Ask A Graduate Recruiter Anything!

[Jessica Booker]

thank you, Jessica!

It is probably worthwhile explaining your grades in a “just in case” perspective and stating your UCAS points or equivalent to three A-level grades.

 

[A.Diane01]

Hi @Jessica Booker , hope you're good.

I come from a non-law background, and was wondering if I could get some guidance on what a firm would be looking for regarding these two questions?:

What do you feel will be the biggest challenges for the legal sector over the next 12 months?

Covid and Brexit have brought many changes and challenges to a number of sectors over recent years. Please discuss one of the sectors you believe has been affected.

I've been staring at them for about a week now trying to come up with something so I think it's time I ask for some help!

 

[kat_]

It is probably worthwhile explaining your grades in a “just in case” perspective and stating your UCAS points or equivalent to three A-level grades.

Right, of course, I will do that from now on. Thank you!!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi @Jessica Booker

I was wondering if you could answer the following:

My academic history is as follows: 10 A*s GCSE, first in my degree (non RG), master's from cambridge. But I did poorly in my A levels and got a ABCC.

I do have a decent amount of work experience too.

Will this hinder my chance of getting a TC at Clifford chance or Freshfields? I cannot see on Clifford chance website that they state you need certain A levels, but I have read elsewhere online that they want 340 UCAS points. With my 4 A levels I have a total of 380, but i don't know if the 340 refers to only the top 3 A levels.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you.

The first thing I would stress is that you have not done poorly in your A-levels - they are still great grades.

Unfortunately, firms will only consider your top three A-level grades for the UCAS calculation (excluding subjects like General Studies/Critical Thinking A-levels) and also when they are sat in the same year.

In 2017, CC removed all academic requirements from their roles - How we hire (cliffordchance.com) so I don't think your ABC grades will be an issue for them

Freshfields hasn't had an A-level requirement for at least 9 years now and their website still states they do not have a minimum A-level requirement on their website, so again, I don't think there are any issues in applying for them.

It may be an issue for other firms that do ask for ABB (or above) grades though

 

[e1996]

The first thing I would stress is that you have not done poorly in your A-levels - they are still great grades.

Unfortunately, firms will only consider your top three A-level grades for the UCAS calculation (excluding subjects like General Studies/Critical Thinking A-levels) and also when they are sat in the same year.

In 2017, CC removed all academic requirements from their roles - How we hire (cliffordchance.com) so I don't think your ABC grades will be an issue for them

Freshfields hasn't had an A-level requirement for at least 9 years now and their website still states they do not have a minimum A-level requirement on their website, so again, I don't think there are any issues in applying for them.

It may be an issue for other firms that do ask for ABB (or above) grades though

Thank you for your reply !

 

[mustardcustard]

Dear @Jessica Booker, I hope you are well! I'm not sure on how to approach a vacation scheme question from Baker McKenzie and would greatly appreciate your views.

Select three key skills that you believe are critical to the role of a commercial lawyer. How have you developed these skills? (300 words max) *

Do you think I should include a justification for why each skill is important, or would it be fine to just name 3 skills and jump straight to how I have developed them?

Thank you very much for your consideration.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Dear @Jessica Booker, I hope you are well! I'm not sure on how to approach a vacation scheme question from Baker McKenzie and would greatly appreciate your views.

Select three key skills that you believe are critical to the role of a commercial lawyer. How have you developed these skills? (300 words max) *

Do you think I should include a justification for why each skill is important, or would it be fine to just name 3 skills and jump straight to how I have developed them?

Thank you very much for your consideration.

I would recommend including why you believe the skills are of particular importance.

 

[sakaesr99]

Hi @Jessica Booker, Eversheds' application is comprised of 3 strengths based questions and nothing else. How do you recommend standing out in these types of questions, as I feel like my answers will be quite similar to everyone else's?

 

[Lastseasonwonder]

Hi @Jessica Booker,

I hope you are doing well.

This Wednesday Jones Day requested from my academic referee an academic reference (the Firm also told me about this on the same day via email). The next day I checked in with my referee about it and they said that they don't have enough time to send it as they are going on break on Friday, but said that they will respond to the Firm saying that they will send the reference when back in January from annual leave.

I am now left really worried about this, thinking it may affect my chances of an interview offer from the Firm (like the timing that the reference will be sent) Should I talk to grad rec and confirm if they have received the email from my academic referee and that I am still really interested in the Firm?

Thank you.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi @Jessica Booker,

I hope you are doing well.

This Wednesday Jones Day requested from my academic referee an academic reference (the Firm also told me about this on the same day via email). The next day I checked in with my referee about it and they said that they don't have enough time to send it as they are going on break on Friday, but said that they will respond to the Firm saying that they will send the reference when back in January from annual leave.

I am now left really worried about this, thinking it may affect my chances of an interview offer from the Firm (like the timing that the reference will be sent) Should I talk to grad rec and confirm if they have received the email from my academic referee and that I am still really interested in the firm?

Thank you.

It sounds like the firm won’t get the reference until the New Year, and so I don’t think it’s a case of asking whether they have received it, more that is receiving it in the new year ok, and if not is there any alternative information/referee details you can provide instead.

 

[James Carrabino]

Hi @Jessica Booker,

I hope you are doing well.

This Wednesday Jones Day requested from my academic referee an academic reference (the Firm also told me about this on the same day via email). The next day I checked in with my referee about it and they said that they don't have enough time to send it as they are going on break on Friday, but said that they will respond to the Firm saying that they will send the reference when back in January from annual leave.

