Hi everyone,
This is just a little something I wrote this week as I have heard firms have started making their decisions on Winter Vac Shemes and Open Day places. I really hope this helps some of you and please stay positive!!
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The application stage is, in my personal opinion, the toughest hurdle to clear. It can be so difficult trying to put your personality across in an application whilst also trying to write in a way that shows your research, commercial awareness and excitement towards a firm. I am writing tips on how to cope with application rejections specifically here in the view to writing more tips about the other application stages, since they each require different skills and capabilities. I hope these tips help and resonate with some of you and, though I sound like a stuck record, it is important to remember it is ‘when’ not ‘if’ and that with a bit of perseverance we can all get there!
1. Allow yourself to be upset. Do not try and force yourself to ‘bounce back’ or keep up appearances for the benefit of other people. If you have been knocked back by a rejection it is totally ok, and I have cancelled plans at the last minute because I haven’t felt up to them in light of rejections. I see a lot of comments online, for which I am guilty too, where we say how ‘dramatic’ it is for us to have felt like crawling back into bed or having a good cry into a cup of tea when faced with a rejection. I think it is good we share these realities but also that we don’t make apologies for them either. There is no shame in getting upset and having down days – it makes us all human. You are entitled to your feelings and it is important for our own mental wellbeing that we allow them to flow freely, even if it is unpleasant. It is all part of the process.
2. Take stock and reflect. It is a shame that firms cannot give feedback on applications, but I am sure I speak for us all when I say that it is entirely understandable that they cannot. This does mean it is left down to us as individuals, but you might be surprised just how handy a bit of time away from an application can be to help you appraise it and to be more critical. When doing your reflection, have you noticed a typo? This can certainly be a problem and might be a reason for the rejection. Have you found yourself thinking ‘why?’ or ‘so what?’ when reading your work? Firms really need you to dig deep and be specific about your motivations and why things are important to you. Have you simply found your writing does not flow or that it is overly complex? Legal writing needs to be clear, well-structured and concise and you cannot underestimate the important of this in your applications.
3. Perhaps upon reflection you have realised that you need to develop your skill set more or that you need some more work experience or extra-curriculars to perhaps cultivate a more diverse range of skills. With firms increasingly leaning towards competency responses, it is important to afford yourself enriching experiences. Do try and take yourself out of your comfort zone sometimes and challenge yourself in new ways. Self-development can be a great way to enhance your applications. However, do not do this at the detriment of your health or wellbeing. Know your limits and if it is all too much, focus on what is most important – you can always gain more experience after university if you have a lot on your plate or when work is not so hectic!
4. Make sure you are making fewer high-quality applications rather than taking a scatter-gun approach. This can be controversial because the amount of applications you make really should depend on your individual circumstances. I know people who can write good applications in a couple of days and they still manage to be successful with the high-volume approach. Knowing the way that I work best, however, means that I only opted to make seven applications last year. It does not matter which camp you fall into, but you need to make sure your applications are focused and of a high quality. It is not best practice to make 28 applications which aren’t sufficiently researched and thought out. Know how you work best (neither way is better than the other, we all work at our own pace and level) and strategise accordingly.
5. Do NOT underestimate open day applications. I was motivated to write this post after hearing brilliant candidates were unsuccessful in gaining open day places. These can be just as competitive to get on to as vacation schemes and they should not be viewed as *just* open days. Applications to workshops, events and open days need to be just as well researched and well written as vacation scheme applications. Open days, in my view, are also a huge stepping-stone towards vacation scheme successes. They are insightful days which teach you more about commercial law which you can then use in all your other application forms and they offer crucial ‘inside’ information into a firm and facilitate interactions between you and them. If you have been rejected after an open day application, ask yourself if you gave the application the attention it really required and if you feel you didn’t, don’t worry. Learn from this and make sure your future open day applications are as well-researched and as well-evidenced as possible.
6. Be proud of yourself. You put yourself forwards and that really does deserve some self-congratulation. It is a daunting thing to make an application and offer yourself up for judgement. Similarly, recruiters really do appreciate the time and effort you put in and nobody wants to reject an application either. So do not lose heart, it just wasn’t meant to be this time but well done for giving it a go and absolutely keep persevering!!
