Ok guys -
Freshfields advice coming your way (apologies it is a day later than promised - I just did the A&O SJT!)
Written App
With the 850 word personal statement, they said to check the website for what they are looking for as they have lots of buzzwords for skills and competencies they would ideally like to see us
evidence. I say evidence in bold as I know we have so many new applicants to this cycle and it took me a few apps and a lot of help from
@Jaysen to realise a crucial difference between an 'ok' app and a great one is the degree to which you substantiate your claims! They did say though that you can 'show don't tell' so do not worry about making everything absolutely explicit and constantly repeating 'this example demonstrates X'. Give them the examples which demonstrate skills, be sure to use STAR, and make sure you use the word count effectively.
This is a snippet taken from the FAQ section on their website, but they also have a graduate recruitment brochure and a handy application guide!
'We look for many skills including determination, enthusiasm, time management, flexibility, attention to detail, an interest in business, willingness to work as a team, and a sense of humour. When writing your application, make sure you link your experiences to the types of skills we look for. See our website for more information on what skills make a great lawyer.'
They advise that if you have met them at a presentation evening then feel free to note this in the work exp section. However, do not simply tell grad rec what the event entailed. This also goes for other firms - they do not want you to recall facts and stats but tell them what really struck out to you on a personal level and what was it that got said that really resonated with. They want to know what it is you learned and enjoyed the most from these experiences so if you had a really great conversation with a future trainee about a practice area that interests you then this is the sort of thing you might want to consider telling them.
The overriding bit of advice on the PS was to make it personal - tell them the story of 'you'. They advised that they want to see 'why commercial law', 'why the firm' and 'why you' covered, but it sounded to me as though they are not mutually exclusive sections but the 'why you' should be prevalent in the former two sections too. I think the beauty of these apps is that you can make them your own but they did say to aim for 30% why comm law and why the firm and then 70% why you. I am personally just going to try and keep the 'why me' as sustained as possible and would advise people not to get to worried about this weighting in a strict sense. They really want to be able to get a sense of personality coming through your writing so try and get someone to read it. Obviously, try not to go full-blown story-time and ensure you still have a professional structure and do not mistake 'I have wanted to be a commercial lawyer since I was seven' as being the best story to tell. They were quite clear on this and think it is sound advice to give across all other personal statement/cover letter style apps.
As I allude to in the last para, structure is important - I think that all apps, like essays, need to flow. This doesn't necessarily mean making inauthentic and tenuous connections but try to pick the best things about you that you wish to talk about and maybe play around with how best to order them. They do say that 'why comm law' and 'why the firm' and 'why you' do not have to be in any particular order so just go with what feels right to you.
WG Test
Freshfields physically read every single app they get, there is no automation in sight to help filter apps out, and the tests are sent to those who they think have sent strong enough apps. Sadly guys, there are no tips out of the ordinary here other than to try and stay calm and do your best. I would again recommend the how2become critical thinking test book available on Amazon (should be a green cover) to help with this assessment. Once the test is done, there is no crude benchmark as such. Grad rec said they do look at the app and WG in tandem to see how a candidate weighs up holistically. If you have a poor WG score but an incredible app you may still get an interview and vice versa if your app may have been one of the weaker ones.
Interview Day
This will be a half day assessment centre.
Written task: This is to test the quality of your written work and your attention to detail skills. It is a 45 minute assessment.
Analytical interview: This is basically an article from a newspaper like the Financial Times perhaps, and you will have to discuss it with a partner. They advised us to think about the key issues and what the writer is arguing or putting forwards as their view. They will no doubt try to steer the conversation to a business and commercial matter so try to view the article through your 'commercial lens'. They also advised to look engaged and enthusiastic. If I can share anything here - this is vital. For my tricky interviews in the past I have really tried to influence my mindset and see them as fun challenges where I am not expected to know it all but merely try my best. Really try to keep upbeat and smile and don't allow your nerves to get the better of you if you can try
Compentency/Situational/You interview: This interview i got the impression as being relatively open-ended and that there are no strict questions or formulas that partners will follow. a few possible questions mentioned were:
1. what are you most proud of?
2. what are your success stories?
3. what challenges have you faced and what has been the outcome?
4. have you ever failed at something?
5. when have you received negative feedback and how did you respond?
6. when have you managed multiple deadlines and how did you go about this?
As always, they recommended to use STAR to guide your answers and structure them
As with any AC too, have questions prepared for the people interviewing you and they also did say there would be a tour during the day - this is not assessed though obviously still be professional
They said that they really do want candidates to assess well across the three assessed tasks at the AC but that everything is accounted for. If you do only reasonably in one element of the day but you excel in the other two then they will take this into account.
Really hope this helps guys and sorry it is coming to you all a bit late! If there are any questions please let me know, or if there is anything on here you want to chat about privately with regards to your own unique circumstances then please message me if you would like to
Take each process step as it comes and best of luck to you all with the applications
