law degree?" I am doing a 5 year integrated BALLB from an Indian law school which is going to be treated as a non law degree in the UK so could you please help?

Thanks.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hello @Jessica Booker hope you are doing well. I was just filling out the Linklaters application and there is a question that goes something like "Is your primary undergraduate degree a law degree or a non-law degree?" I am doing a 5 year integrated BALLB from an Indian law school which is going to be treated as a non law degree in the UK so could you please help?

Thanks.

You should choose a law degree

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

Hello @Jessica Booker hope you are doing well. Kind of a vague question but how can someone like me who has never worked on any cross-border and international transaction show an interest in the same? I have my reasons for commercial law that I feel are pretty convincing but the UK firms would also require me to show an inclination towards international and cross border work, because commercial law firms exist in India too.

Thanks.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hello @Jessica Booker hope you are doing well. Kind of a vague question but how can someone like me who has never worked on any cross-border and international transaction show an interest in the same? I have my reasons for commercial law that I feel are pretty convincing but the UK firms would also require me to show an inclination towards international and cross border work, because commercial law firms exist in India too.

Thanks.

Lots of people apply successfully with no exposure to cross border/international legal work. It’s just about aligning your interests to the detail of what international means. For some people it will be the variety, for the next it might be the fact they have to work with lots of different people, for the next it might be that they get to use their language skills.

Really try to get under the skin of what it is about international work that is interesting to you. That can be done through research, attending events, talking to people in the industry etc. You don’t have to necessarily experience it directly.

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

Hello @Jessica Booker hope you are doing well. While inputting my university modules, do you think I should start with the latest ones first or the oldest? Also, my latest ones are really high (most of them are high firsts) and my oldest ones are pretty average and below-average to be honest, do you think it makes a difference?

Thanks.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hello @Jessica Booker hope you are doing well. While inputting my university modules, do you think I should start with the latest ones first or the oldest? Also, my latest ones are really high (most of them are high firsts) and my oldest ones are pretty average and below-average to be honest, do you think it makes a difference?

Thanks.

Generally I’d go with most recent first.

Your more recent grades will always be of more interest than your older ones as it’s generally more reflective of your capabilities now.

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

Generally I’d go with most recent first.

Your more recent grades will always be of more interest than your older ones as it’s generally more reflective of your capabilities now.

I'm glad I asked this question because I was planning on doing the complete opposite. Thank you so much.

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

Hello @Jessica Booker hope you are doing well. One of the reasons why I want to apply to Linklaters is because they have market-leading practices across Corp, Finance and Disputes so no matter what I end up doing, I can be sure that I will qualify in a market leading practice. The problem here is that, although I've had sufficient experience to substantiate my interest in M&A (which means that I do enjoy Corporate work), I have no tangible work experience/exposure in Finance and Disputes.

Q-My question is, do we need to have experience/exposure in Finance and Disputes to show that we might like them? Or can I just state that I might enjoy Finance and Disputes work without really having any proof?

Q-Also, do you know of any Forage schemes that can give me insights into Finance and Disputes specifically? I really want to do it since I am truly open to qualifying in any department. I don't want to make it look like I'm wedded to M&A because that might imply that I will hate the rest of my TC seats.

Thanks in advance.

 

[33c]

Hello @Jessica Booker hope you are doing well. One of the reasons why I want to apply to Linklaters is because they have market-leading practices across Corp, Finance and Disputes so no matter what I end up doing, I can be sure that I will qualify in a market leading practice. The problem here is that, although I've had sufficient experience to substantiate my interest in M&A (which means that I do enjoy Corporate work), I have no tangible work experience/exposure in Finance and Disputes.

Q-My question is, do we need to have experience/exposure in Finance and Disputes to show that we might like them? Or can I just state that I might enjoy Finance and Disputes work without really having any proof?

Q-Also, do you know of any Forage schemes that can give me insights into Finance and Disputes specifically? I really want to do it since I am truly open to qualifying in any department. I don't want to make it look like I'm wedded to M&A because that might imply that I will hate the rest of my TC seats.

Thanks in advance.

Hi! Not Jessica but I thought I would weigh in!

Its absolutely fine to be interested in a department without having worked in that sector before. However, you should avoid just stating that you enjoy Finance/disputes. Try to dig deeper into why you like those departments. i.e. Do you enjoy the technical/fast paced nature of finance / the investigative nature of disputes? Have you done any extra-curricular / work experience where you can draw parallels to the work? You should always try and substantiate your interests

Regarding forage schemes, there is definitely a couple of white collar/disputes schemes and banking schemes on the website. If you choose to write about them in your application, make sure to explain what you learnt/enjoyed about them rather than just stating the tasks you did. These scheme could also be really beneficial in substantiating your interest as mentioned above.

Edit - I have linked some of the schemes below

Latham Banking - https://www.theforage.com/virtual-i...-&-Watkins-Banking-Virtual-Experience-Program

Latham White Collar - https://www.theforage.com/virtual-i...tkins-White-Collar-Virtual-Experience-Program

Clifford Chance Sustainable Finance - https://www.theforage.com/virtual-i...Sustainable-Finance-Global-Virtual-Internship

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

Hi! Not Jessica but I thought I would weigh in!

Its absolutely fine to be interested in a department without having worked in that sector before. However, you should avoid just stating that you enjoy Finance/disputes. Try to dig deeper into why you like those departments. i.e. Do you enjoy the technical/fast paced nature of finance / the investigative nature of disputes? Have you done any extra-curricular / work experience where you can draw parallels to the work? You should always try and substantiate your interests

Regarding forage schemes, there is definitely a couple of white collar/disputes schemes and banking schemes on the website. If you choose to write about them in your application, make sure to explain what you learnt/enjoyed about them rather than just stating the tasks you did. These scheme could also be really beneficial in substantiating your interest as mentioned above.

Edit - I have linked some of the schemes below

Latham Banking - https://www.theforage.com/virtual-i...-&-Watkins-Banking-Virtual-Experience-Program

Latham White Collar - https://www.theforage.com/virtual-i...tkins-White-Collar-Virtual-Experience-Program

Clifford Chance Sustainable Finance - https://www.theforage.com/virtual-i...Sustainable-Finance-Global-Virtual-Internship

Thank you for this. Can I PM you regarding a question on similar lines? Thanks in advance.