Hearing Back from Law Firms, Assessment Centres & Interview Tips - 2019 - 2020

[wwood]

@Shane O'Hanlon may be able to help you!

Thank you both

 

[wwood]

@Shane O'Hanlon may be able to help you!

By the way - thanks Jaysen for reviewing my cover letter It landed me an interview~!

 

[ELA]

What would people say is a reasonable/good amount of applications to plan to send (VS and Direct TC combined) in one application cycle, to increase chances but have time to make applications good? I'm in the process of planning for next year and selecting which firms I want to apply for.

Thanks

 

[Jaysen]

What would people say is a reasonable/good amount of applications to plan to send (VS and Direct TC combined) in one application cycle, to increase chances but have time to make applications good? I'm in the process of planning for next year and selecting which firms I want to apply for.

Thanks

I think it's hard to put a number on as it depends on your availability to write applications. If you had absolutely nothing to do bar writing applications, I'd say write as many as you can (15+). Not everyone is in that position, however, especially if you can only write applications in the evening/on weekends. In that case, 5-10 is a good amount.

Push yourself to write applications as you can. As much as I give advice about maximising the strength of your applications, it is still very challenging to convert an application to an interview and then an interview to a training contract, so by applying to more firms, you significantly increase your likelihood of securing a training contract. That said, I also think it's important to carve out time for yourself and give yourself lots of breaks. Many candidates won't secure a training contract in the first cycle, in which case, those who work themselves too hard in one application cycle risk burning themselves out too quickly.

I try not to treat it as a trade-off between quantity and quality. Applications should always be of a very high standard and it's rarely worth sacrificing that (unless it's genuinely taking you weeks for every application or it's close to the deadline). There is only one candidate I can think of who writes applications to such a high standard (but to the detriment of time) that I tell him he needs to force himself to spend less time on quality and more on quantity.

 

[ELA]

I think it's hard to put a number on as it depends on your availability to write applications. If you had absolutely nothing to do bar writing applications, I'd say write as many as you can (15+). Not everyone is in that position, however, especially if you can only write applications in the evening/on weekends. In that case, 5-10 is a good amount.

Push yourself to write applications as you can. As much as I give advice about maximising the strength of your applications, it is still very challenging to convert an application to an interview and then an interview to a training contract, so by applying to more firms, you significantly increase your likelihood of securing a training contract. That said, I also think it's important to carve out time for yourself and give yourself lots of breaks. Many candidates won't secure a training contract in the first cycle, in which case, those who work themselves too hard in one application cycle risk burning themselves out too quickly.

I try not to treat it as a trade-off between quantity and quality. Applications should always be of a very high standard and it's rarely worth sacrificing that (unless it's genuinely taking you weeks for every application or it's close to the deadline). There is only one candidate I can think of who writes applications to such a high standard (but to the detriment of time) that I tell him he needs to force himself to spend less time on quality and more on quantity.

Thank you, that makes sense.

And would you say that most firms are fine with people applying again next cycle if candidates were unsuccessful the previous year at application stage (provided the application is improved, of course)? Or is having applied previously likely to put candidates at a disadvantage?

 

[wwood]

Thank you, that makes sense.

And would you say that most firms are fine with people applying again next cycle if candidates were unsuccessful the previous year at application stage (provided the application is improved, of course)? Or is having applied previously likely to put candidates at a disadvantage?

This happened to me! The associate simply said, "Ah, so this is your second application to our firm" and that's it! I got this opportunity in the end. But I'm also curious as to whether a bad (or embarrassing) phone interview / face-to-face interview should deter you from sending in another app? Screwed up my Bakers phone interview pretty badly last year and I dare not to apply again LOL

 

[Jaysen]

Thank you, that makes sense.

And would you say that most firms are fine with people applying again next cycle if candidates were unsuccessful the previous year at application stage (provided the application is improved, of course)? Or is having applied previously likely to put candidates at a disadvantage?

Yep, if there's nothing on the firm's website against it, you should be fine. If you were just rejected at application stage, I'm not convinced you'll be at any disadvantage (firms should understand candidates improve over time and many do re-apply to firms).

This happened to me! The associate simply said, "Ah, so this is your second application to our firm" and that's it! I got this opportunity in the end. But I'm also curious as to whether a bad (or embarrassing) phone interview / face-to-face interview should deter you from sending in another app? Screwed up my Bakers phone interview pretty badly last year and I dare not to apply again LOL

This is more likely to put you at a disadvantage (not so much the fact that it was embarassing, but moreso that they've already had the chance to meet you and make a decision). This is not necessarily the case for all firms, but it's worth checking before applying. As for the embarassing part, it's hard to know how much they'll remember (they interview many candidates over the course of a year)), so if they've no policy against re-applying, you might be OK!

