from rejection to success (hopefully)

[ayiiii05]

i've decided to create a thread on my journey to a TC, as like others, i want to hold myself accountable. last cycle, i put out 28 applications and i must say i rushed most of them and did not truly research the firms. i think i did this because i did not know what i wanted from a firm but since reflecting on my applications, i know what i want now.

about me: i am going into my final year at a non-rg uni. i finished both 1st and 2nd year with a high 2:1.

my interests align mostly with certain US firms (small cohort, early responsibility, focus on private equity, a seat in one of my top 5 practice areas, interesting clients, international work), but i do have some other firms on my list that i am interested in for other reasons as i have either been to these firms and enjoyed learning about the work they do. just to note, trainee intake is something i am open to so i will be applying to a firm that takes in 100 trainees a year, but a smaller cohort would not allow me to hide and force me to come out of my comfort zone and GROW which is very important to me.

i have 14 firms on my list, i may replace one firm with another as i realised that i am not too interested in what they specialise in.

the firms: akin, a&o shearman, arnold & porter (not too sure now), ashurst, davis polk, freshfields, gibson dunn, goodwin, latham, nrf, skadden, travers smith, weil and wilkie.

where i want to be by the middle of august: i want to have completed a forage internship in either private equity or banking. i also would like to have started drafting winter applications for 3 of the firms.

i don't know what else to say lol but good luck everyone and i pray it goes well for all of us!

 

[LillyandSilver]

Yay good luck!!!

 

[ayiiii05]

Yay good luck!!!

thank you, you too!!

 

[ayiiii05]

ok, here's an update:

i'm not applying to arnold & porter, i've swapped this out for white & case due to the guaranteed secondment and the areas they specialise in.

i have not started the virtual internships due to work but i have planned the ones i am going to do.

i'm going to do one in litigation with mayer brown- i've always thought that i wouldn't like litigation but i've never done anything related to it. it would be good to see if i genuinely do not like it.

i'm going to do either a banking and finance or restructuring internship with latham. i'm interested in both but don't have time to do them both.

lastly, private equity internship with weil! i'm excited for this one as i find private equity complex but that is what draws me in about PE. i remember finally understanding what PE was and being so happy lol and just being amazed how important it is for the UK economy though it is a small industry. though i have no real-life experience in PE, i'm excited to see how law firms are involved in a PE transaction. also, finding out that blank street coffee grew due to venture capital funding (a form of PE but for startups and emerging companies) was a nice, personal way of seeing PE in action if that makes sense lol.

plan of action: i have 5 days to do 3 internships, i can do this! i was going to start drafting applications but i think i want to finish the internships first.

 

[kavin333]

Nice update! You've swapped out Arnold & Porter for White & Case, and planned out your virtual internships. Litigation with Mayer Brown, Banking/Restructuring with Latham, and PE with Weil - that's a great mix! You've got a solid plan to fit them in, and it's smart to prioritize finishing the internships before drafting apps.

 

[ayiiii05]

Nice update! You've swapped out Arnold & Porter for White & Case, and planned out your virtual internships. Litigation with Mayer Brown, Banking/Restructuring with Latham, and PE with Weil - that's a great mix! You've got a solid plan to fit them in, and it's smart to prioritize finishing the internships before drafting apps.

thank you!

 

[ayiiii05]

UPDATE:

i must say i was not able to do all 3 internships😭 i did do 2/3 though which is still something! i have been bombarded with last-minute events, shifts and family commitments since my last post so of course I was not able to do all 3. i am still busy but will find time to do the latham internship before applications open. i enjoyed the litigation job simulation and private equity is so complex but i love it. i think private equity is for me, but will continue finding experience, talks and events to learn more about it.

i have finished my work experience section after doing those internships and have sent them to someone to review. i spoke to a us grad recruiter and she told me that my work experience section should be stronger and i shouldn't take it for granted. this must've been another reason why i was unsuccessful last cycle.

