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CMS 2020/1 Opportunities
- Thread starter Tomas Levy
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Congratulations to all of you who successfully obtained a position on an assessment day. The process is extremely competitive so you have done very well to get this far.
Below is a summary from an article I recently wrote giving candidates some pointers on how to approach an assessment centre. I hope it can be of use.
Assessment day advice from a CMS Brand Ambassador
Assessment days are the ways in which recruiters gain a deeper insight into an applicants skills, knowledge and personality, to see if they are an appropriate pick for the upcoming vacation scheme. Whilst every firm’s assessment day’s content and structure will vary, they all aim to test very similar skills. As such, firms generally adopt similar methods and exercises. In this short article, I will cover these similarities, but also the ways in which you can prepare for any contingencies by exploring the fundamental knowledge and skills firms normally look for.
Assessment days tend to be composed of three exercises: group exercises, case studies and presentations, and individual interviews.
Group Exercise:
Group exercises generally take the form of a negotiation exercise during which you will either be assigned a partner or placed into a larger team. You will have to review information, discuss it and negotiate with another group to come to a conclusion. During the preliminary discussion, it is crucial that you demonstrate both teamwork and interpersonal skills by quickly integrating yourself into the team. Offering to monitor the time or take notes can be useful, but more important is demonstrating that you can get the best out of your colleagues. If someone is quiet, ask them what they think. If someone offers a great idea and its overlooked, suggest they mention it again. The most important thing is working together in order to reach the best solution for everyone, rather than just yourself.
Case study and presentation/written exercise:
During this exercise, firms will present you with a range of information, that you will usually see for the first time on the day, and certain aims. These could be a client’s aims or the firm’s aims; either way, you will need to quickly ingest the information provided and, usually, prepare a presentation or piece of writing for a client, a supervisor etc. Key to this exercise are analytical skills, necessary to identify the salient facts and think of potential solutions, and written or verbal communication skills to give a clear and concise presentation/written brief. Commercial awareness can also be very helpful. Think about the way in which current affairs might affect the information provided.
Individual interviews:
Almost all assessment days will include an interview, possibly run by a senior associate or partner. To a certain extent, the interview is unique in that there are far more aspects which you can prepare for by thinking about what an interviewer might ask you.
Receiving an assessment day offer means the firm thought your online application was excellent. Whether this was a cover letter, an application form or an email, make sure you have reviewed all the information you included (grades, experiences, people etc.) and think about how and why you arrived at such an outcome, why you made such choices, what you would have done differently and what you developed and improved. Maybe you have an outlying academic grade - think about what the reasons for this were.
Motivation and competency questions are also very common and particularly easy to prepare for. Two questions you can confidently expect an interviewer to ask is why you have chosen to pursue a career in law and why you want to work at this firm. Make sure you have given some serious thought to these so you can give an answer that demonstrates your enthusiasm. When considering competency questions, make sure you have considered all your previous experiences, whether it was working in a supermarket or experience at a law firm, and drawn out two or three relevant skills you developed from each before the interview. Think along the lines of teamwork, analytical skills, resilience, leadership.
Interviewers will also want to see you demonstrate commercial awareness and will likely ask you various questions which allow you to do so. To prepare for this, a strong knowledge of both important commercial issues and the markets the firm operates in is very useful. If you can find out who will be interviewing you before the assessment day, that can really help you narrow down your research. If not, doing some research into the current state of the industries the firm operates is a good idea. CMS is particularly strong in energy, financial services, infrastructure and project finance etc. How have recent events and trends (e.g the pandemic, the US election, Brexit, move to renewables) affected these sectors?
Finally, make sure you ask a question. The best questions flow seamlessly from what was discussed during the interview. Perhaps you wanted to know more about a commercial topic that arose during the discussion. Having prepared questions is useful, but forced questions can appear out of place, especially if the answer could have been found online.
Research resources
Preparation is clearly essential. Whilst firms will always present different variations of the basic assessment day structure and content, there is core knowledge that will help you succeed regardless.
An in-depth knowledge of the firm you are applying to is crucial. For a global, innovative firm like CMS, some excellent resources are the firm’s website and social media. CMS Careers UK offers fantastic advice from current CMS trainees and useful information about the firm’s achievements, CSR initiatives and core values (http://ocply.co/cms2020-ucl-fb).
A general awareness of what is happening in the business world is also very important. Reading the news is a great way to do this, and contrary to what some may say this does not have to be the Financial Times. Likewise, the firm regularly uploads interesting articles and reports on their website that provide detailed insights into the current state of the firm’s industries. CMS has recently released expert guides to 5G regulation and law, renewable energy, real estate reports for 2020 etc. (https://cms.law/en/int/expert-guides/cms-expert-guide-to-5g-regulation-and-law) Whilst these can be quite comprehensive, they do offer valuable summaries that can give you the knowledge you need to stand out. Perhaps use some of the questions/answers in this CMS ‘future-facing’ quiz to direct your research: http://ocply.co/cmsfuturefocus-lt-ucl.
