Hearing Back from Firms + AC & Interview Tips Share - 2018 - 2019

[Daniel Boden]

Thanks, Daniel. I'll feed it back here but maybe I overplayed my strengths in my feedback to the forum about how the day went. I can definitely point to where my downfalls were and it was just a question of whether they were substantial enough for HSF to not see potential in me right now.

@Daniel Boden oh and to answer your question properly, I was happy with the day. Best AC to date for me, I stick to that, but still clearly some way to go before best AC = an offer.

Interesting, I guess all you can do is try and learn from it, make a note of the questions that they asked so that when you come to your next AC, you'll be in an even stronger position and will have even more confidence that you'll nail it! The feedback will be very useful for this reason - keep your head up Hazal! Out of interest, how many more firms are you waiting on and are you going to apply to spring/summer schemes at other firms too?

 

[Jaysen]

Interesting, I guess all you can do is try and learn from it, make a note of the questions that they asked so that when you come to your next AC, you'll be in an even stronger position and will have even more confidence that you'll nail it! The feedback will be very useful for this reason - keep your head up Hazal! Out of interest, how many more firms are you waiting on and are you going to apply to spring/summer schemes at other firms too?

Good shout on making a note of the questions! I always used to forget doing this but you'd be surprised by how common it is for similar questions to come up in future interviews.

 

[Hazal]

Interesting, I guess all you can do is try and learn from it, make a note of the questions that they asked so that when you come to your next AC, you'll be in an even stronger position and will have even more confidence that you'll nail it! The feedback will be very useful for this reason - keep your head up Hazal! Out of interest, how many more firms are you waiting on and are you going to apply to spring/summer schemes at other firms too?

Yeah so the paradox is that every AC/interview I have there are particular questions or exercises I trip up on, and next time I learn from them but it's something else that trips me up. But I agree. Part of my prep for this AC was reflecting on what went wrong last time. Which is why I think I get better. I'm just not there yet.

I'm only waiting to hear from one firm atm, which is Simmons Simmons for summer vac scheme. I will be applying to summer vac schemes and direct TCs at a number of firms such as Clifford Chance, Macfarlanes, Osborne Clarke, Shearman Sterling, Reed Smith, Norton Rose Fulbright, possibly Baker Mckenzie. They're all so different but I have my reasons haha

 

[Daniel Boden]

Yeah so the paradox is that every AC/interview I have there are particular questions or exercises I trip up on, and next time I learn from them but it's something else that trips me up. But I agree. Part of my prep for this AC was reflecting on what went wrong last time. Which is why I think I get better. I'm just not there yet.

I'm only waiting to hear from one firm atm, which is Simmons Simmons for summer vac scheme. I will be applying to summer vac schemes and direct TCs at a number of firms such as Clifford Chance, Macfarlanes, Osborne Clarke, Shearman Sterling, Reed Smith, Norton Rose Fulbright, possibly Baker Mckenzie. They're all so different but I have my reasons haha

Fair enough, I'm the exact same re the spread of firms haha. Only thing I'd say is to do the rolling schemes first for obvious reasons and if you need any help re the Macfarlanes application, feel free to give me a shout

 

[Hazal]

Fair enough, I'm the exact same re the spread of firms haha. Only thing I'd say is to do the rolling schemes first for obvious reasons and if you need any help re the Macfarlanes application, feel free to give me a shout

Thank you

 

[Selina]

That is positive news☺️. Can I ask, when did you apply? I am still waiting to hear back from Shearman

Hi @Chido - I applied pretty much on the deadline (very irresponsible, 10/10 would not recommend) but I found their email in my Junk folder. My friend applied a month before me though and she didn't receive an email at all, she had to log in to the Apply4Law portal - so make sure you do this!

 

[Sandrou]

If you fail the Watson glaser test you will receive an automated response almost immediately (2/3 days max).

If you do not hear a response after 1 week or so, it usually means (you met the benchmark) they are reviewing your application and your status on the portal will say “test stage” until they decide to invite you to interview or reject you after considering your application.

It almost seems like as soon as you meet the benchmark for the Watson glaser, someone pounces on your app and reviews it. As such the turn around maybe quick re rejections.

Rejection for Linklaters training contract. I didn’t get any email whether I failed or passed the test and I sat for the test weeks ago. Does Linklaters send an email specifying if one fails the WG?

Surprised that they responded way before their January deadline considering I thought they are non-rolling, unless that’s only for interview invites?

 

[FreddyS]

Random question but how do people feel about the Watson Glaser? I just feel it's very unfair for firms to reject students on the basis of failing the test. Our applications could be really good yet we're rejected for not telling the difference between probably true and definitely true in a comprehension exercise! Rant over haha

 

[Daniel Boden]

Random question but how do people feel about the Watson Glaser? I just feel it's very unfair for firms to reject students on the basis of failing the test. Our applications could be really good yet we're rejected for not telling the difference between probably true and definitely true in a comprehension exercise! Rant over haha

I agree it's tough but the way I tell the difference between those two in your example is that 'true' is if it is explicitly mentioned in the passage; if you have to infer or think a bit laterally then I always say 'probably true' as it is not 100% certain based on the given passage.

 

[Sandrou]

I totally agree. The verbal reasoning & Watson glaser tests were my downfall on most apps and prevented me from progressing or applying to firms I really liked.

