Ask Alice G (Future Trainee at Freshfields) Anything!

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Alice, I was also wondering how would you answer/ approach the questions:

1) Describe a situation in which you feel most like yourself

2) what inspires you when you are doing your work

I feel like there's a lot of help available on competency questions but enough on strengths-based. Especially with these two, I am not sure how I would tailor it to law firms instead of giving a generic answer.

Thank you!!

these are strengths based questions - it’s not about tailoring them to the law firm in question, because it’s likely to not be a truthful! It’s not a generic answer if you make sure it is tailored to you. Tailoring then to the firm will make them generic!

 

[Angiee]

these are strengths based questions - it’s not about tailoring them to the law firm in question, because it’s likely to not be a truthful! It’s not a generic answer if you make sure it is tailored to you. Tailoring then to the firm will make them generic!

Thank you Jessica! I am just really struggling to give an example to say 'when I feel most like myself'. I am curious as to what you and @Alice G would give for an example yourselves. I have done a lot of volunteering work with teaching children so do you think I could say I feel most myself when doing something I am passionate about such as giving back and working with children? ( but then I'm worried it will be a question of why law if you love working with children?)

 

[Alice G]

Thank you Jessica! I am just really struggling to give an example to say 'when I feel most like myself'. I am curious as to what you and @Alice G would give for an example yourselves. I have done a lot of volunteering work with teaching children so do you think I could say I feel most myself when doing something I am passionate about such as giving back and working with children? ( but then I'm worried it will be a question of why law if you love working with children?)

Let me think on this some more. A question like this would take me a while to ponder and consider so I ensured I was choosing something which shows ‘me’. I will write back tomorrow when I’ve had a bit more time to consider

 

[Jessica Booker]

Thank you Jessica! I am just really struggling to give an example to say 'when I feel most like myself'. I am curious as to what you and @Alice G would give for an example yourselves. I have done a lot of volunteering work with teaching children so do you think I could say I feel most myself when doing something I am passionate about such as giving back and working with children? ( but then I'm worried it will be a question of why law if you love working with children?)

Then you link the answer to why you would be passionate about a career in law (tread carefully on that though, as what people perceive about being passionate about it is different to the day job).

also use the “7 whys” to try and dig down into why you enjoyed working with children or helping others - https://medium.com/live-your-life-network/asking-the-7-whys-to-get-to-your-truth-2707d743a818.

this might find the reasons why you feel most comfortable in those situations, and more of the similarities to a career in law

 

[Angiee]

Then you link the answer to why you would be passionate about a career in law (tread carefully on that though, as what people perceive about being passionate about it is different to the day job).

also use the “7 whys” to try and dig down into why you enjoyed working with children or helping others - https://medium.com/live-your-life-network/asking-the-7-whys-to-get-to-your-truth-2707d743a818.

this might find the reasons why you feel most comfortable in those situations, and more of the similarities to a career in law

Thank you!

 

[skizzle]

Hi Alice, I have come across this question on the Bates Wells application and I was wondering if you could give me any guidance on how to answer it? 'Please provide any further information about yourself that is relevant to your application.' Thank you in advance!

 

[Alice G]

Hi Alice, I have come across this question on the Bates Wells application and I was wondering if you could give me any guidance on how to answer it? 'Please provide any further information about yourself that is relevant to your application.' Thank you in advance!

Hey there,

With this, I would try to think about anything further I want the firm to know about me that their application form hasn't allowed. Has it asked you about extracurriculars or awards and prizes? If not, they are just giving you a further outlet to sell yourself and try to show them your character. I wouldn't say you have to add loads here, just be selective and think about what else you would want them to know to account for in their consideration of you as a candidate.

@Jessica Booker might have further pointers/suggestions from the recruitment perspective

 

[Daniel Boden]

Hey there,

With this, I would try to think about anything further I want the firm to know about me that their application form hasn't allowed. Has it asked you about extracurriculars or awards and prizes? If not, they are just giving you a further outlet to sell yourself and try to show them your character. I wouldn't say you have to add loads here, just be selective and think about what else you would want them to know to account for in their consideration of you as a candidate.