I am now left really worried about this, thinking it may affect my chances of an interview offer from the Firm (like the timing that the reference will be sent) Should I talk to grad rec and confirm if they have received the email from my academic referee and that I am still really interested in the firm?

Thank you.

Hi @Dwight - yes call grad rec and explain the issue. They will have seen this before plus it's the week of christmas so would be tough for them to fault your academic referee. Definitely worth letting them know though

 

[Lastseasonwonder]

It sounds like the firm won’t get the reference until the New Year, and so I don’t think it’s a case of asking whether they have received it, more that is receiving it in the new year ok, and if not is there any alternative information/referee details you can provide instead.

Hi @Dwight - yes call grad rec and explain the issue. They will have seen this before plus it's the week of christmas so would be tough for them to fault your academic referee. Definitely worth letting them know though

Thank you both for the swift reply!

@Jessica Booker: I meant the email that they said that they would send about responding in Jan (not the reference email - that they said they will send when back in Jan). I think I will call to have my voice heard and explain the issue - as James has mentioned it is likely that they have had this problem with a previous candidate, and in particular considering it is just a week before Christmas.

@James Carrabino - Thanks. Will call on Monday explaining the situation and putting my voice across. I just hope they understand the situation of my referee. I'm interested in the firm and think I have a strong shot with them! Aghh so anxious!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Thank you both for the swift reply!

@Jessica Booker: I meant the email that they said that they would send about responding in Jan (not the reference email - that they said they will send when back in Jan). I think I will call to have my voice heard and explain the issue - as James has mentioned it is likely that they have had this problem with a previous candidate, and in particular considering it is just a week before Christmas.

@James Carrabino - Thanks. Will call on Monday explaining the situation and putting my voice across. I just hope they understand the situation of my referee. I'm interested in the firm and think I have a strong shot with them! Aghh so anxious!

Yes - they will have had this happen all the time even outside of Christmas. Some referees never get back to reference requests.

You just need to ask whether:

1) it can wait until the new year
2) if not, is there any other information you can provide as an alternative.

 

[Lastseasonwonder]

Yes - they will have had this happen all the time even outside of Christmas. Some referees never get back to reference requests.

You just need to ask whether:

1) it can wait until the new year
2) if not, is there any other information you can provide as an alternative.

Ok, I will note both these questions and have a chat with the Team on Monday. Out of curiosity, what exactly is included in an academic reference? Never had to deal with one before.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Ok, I will note both these questions and have a chat with the Team on Monday. Out of curiosity, what exactly is included in an academic reference? Never had to deal with one before.

Usually just confirmation of your grades. It’s why a lot of the time an email from your faculty office will be sufficient.

Some academic references can put more of a character reference for individuals but where that is rarely consistent, firms tend to just want confirmation that your grades are what you have said they are in your application.

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

Hello @Jessica Booker. Hope you are doing well. I just had a Zoom call with a trainee at one of the firms that I was applying to and she had a slightly different accent than the regular UK accent which made it difficult for me to understand what she was saying at times. I then requested her to slow down a bit and thankfully she did and it was okay from there. I wanted to ask you how a scenario like this could be perceived by a member of the Grad rec team? Would it be worrying for them that we aren't able to grasp the British accent properly, and can we ask the person to slow down?

Thanks.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hello @Jessica Booker. Hope you are doing well. I just had a Zoom call with a trainee at one of the firms that I was applying to and she had a slightly different accent than the regular UK accent which made it difficult for me to understand what she was saying at times. I then requested her to slow down a bit and thankfully she did and it was okay from there. I wanted to ask you how a scenario like this could be perceived by a member of the Grad rec team? Would it be worrying for them that we aren't able to grasp the British accent properly, and can we ask the person to slow down?

Thanks.

I am not convinced graduate recruitment would even know about this where they weren’t on the call.

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

I am not convinced graduate recruitment would even know about this where they weren’t on the call.

I think I was not able to convey the message properly, apologies. What I meant was that if in the near future I make it to an AC and I'm unable to understand the accent of my interviewer, can I request her to slow down or would that be a clear red flag because I might be showing her that I have issues grasping British English and her accent in particular.

Thanks.

 

[Jessica Booker]

I think I was not able to convey the message properly, apologies. What I meant was that if in the near future I make it to an AC and I'm unable to understand the accent of my interviewer, can I request her to slow down or would that be a clear red flag because I might be showing her that I have issues grasping British English and her accent in particular.

Thanks.

Rather than asking them to slow down, I would ask them to repeat the question/what they were saying.

You will hear every type of accent in a law firm, not just English accents but accents influenced by non-English dialects, all of which, on occasion, can be difficult to interpret from individual to individual.

I don’t think it is an issue unless it is extreme and you struggle to understand multiple people a lot of the time.

 

[Asil Ahmad]

Dear @Jessica Booker, I hope you are well! I'm not sure on how to approach a vacation scheme question from Baker McKenzie and would greatly appreciate your views.

Select three key skills that you believe are critical to the role of a commercial lawyer. How have you developed these skills? (300 words max) *

Do you think I should include a justification for why each skill is important, or would it be fine to just name 3 skills and jump straight to how I have developed them?

Thank you very much for your consideration.

Just to add to this wanted to ask will innovation be an okay skill to discuss as law firms are becoming innovative and Baker McKenzie are known to be innovative. But I also discussed innovation in an earlier question in the application the question is about three things different to us so would it be okay to discuss innovation in another question in the same application.