plan of action:
- drafting applications! i have a meeting with my mentor so will start after this.
- would've been an internship on forage but i won't rush to do this as i have 3 legal internships (private equity, litigation and legal foundations) under my belt. of course, the more the merrier, but this is a lot better than last cycle where i did none of them.
- meeting my law firms- i have a top 11 list. i added linklaters to this but luckily their app process is a lot more straightforward. i have already met 5/11, ive applied to the weil event on legal cheek and will find more events for the other firms. THESE RECRUITERS WILL SEE ME 😭

 

[ayiiii05]

UPDATE:

applied to a&o shearman woo! scared to hear back but we'll see what happens. im drafting nrf, ashurst and w&c. silly me just realised nrf isn't taking a cover letter and i've been writing one. its okay though, i think i can finish it by the end of the week and send off.

not related but i spoke to my parents and they have asked me what i plan on doing if i dont leave uni with a TC. ofc i will continue applying but they want me to do a masters and i dont care to do one lol. i said i would rather get a legal/compliance based role but im scared that i wont secure one at all... good luck to me!

plan of action:
send ashurst today
finish nrf by friday (will most likely be able to do this before icl)
attend private equity legal cheek event today
continue updating my commercial awareness bank

 

[ayiiii05]

UPDATE:

sent nrf today. i thought they wanted a cover letter and i was about to apply on thursday but boy was i wrong. was panicking but realised i have time to write an answer to their second q on their sector led approach.

also sent off ashurst!
i'm waiting for nrf to send their test and i need to complete linklaters' test.

i was going to apply to gibson dunn but not anymore (at least not a priority). i've replaced them with taylor wessing.
also replaced davis polk with clyde & co.
weil is on the border of being removed as i reread their guide on chambers and i don't like the idea of being on call all the time. i know someone at weil who wouldnt mind helping me with applications so part of me wants to utilise that and apply to weil. we'll see what happens lol
added paul, weiss onto my list!

 

[ayiiii05]

idk if its just me, but i sometimes i get fomo during the app cycle when i see people applying to other firms and getting responses. jones day was never on my list but i was tempted to apply as i saw so many people talking about the firm. then i saw their non-rotational tc and i was put off. a non-rotational tc does not sound appealing lol

 

[ayiiii05]

UPDATE:

still need to do nrf arctic shores test and idk what's stopping me.
i've made a priority list for each firm and glad to say that only 3 are high priority rn.

i wasn't too sure about weil at first but i'm going to apply because why not? they're very strong in PE and i'm interested in that. i have someone at weil who said he would look over my application (hopefully he remembers me lol but he must do because he and my mum had a great interaction) so i should just apply.

 

[ayiiii05]

UPDATE:

*massive sigh*

applied to 7 firms and guess what... been rejected from all 7. massive dent in my confidence but i'm working my way back up. they've all required an online exam so it's clear where my issue is. i'm not too upset because 5/7 i applied to because i thought why not... but my top firms i'm drafting and they dont require an exam THANKFULLY. i dont think my apps are bad, they have been much better and people review them regularly. its just clear i need to work on online assessments and sjt tests but i find them so silly and a poor indicator of how someone could perform at a firm.

 

[IneedaTCASAP]

Sorry about your rejections. I will apply to some of the ones you mentioned in August. I enjoy how transparent you are. Do not like these rejections define your career in law you will get there.

 

[ayiiii05]

Sorry about your rejections. I will apply to some of the ones you mentioned in August. I enjoy how transparent you are. Do not like these rejections define your career in law you will get there.

thank you, i appreciate your words! good luck to you, i've changed my list and will be reposting that so message me if you want to talk about anything

 

[ayiiii05]

ANOTHER UPDATE:

forgot to say i've changed my list lol. i'm going to forget i ever applied to the previous 7 firms and will be applying on a clean slate. (just let me be delusional)

btw i was rejected from taylor wessing post app and that honestly hurt me. i really liked the firm, my application was GOOD, probably my best of the 7 but ik their verbal reasoning test messed everything up.

the firms: skadden, paul, weiss, goodwin, travers smith, davis polk, WFW, boodle hatfield, CRS, willkie, arnold & porter and weil.