@Jessica Booker might have further pointers/suggestions from the recruitment perspective

Agree with @Alice G here - I tend to use this part of the form to just include anything that I haven't been able to already to further sell myself as a candidate

 

[skizzle]

Hey there,

With this, I would try to think about anything further I want the firm to know about me that their application form hasn't allowed. Has it asked you about extracurriculars or awards and prizes? If not, they are just giving you a further outlet to sell yourself and try to show them your character. I wouldn't say you have to add loads here, just be selective and think about what else you would want them to know to account for in their consideration of you as a candidate.

@Jessica Booker might have further pointers/suggestions from the recruitment perspective

Thanks so much! I was considering this approach, except they already have a question that says 'Please give details of any prizes, scholarships, positions of responsibility and any other noteworthy achievements that will support your application'... so I'm a little confused haha

 

[Daniel Boden]

Thanks so much! I was considering this approach, except they already have a question that says 'Please give details of any prizes, scholarships, positions of responsibility and any other noteworthy achievements that will support your application'... hence why I'm a little confused haha

If that's the case and you feel you have already included everything you need to then I'd imagine you can leave it blank? @Alice G @Jessica Booker

 

[Alice G]

If that's the case and you feel you have already included everything you need to then I'd imagine you can leave it blank? @Alice G @Jessica Booker

I agree here - I don't think there is anything wrong in leaving this blank at all if you really feel everything has been said

 

[Jessica Booker]

If that's the case and you feel you have already included everything you need to then I'd imagine you can leave it blank? @Alice G @Jessica Booker

Yes - definitely the type of question that could be left blank if everything else is covered elsewhere in the application.

But if you are thinking "I wish they had asked me this" or "I wish there was more scope to explain that", this is the type of question you could put that detail in.

 

[Daniel Boden]

Yes - definitely the type of question that could be left blank if everything else is covered elsewhere in the application.

But if you are thinking "I wish they had asked me this" or "I wish there was more scope to explain that", this is the type of question you could put that detail in.

Thank you, as ever, for clarifying

 

[skizzle]

Thank you, as ever, for clarifying

I see, thank you so much all! @Alice G @Jessica Booker @Daniel Boden

 

[futuretraineecity]

Hi @Alice G, do you know if Freshfields direct TC applications which have just opened are reviewed on a non-rolling basis? Thanks

 

[Alice G]

Hi @Alice G, do you know if Freshfields direct TC applications which have just opened are reviewed on a non-rolling basis? Thanks

Freshfields were deadline driven, so not rolling, when I applied in their first application window this year so would assume this window is the exact same. It might be worth clarifying this but I would be 99% confident they are non-rolling

 

[futuretraineecity]

Freshfields were deadline driven, so not rolling, when I applied in their first application window this year so would assume this window is the exact same. It might be worth clarifying this but I would be 99% confident they are non-rolling

Okay will do! Thank you

 

[Osh]

Whats the best way to go about researching a US firm. One firm I'm researching simply has Europe as a category so the deals and information are not all specific to the UK. However, I don't want to ignore all the US information cause I'm assuming the UK office will have had some participation on some of them.

 

[Alice G]

Whats the best way to go about researching a US firm. One firm I'm researching simply has Europe as a category so the deals and information are not all specific to the UK. However, I don't want to ignore all the US information cause I'm assuming the UK office will have had some participation on some of them.

Hi may I just seek some more clarity here, are you researching into the firm to see why you might like to work for them? If so, it doesn’t have to be just about the deals of this is a little unclear online

 

[Osh]

Hi may I just seek some more clarity here, are you researching into the firm to see why you might like to work for them? If so, it doesn’t have to be just about the deals of this is a little unclear online

Its often mentioned to have a few deals that the firm has worked on to highlight your interest in the firm, or use a particular deal the firm worked on to show your interest in a certain practice area - that's the angle I'm coming from