 

[Shane O'Hanlon]

Have Travers Smith filled all their direct TC spots ? Sent off my application then got an email saying that they wouldn't be having many interviews between now and Augast. I thought that I would have been fine submitting my application two months before the deadine, evidently that's not the case.

 

[J Wu]

Have Travers Smith filled all their direct TC spots ? Sent off my application then got an email saying that they wouldn't be having many interviews between now and Augast. I thought that I would have been fine submitting my application two months before the deadine, evidently that's not the case.

I wonder if they might just be holding off on holding interviews so that they can review all applications?

 

[Shane O'Hanlon]

Don't know whether I should still be hopeful or just write Travers off for this application cycle.

"Thank you for your application for a training contract.

Your application is important to us and we value your continued interest in the firm. Due, however, to the higher than normal number of applications received, we do not currently anticipate holding many more interviews between now and August.

We may therefore not be in a position to provide you with a substantive response until after our deadline of 31 July 2019."

 

[Jaysen]

Going off this thread Travers has had a bit of a hard time managing the apps they’ve received this year:

https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/forum/threads/travers-smith-interview.1215/

If it’s true, they should really update their website to reflect this, otherwise it’s a wasted application for many candidates.

 

[ELA]

This happened to me! The associate simply said, "Ah, so this is your second application to our firm" and that's it! I got this opportunity in the end. But I'm also curious as to whether a bad (or embarrassing) phone interview / face-to-face interview should deter you from sending in another app? Screwed up my Bakers phone interview pretty badly last year and I dare not to apply again LOL

Interesting! Thanks for sharing

 

[Shane O'Hanlon]

Going off this thread Travers has had a bit of a hard time managing the apps they’ve received this year:

https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/forum/threads/travers-smith-interview.1215/

If it’s true, they should really update their website to reflect this, otherwise it’s a wasted application for many candidates.

I agree, it's pretty frustrating to have spent ages on an application just to be told that they won't realisticaly even be considering it.

 

[Daniel Boden]

Yep my vacation scheme application to Travers wasn't even read!

 

[Helena]

Yep my vacation scheme application to Travers wasn't even read!

I echo Daniel - I too like so many on here heard absolutely nothing from Travers. And many of us had more than one AC at many other firms. There is clearly an issue with apps.

 

[wwood]

Yep, if there's nothing on the firm's website against it, you should be fine. If you were just rejected at application stage, I'm not convinced you'll be at any disadvantage (firms should understand candidates improve over time and many do re-apply to firms).



This is more likely to put you at a disadvantage (not so much the fact that it was embarassing, but moreso that they've already had the chance to meet you and make a decision). This is not necessarily the case for all firms, but it's worth checking before applying. As for the embarassing part, it's hard to know how much they'll remember (they interview many candidates over the course of a year)), so if they've no policy against re-applying, you might be OK!

Thanks Jaysen! Yes, I agree with you. They made a candidate file for me (asked me for a picture and filed my info etc) I guess I'll pass then... wish I had discovered this forum when I had that interview!

 

[Jaysen]

Thanks Jaysen! Yes, I agree with you. They made a candidate file for me (asked me for a picture and filed my info etc) I guess I'll pass then... wish I had discovered this forum when I had that interview!

If it was just a phone interview, you might be OK, even if they have already have a record of you applying. I can't say for sure, but no harm in shooting them an email to find out (just say in the body of your email that you feel your understanding of commercial law etc. has improved since you last applied)!

 

[ELA]

Question for @Jaysen: I was reading the Vacation Scheme Guide 2019, and it mentions researching your department if you know it. Do you think it would be fine to email the firm a few weeks before a VS asking what department you'll be placed with to be able to prepare?

My scheme is only going to be one week with no guaranteed TC interview. I'm in the running for a TC along with direct TC applicants, so I essentially have five days to convince them I'm worth an interview. I think the more prepared I am, to quicker I'll be able to get stuck in!

 

[Jaysen]

Question for @Jaysen: I was reading the Vacation Scheme Guide 2019, and it mentions researching your department if you know it. Do you think it would be fine to email the firm a few weeks before a VS asking what department you'll be placed with to be able to prepare?

My scheme is only going to be one week with no guaranteed TC interview. I'm in the running for a TC along with direct TC applicants, so I essentially have five days to convince them I'm worth an interview. I think the more prepared I am, to quicker I'll be able to get stuck in!

The larger firms will typically email you before the scheme with a timetable (although sometimes they don't tell you what department you're in until the first day). However, if you don't hear anything a few weeks before the scheme, then emailing them to find out is completely fine.

Great proactiveness!

 

[ELA]

The larger firms will typically email you before the scheme with a timetable (although sometimes they don't tell you what department you're in until the first day). However, if you don't hear anything a few weeks before the scheme, then emailing them to find out is completely fine.

Great proactiveness!

Thanks!