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

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Jaysen

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  • Feb 17, 2018
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    Very happy to say that I get to take part in Cleary's Vac Scheme! I find that making the interviewers laugh really works wonders!

    Thank you Jaysen for reviewing my CV :)

    My pleasure. You're doing really well, well done!

    PS: How did you make them laugh?
     
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    wwood

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    Jan 19, 2019
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    My pleasure. You're doing really well, well done!

    PS: How did you make them laugh?

    For instance, I saw my interviewers were females, so I explained that their gender equality initiative is attractive to me because as a female, the firm is a great place for me to have a long-term career. I think the associate agreed with me :p

    The other was more stupid - the interviewer asked me what the scholarship was for. I said bluntly, "Money." And she cracked up. It's weird! Now that I think about it, she probably expected me to say "It's for further study at XX university."

    Haha! Things can be really unpredictable!
     

    jj21

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    Mar 25, 2019
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    hi guys, new to this forum but have a bit of dilemma and looking for some advice!

    After a lot of hard work (and luck!) I have been offered 3 vacation schemes, 1 in spring and 2 in summer. My favourite two are definitely the ones in summer.

    If i were offered a TC on the spring one i only have a month to accept or decline. It would feel very foolish not to accept given that i don't know what the outcome of the summer ones would be (i would absolutely hate myself if i ended up not getting offered either of the summer ones). However, as the summer firms are definitely my favourites and the firms i have had most interaction with at uni and know better, I really want to experience their vacation schemes and see if i get an offer. (I did try and ask to do one of the summer ones in Spring but they had already filled all their places.)

    If i accepted the spring firm, but continued to do the summer ones and was offered one of those, am i then able to turn down the first offer (presumably they could easily fill the space with their summer students anyway)? Would it be really frowned on or is this not that unusual?

    Or would I be better off explaining my situation to the spring firm and asking for an extension on the time to consider their offer?

    Any advice appreciated, thanks :))
     
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    Daniel Boden

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  • Sep 6, 2018
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    hi guys, new to this forum but have a bit of dilemma and looking for some advice!

    After a lot of hard work (and luck!) I have been offered 3 vacation schemes, 1 in spring and 2 in summer. My favourite two are definitely the ones in summer.

    If i were offered a TC on the spring one i only have a month to accept or decline. It would feel very foolish not to accept given that i don't know what the outcome of the summer ones would be (i would absolutely hate myself if i ended up not getting offered either of the summer ones). However, as the summer firms are definitely my favourites and the firms i have had most interaction with at uni and know better, I really want to experience their vacation schemes and see if i get an offer. (I did try and ask to do one of the summer ones in Spring but they had already filled all their places.)

    If i accepted the spring firm, but continued to do the summer ones and was offered one of those, am i then able to turn down the first offer (presumably they could easily fill the space with their summer students anyway)? Would it be really frowned on or is this not that unusual?

    Or would I be better off explaining my situation to the spring firm and asking for an extension on the time to consider their offer?

    Any advice appreciated, thanks :))
    Hi JJ,

    Firstly very well done on securing three vac schemes which is an amazing achievement in itself!

    I would definitely ask to have an extension on your first offer with the firm in the spring. I believe the SRA stipulates that you have until September of a cycle to make a decision on a TC so they seem to be going against this!

    I'd explain your situation and say you want to experience all three firms so you can make an informed decision on where you would like to work - I'd be amazed if they looked at you badly for this.

    Hope that helps!

    Dan :)
     
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    AJ

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    Sep 11, 2018
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    Replying to the PM on here just in case anyone else finds it useful.

    I assume you've already been through the books by Stoakes (which are a great introduction)? Beyond that, I bought the following when I was trying to read up on corporate finance before :
    • Introduction to Global Financial Markets: This is supposed to be an introduction but it's pretty full on. There's a ton of information here but probably more useful to those who already have some grounding in the financial markets. Covers everything from investment banking to bonds to current trends)
    • The Money Machine: How the City works: This is a great introduction to the financial markets. It's well written and easy to understand)
    • Financial Markets (The FT Guide): (I remember this being a little technical, but a great overview of the financial markets.
    If you want some entertaining finance books then Michael Lewis is great (the writer behind The Big Short) - but not really corporate finance related!

    Whilst these aren't all finance books, they're mostly hedge fund ones, I'd still recommend if you want a look into the funds world.

    Hedge Hogs by Barbara Dreyfuss - this is about the collapse of a hedge fund which traded heavily in oil and gas futures. It's more of a story than a book on how hedge funds operate, but you'll get a feel for how futures markets work after reading it. It's also quite an interesting story.

    One Step Ahead by Timothy Spangler - I was taught by this guy who is a partner at Dechert in America. It's all about how hedge funds and private equity funds operate (more focus on hedge funds though). It's more technical than the one above and is more of a guide book than following a story. It bases the discussion around the effects of the GFC on funds and the regulation that emerged as a result.

    King of Capital by David Carey - I'm still reading this now but also loving it. This is more finance focused as it focuses on the rise of LBO (leveraged buyouts) usage by private equity firms and I've found to be a really nice read.

    Won’t strictly educate you about the the finance world for applications/interviews, but also suggest Liar’s Poker and/or the big short as something a bit different to the names already suggested.
     