This is just a little something I wrote this week as I have heard firms have started making their decisions on Winter Vac Shemes and Open Day places. I really hope this helps some of you and please stay positive!!
************************************************************************************************************************
The application stage is, in my personal opinion, the toughest hurdle to clear. It can be so difficult trying to put your personality across in an application whilst also trying to write in a way that shows your research, commercial awareness and excitement towards a firm. I am writing tips on how to cope with application rejections specifically here in the view to writing more tips about the other application stages, since they each require different skills and capabilities. I hope these tips help and resonate with some of you and, though I sound like a stuck record, it is important to remember it is ‘when’ not ‘if’ and that with a bit of perseverance we can all get there!
1. Allow yourself to be upset. Do not try and force yourself to ‘bounce back’ or keep up appearances for the benefit of other people. If you have been knocked back by a rejection it is totally ok, and I have cancelled plans at the last minute because I haven’t felt up to them in light of rejections. I see a lot of comments online, for which I am guilty too, where we say how ‘dramatic’ it is for us to have felt like crawling back into bed or having a good cry into a cup of tea when faced with a rejection. I think it is good we share these realities but also that we don’t make apologies for them either. There is no shame in getting upset and having down days – it makes us all human. You are entitled to your feelings and it is important for our own mental wellbeing that we allow them to flow freely, even if it is unpleasant. It is all part of the process.
2. Take stock and reflect. It is a shame that firms cannot give feedback on applications, but I am sure I speak for us all when I say that it is entirely understandable that they cannot. This does mean it is left down to us as individuals, but you might be surprised just how handy a bit of time away from an application can be to help you appraise it and to be more critical. When doing your reflection, have you noticed a typo? This can certainly be a problem and might be a reason for the rejection. Have you found yourself thinking ‘why?’ or ‘so what?’ when reading your work? Firms really need you to dig deep and be specific about your motivations and why things are important to you. Have you simply found your writing does not flow or that it is overly complex? Legal writing needs to be clear, well-structured and concise and you cannot underestimate the important of this in your applications.
3. Perhaps upon reflection you have realised that you need to develop your skill set more or that you need some more work experience or extra-curriculars to perhaps cultivate a more diverse range of skills. With firms increasingly leaning towards competency responses, it is important to afford yourself enriching experiences. Do try and take yourself out of your comfort zone sometimes and challenge yourself in new ways. Self-development can be a great way to enhance your applications. However, do not do this at the detriment of your health or wellbeing. Know your limits and if it is all too much, focus on what is most important – you can always gain more experience after university if you have a lot on your plate or when work is not so hectic!
4. Make sure you are making fewer high-quality applications rather than taking a scatter-gun approach. This can be controversial because the amount of applications you make really should depend on your individual circumstances. I know people who can write good applications in a couple of days and they still manage to be successful with the high-volume approach. Knowing the way that I work best, however, means that I only opted to make seven applications last year. It does not matter which camp you fall into, but you need to make sure your applications are focused and of a high quality. It is not best practice to make 28 applications which aren’t sufficiently researched and thought out. Know how you work best (neither way is better than the other, we all work at our own pace and level) and strategise accordingly.
5. Do NOT underestimate open day applications. I was motivated to write this post after hearing brilliant candidates were unsuccessful in gaining open day places. These can be just as competitive to get on to as vacation schemes and they should not be viewed as *just* open days. Applications to workshops, events and open days need to be just as well researched and well written as vacation scheme applications. Open days, in my view, are also a huge stepping-stone towards vacation scheme successes. They are insightful days which teach you more about commercial law which you can then use in all your other application forms and they offer crucial ‘inside’ information into a firm and facilitate interactions between you and them. If you have been rejected after an open day application, ask yourself if you gave the application the attention it really required and if you feel you didn’t, don’t worry. Learn from this and make sure your future open day applications are as well-researched and as well-evidenced as possible.
6. Be proud of yourself. You put yourself forwards and that really does deserve some self-congratulation. It is a daunting thing to make an application and offer yourself up for judgement. Similarly, recruiters really do appreciate the time and effort you put in and nobody wants to reject an application either. So do not lose heart, it just wasn’t meant to be this time but well done for giving it a go and absolutely keep persevering!!