will this list change? i have no clue. im interested in private client and private equity mostly, but i have an open mind and would like to learn more about life sciences, shipping and aviation finance.

i wanted to apply to dechert, covington, vinson and elkins and akin but i'm not entirely sure if they are the best firms for me. maybe if i have time i'll revisit them and apply.

lowkey stressing out as i want SOMETHING before i graduate. but it's hard finding grad schemes i'm interested in. i like wealth management and wanted to apply to the hsbc scheme but that closed within 2 days which is crazy to me. i'll continue applying to other grad schemes but i never realised how badly i want a tc and how its the only career i see myself excelling in... we'll see how life goes though

 

[0livia.pope]

ANOTHER UPDATE:

forgot to say i've changed my list lol. i'm going to forget i ever applied to the previous 7 firms and will be applying on a clean slate. (just let me be delusional)

btw i was rejected from taylor wessing post app and that honestly hurt me. i really liked the firm, my application was GOOD, probably my best of the 7 but ik their verbal reasoning test messed everything up.

the firms: skadden, paul, weiss, goodwin, travers smith, davis polk, WFW, boodle hatfield, CRS, willkie, arnold & porter and weil.

will this list change? i have no clue. im interested in private client and private equity mostly, but i have an open mind and would like to learn more about life sciences, shipping and aviation finance.

i wanted to apply to dechert, covington, vinson and elkins and akin but i'm not entirely sure if they are the best firms for me. maybe if i have time i'll revisit them and apply.

lowkey stressing out as i want SOMETHING before i graduate. but it's hard finding grad schemes i'm interested in. i like wealth management and wanted to apply to the hsbc scheme but that closed within 2 days which is crazy to me. i'll continue applying to other grad schemes but i never realised how badly i want a tc and how its the only career i see myself excelling in... we'll see how life goes though

Heavy on this is the only career I see myself in!! This has inspired me to consider grad schemes now

 

[IneedaTCASAP]

ANOTHER UPDATE:

forgot to say i've changed my list lol. i'm going to forget i ever applied to the previous 7 firms and will be applying on a clean slate. (just let me be delusional)

btw i was rejected from taylor wessing post app and that honestly hurt me. i really liked the firm, my application was GOOD, probably my best of the 7 but ik their verbal reasoning test messed everything up.

the firms: skadden, paul, weiss, goodwin, travers smith, davis polk, WFW, boodle hatfield, CRS, willkie, arnold & porter and weil.

will this list change? i have no clue. im interested in private client and private equity mostly, but i have an open mind and would like to learn more about life sciences, shipping and aviation finance.

i wanted to apply to dechert, covington, vinson and elkins and akin but i'm not entirely sure if they are the best firms for me. maybe if i have time i'll revisit them and apply.

lowkey stressing out as i want SOMETHING before i graduate. but it's hard finding grad schemes i'm interested in. i like wealth management and wanted to apply to the hsbc scheme but that closed within 2 days which is crazy to me. i'll continue applying to other grad schemes but i never realised how badly i want a tc and how its the only career i see myself excelling in... we'll see how life goes though

Heavy on this is the only career I see myself in!! This has inspired me to consider grad schemes now

I am also in your positions. I am applying to graduate schemes. It is hard to put effort into applying to other careers I have no desire for. I have looked at compliance and risk mainly. Commercial roles within banks.

V&E are energy heavy so if that’s your interest go for it!

 

[yasmars]

Loved reading about how your application cycle is going! I think I’m going to start my own thread

 

[ayiiii05]

Heavy on this is the only career I see myself in!! This has inspired me to consider grad schemes now

do it!

 

[ayiiii05]

I am also in your positions. I am applying to graduate schemes. It is hard to put effort into applying to other careers I have no desire for. I have looked at compliance and risk mainly. Commercial roles within banks.

V&E are energy heavy so if that’s your interest go for it!

this is exactly how i feel. i've been looking at compliance and risk too. i really want a role at a private equity firm but ik how hard it is especially if you're not from a finance background.

thanks for your support! i'm still thinking of v&e.