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    Alice G

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    Nov 26, 2018
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    In the hope of keeping this thread as honest as possible and showing both the good and the bad, I wanted to share I was sadly rejected by Slaughter and May for a TC today. I’m gutted as I felt quite invested with them as a firm having attended multiple events and even had coffee with one of their lovely trainees I had met at one. However, onwards and upwards and I’m going to take onboard their feedback and ensure I do as well as possible in my upcoming vacation schemes! Just a reminder to anyone who’s also feeling a bit deflated, one day we will look back when we have a TC and curse the days we spent worrying and stressed out about the future. Hope you’re all having a good day and keep going! :) :)
     

    S30

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    Jan 19, 2019
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    In the hope of keeping this thread as honest as possible and showing both the good and the bad, I wanted to share I was sadly rejected by Slaughter and May for a TC today. I’m gutted as I felt quite invested with them as a firm having attended multiple events and even had coffee with one of their lovely trainees I had met at one. However, onwards and upwards and I’m going to take onboard their feedback and ensure I do as well as possible in my upcoming vacation schemes! Just a reminder to anyone who’s also feeling a bit deflated, one day we will look back when we have a TC and curse the days we spent worrying and stressed out about the future. Hope you’re all having a good day and keep going! :) :)

    Well said Alice! :)
     
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    Daniel Boden

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  • Sep 6, 2018
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    In the hope of keeping this thread as honest as possible and showing both the good and the bad, I wanted to share I was sadly rejected by Slaughter and May for a TC today. I’m gutted as I felt quite invested with them as a firm having attended multiple events and even had coffee with one of their lovely trainees I had met at one. However, onwards and upwards and I’m going to take onboard their feedback and ensure I do as well as possible in my upcoming vacation schemes! Just a reminder to anyone who’s also feeling a bit deflated, one day we will look back when we have a TC and curse the days we spent worrying and stressed out about the future. Hope you’re all having a good day and keep going! :) :)
    Ah bad luck Alice really sorry to hear! However, as you say hopefully this could almost be a blessing in disguise for you as the feedback will be incredibly helpful going forwards for your two vacation schemes! Best of luck for both of those and know that everyone on here is rooting for you :)
     
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    Jaysen

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  • Feb 17, 2018
    4,719
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    In the hope of keeping this thread as honest as possible and showing both the good and the bad, I wanted to share I was sadly rejected by Slaughter and May for a TC today. I’m gutted as I felt quite invested with them as a firm having attended multiple events and even had coffee with one of their lovely trainees I had met at one. However, onwards and upwards and I’m going to take onboard their feedback and ensure I do as well as possible in my upcoming vacation schemes! Just a reminder to anyone who’s also feeling a bit deflated, one day we will look back when we have a TC and curse the days we spent worrying and stressed out about the future. Hope you’re all having a good day and keep going! :) :)

    Thanks for being brave and sharing this Alice.
     
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    Alice G

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    Nov 26, 2018
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    Ah bad luck Alice really sorry to hear! However, as you say hopefully this could almost be a blessing in disguise for you as the feedback will be incredibly helpful going forwards for your two vacation schemes! Best of luck for both of those and know that everyone on here is rooting for you :)

    Thank you Daniel, hopefully it’ll be the case that when one door closes another one opens. I’m so excited to have a couple more chances with two incredible firms- I’m trying to remain positive and come to terms with it so I can really give it my all next week! And yes, hopefully the feedback will help me indeed! Thank you for being so kind, I’m feeling better now :)
     
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    Helena

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    Feb 28, 2018
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    In the hope of keeping this thread as honest as possible and showing both the good and the bad, I wanted to share I was sadly rejected by Slaughter and May for a TC today. I’m gutted as I felt quite invested with them as a firm having attended multiple events and even had coffee with one of their lovely trainees I had met at one. However, onwards and upwards and I’m going to take onboard their feedback and ensure I do as well as possible in my upcoming vacation schemes! Just a reminder to anyone who’s also feeling a bit deflated, one day we will look back when we have a TC and curse the days we spent worrying and stressed out about the future. Hope you’re all having a good day and keep going! :) :)
    Alice I am so sorry to hear your news as I know how much you engaged with the firm. You are positive as ever and I appreciate your openness; it is so refreshing. As you say, one day it will be a case of looking back and realising the effort was worth it, the stress wasn't, but the goal has been achieved. Good luck for the coming two weeks. I am rooting for you big time.
     
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    Alice G

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    Alice I am so sorry to hear your news as I know how much you engaged with the firm. You are positive as ever and I appreciate your openness; it is so refreshing. As you say, one day it will be a case of looking back and realising the effort was worth it, the stress wasn't, but the goal has been achieved. Good luck for the coming two weeks. I am rooting for you big time.

    Thank you Helena! It’s very disappointing but I’m counting my blessings and trying to take more of a ‘glass half full’ approach to the whole situation. I don’t think I’ve known a few months like it before in my life where you just feel like it’s such an emotional rollercoaster, but yes, it will be worth it eventually. You’re really too kind, thank you :)
     

    maria.j

    New Member
    Mar 21, 2019
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    Hey, guys. Well done to everyone who has received VC/TC. I am a bit disappointed with my journey this year. I had three interviews so far: Slaughter and May, MoFo and Goodwin. All ended up with rejections. I really think that either I am doing something wrong or I am extremely unlucky. My first ever interview was with Slaughter and May which ended up being a rejection (not a surprise as I was so nervous). The second one was with MoFo and I understood the mistakes I've done there and tried to work upon that. But the third interview with Goodwin was a surprise as I actually thought it went well. My point is, would any of you be willing to talk me through one of your successful interviews (I would be forever grateful) as I feel like I am clearly doing something wrong but I don't know what. I have an Assessment Centre with Milbank in April and that's basically my last shot. Thanks a lot for anyone who'd want to take the time to help me and a round of applause for everyone's hard work this year.
     
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