One day I refused to let a test determine whether I was good enough or not and invested 3/4weeks practicing the tests for 3hours a day.

Since then, I went on to pass all of the tests. Bare in mind that the benchmark varies. You could be in the 70/80 percentiles but the benchmark set by most candidates applying to that specific firm may be 90 percentile which is extremely high.

As such, if you “fail” a test don’t feel disheartened, you might’ve just missed out and would likely meet the benchmark for another firm.

Random question but how do people feel about the Watson Glaser? I just feel it's very unfair for firms to reject students on the basis of failing the test. Our applications could be really good yet we're rejected for not telling the difference between probably true and definitely true in a comprehension exercise! Rant over haha

 

[Daniel Boden]

Also anyone have any tips for the HSF online test? Particularly asking those who passed it and reached the AC i.e. @Hazal @Helena but if anyone else has any hints/tips it would be much appreciated

 

[Oliver Gilliland]

Well done! I've heard Slaughter and May push you to explain why them over other law firms you are applying to.

I had a very long chat in my vac scheme interview with Slaughters about an article I was interested in ( literally went on for about half an hour+)

 

[Hazal]

Also anyone have any tips for the HSF online test? Particularly asking those who passed it and reached the AC i.e. @Hazal @Helena but if anyone else has any hints/tips it would be much appreciated

Practice makes perfect. I practiced sjt and verbal elsewhere until my scores were comfortably above 70%. For SJT I would recommend doing their little quiz on the graduate site and noting down the strengths and skills that pop up. I wrote these down to have by me when I did the test so I could kind of see how they might prefer you to act in certain situations. I.e. they want you to sample many different kinds of work and be a team player so my answers reflected them a bit.

That's not a hard and fast tip, but I just wanted to know what they were looking for.

With personality test there is no prep. As standard, just make sure you read each question carefully

 

[Daniel Boden]

Practice makes perfect. I practiced sjt and verbal elsewhere until my scores were comfortably above 70%. For SJT I would recommend doing their little quiz on the graduate site and noting down the strengths and skills that pop up. I wrote these down to have by me when I did the test so I could kind of see how they might prefer you to act in certain situations. I.e. they want you to sample many different kinds of work and be a team player so my answers reflected them a bit.

That's not a hard and fast tip, but I just wanted to know what they were looking for.

With personality test there is no prep. As standard, just make sure you read each question carefully

Thanks Hazal - it really is appreciated. Where did you practice the SJT and verbal tests? Could you put a link in here?

 

[Hazal]

Thanks Hazal - it really is appreciated. Where did you practice the SJT and verbal tests? Could you put a link in here?

No problem! I just did a Google search and found quite a few but ended up using this one: https://www.practiceaptitudetests.com/verbal-reasoning-tests/

 

[Daniel Boden]

No problem! I just did a Google search and found quite a few but ended up using this one: https://www.practiceaptitudetests.com/verbal-reasoning-tests/

Thank you!

 

[phar]

if they didn't specify you might have passed the WG test but get rejected based on your application. The same happened to me, I got rejected the day after I completed the test and they didn't mention my WG outcome in the email. When I requested to see my WG result, they confirmed that I actually passed. You may want to request for your WG result as well to be sure

If you fail the Watson glaser test you will receive an automated response almost immediately (2/3 days max).

If you do not hear a response after 1 week or so, it usually means (you met the benchmark) they are reviewing your application and your status on the portal will say “test stage” until they decide to invite you to interview or reject you after considering your application.

It almost seems like as soon as you meet the benchmark for the Watson glaser, someone pounces on your app and reviews it. As such the turn around maybe quick re rejections.

Thank you! I requested and just received my test report. It looks like I passed, but at the same time I can't help to think that my individual percentile for one of the REDs played a role in their decision making in conjunction with my application answers. Was placed in the high percentiles for the Recognising Assumption and Evaluating Argument bit (70-80+ percentile) and scored 30/40 correct answers.

However, I scored really low and a horrible mark for the Drawing Conclusion bit (below 10 percentile) - which I felt brought down my overall percentile to fortunately meeting their average benchmark. Practised for a week and minimum 1 hour a day, but it looks like I need to practise more in case my scores affect future applications.

 

[Eva]

Also anyone have any tips for the HSF online test? Particularly asking those who passed it and reached the AC i.e. @Hazal @Helena but if anyone else has any hints/tips it would be much appreciated

They do have a practice test link so that you can practise the blended test in a go! Here's the link:
https://careers.herbertsmithfreehills.com/uk/grads/apply

Scroll straight down to the 2nd stage of the application process - online test to find the other link:
https://sovaonline.com/register/WIHcCpMVrqrnapSMrYGjGapFqfih8pVcP6cVQmylkiM

You do need to register in order to access the test link.

 

[Daniel Boden]

They do have a practice test link so that you can practise the blended test in a go! Here's the link:
https://careers.herbertsmithfreehills.com/uk/grads/apply

Scroll straight down to the 2nd stage of the application process - online test to find the other link:
https://sovaonline.com/register/WIHcCpMVrqrnapSMrYGjGapFqfih8pVcP6cVQmylkiM

You do need to register in order to access the test link.

Thanks a lot Eva!

 

[Eva]

Thanks a lot Eva!

No worries.