Below is a summary from an article I recently wrote giving candidates some pointers on how to approach an assessment centre. I hope it can be of use.
Assessment day advice from a CMS Brand Ambassador
Assessment days are the ways in which recruiters gain a deeper insight into an applicants skills, knowledge and personality, to see if they are an appropriate pick for the upcoming vacation scheme. Whilst every firm’s assessment day’s content and structure will vary, they all aim to test very similar skills. As such, firms generally adopt similar methods and exercises. In this short article, I will cover these similarities, but also the ways in which you can prepare for any contingencies by exploring the fundamental knowledge and skills firms normally look for.
Assessment days tend to be composed of three exercises: group exercises, case studies and presentations, and individual interviews.
Group Exercise:
Group exercises generally take the form of a negotiation exercise during which you will either be assigned a partner or placed into a larger team. You will have to review information, discuss it and negotiate with another group to come to a conclusion. During the preliminary discussion, it is crucial that you demonstrate both teamwork and interpersonal skills by quickly integrating yourself into the team. Offering to monitor the time or take notes can be useful, but more important is demonstrating that you can get the best out of your colleagues. If someone is quiet, ask them what they think. If someone offers a great idea and its overlooked, suggest they mention it again. The most important thing is working together in order to reach the best solution for everyone, rather than just yourself.
Case study and presentation/written exercise:
During this exercise, firms will present you with a range of information, that you will usually see for the first time on the day, and certain aims. These could be a client’s aims or the firm’s aims; either way, you will need to quickly ingest the information provided and, usually, prepare a presentation or piece of writing for a client, a supervisor etc. Key to this exercise are analytical skills, necessary to identify the salient facts and think of potential solutions, and written or verbal communication skills to give a clear and concise presentation/written brief. Commercial awareness can also be very helpful. Think about the way in which current affairs might affect the information provided.
Individual interviews:
Almost all assessment days will include an interview, possibly run by a senior associate or partner. To a certain extent, the interview is unique in that there are far more aspects which you can prepare for by thinking about what an interviewer might ask you.
Receiving an assessment day offer means the firm thought your online application was excellent. Whether this was a cover letter, an application form or an email, make sure you have reviewed all the information you included (grades, experiences, people etc.) and think about how and why you arrived at such an outcome, why you made such choices, what you would have done differently and what you developed and improved. Maybe you have an outlying academic grade - think about what the reasons for this were.
Motivation and competency questions are also very common and particularly easy to prepare for. Two questions you can confidently expect an interviewer to ask is why you have chosen to pursue a career in law and why you want to work at this firm. Make sure you have given some serious thought to these so you can give an answer that demonstrates your enthusiasm. When considering competency questions, make sure you have considered all your previous experiences, whether it was working in a supermarket or experience at a law firm, and drawn out two or three relevant skills you developed from each before the interview. Think along the lines of teamwork, analytical skills, resilience, leadership.
Interviewers will also want to see you demonstrate commercial awareness and will likely ask you various questions which allow you to do so. To prepare for this, a strong knowledge of both important commercial issues and the markets the firm operates in is very useful. If you can find out who will be interviewing you before the assessment day, that can really help you narrow down your research. If not, doing some research into the current state of the industries the firm operates is a good idea. CMS is particularly strong in energy, financial services, infrastructure and project finance etc. How have recent events and trends (e.g the pandemic, the US election, Brexit, move to renewables) affected these sectors?
Finally, make sure you ask a question. The best questions flow seamlessly from what was discussed during the interview. Perhaps you wanted to know more about a commercial topic that arose during the discussion. Having prepared questions is useful, but forced questions can appear out of place, especially if the answer could have been found online.
Research resources
Preparation is clearly essential. Whilst firms will always present different variations of the basic assessment day structure and content, there is core knowledge that will help you succeed regardless.
An in-depth knowledge of the firm you are applying to is crucial. For a global, innovative firm like CMS, some excellent resources are the firm’s website and social media. CMS Careers UK offers fantastic advice from current CMS trainees and useful information about the firm’s achievements, CSR initiatives and core values (http://ocply.co/cms2020-ucl-fb).
A general awareness of what is happening in the business world is also very important. Reading the news is a great way to do this, and contrary to what some may say this does not have to be the Financial Times. Likewise, the firm regularly uploads interesting articles and reports on their website that provide detailed insights into the current state of the firm’s industries. CMS has recently released expert guides to 5G regulation and law, renewable energy, real estate reports for 2020 etc. (https://cms.law/en/int/expert-guides/cms-expert-guide-to-5g-regulation-and-law) Whilst these can be quite comprehensive, they do offer valuable summaries that can give you the knowledge you need to stand out. Perhaps use some of the questions/answers in this CMS ‘future-facing’ quiz to direct your research: http://ocply.co/cmsfuturefocus-lt-ucl.
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