Hogan Lovells question

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Agree with Jaysen on this. To add what he has said, it is sometimes the things that you think are not that extra-ordinary that actually are. For me the type of things I would expect (or maybe hope) to see in this section are:

- Were you promoted in that job in retail/in a pub? Or did you win that "employee of the month" award?
- Have you overcome a massive fear by chucking yourself into something (like a bungee jump)?
- Did you teach yourself something - e.g. a language, musical instrument, art etc (ie you didn't take lessons, you completely taught yourself)?
- Have you cared for a family member whilst juggling academic or work commitments?
- Have you gone against the grain - everyone told you that you couldn't do something, but you went and did it anyway

Mine would be as simple as explaining how I got my work ethic - I have worked from the age of 12 and done some weird any wonderful jobs along the way that my application wouldn't necessarily show. I'd use a section like this to highlight that crazy uniqueness, even if the jobs themselves seem far more "ordinary" to people

 

[PSM]

Thank you for your help Abstruser, Jaysen and Jessica!

Like Jessica said, I was overlooking things that I thought were not extra-ordinary but actually are. Your posts have helped me think about a few things I can actually talk about!

Much appreciated.

 

[pinkfrog]

hi everyone. I had a question about the Hogan Lovells application form. There is a section for 'work history' ('Please list your paid work experience in chronological order, most recent first') and there is a 250 word limit for each position. There is another section for 'Open days and voluntary work' ('On this page please give details of open days, voluntary work and employer presentations') and there is a 50 word limit for each position. All three of my legal work experiences were unpaid, so I feel I should include them under 'Open days'. However this does not give me much space to write about them, and by grouping them with open days and volunteering makes them seem quite minor, whereas they all lasted at least a week and are the experiences that will be most relevant.

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

hi everyone. I had a question about the Hogan Lovells application form. There is a section for 'work history' ('Please list your paid work experience in chronological order, most recent first') and there is a 250 word limit for each position. There is another section for 'Open days and voluntary work' ('On this page please give details of open days, voluntary work and employer presentations') and there is a 50 word limit for each position. All three of my legal work experiences were unpaid, so I feel I should include them under 'Open days'. However this does not give me much space to write about them, and by grouping them with open days and volunteering makes them seem quite minor, whereas they all lasted at least a week and are the experiences that will be most relevant.

do what the firm asks....

a weeks work experience is far less important than a year working in retail part time

 

[pinkfrog]

do what the firm asks....

a weeks work experience is far less important than a year working in retail part time

thank you jessica

 

[Ricky]

hi everyone. I had a question about the Hogan Lovells application form. There is a section for 'work history' ('Please list your paid work experience in chronological order, most recent first') and there is a 250 word limit for each position. There is another section for 'Open days and voluntary work' ('On this page please give details of open days, voluntary work and employer presentations') and there is a 50 word limit for each position. All three of my legal work experiences were unpaid, so I feel I should include them under 'Open days'. However this does not give me much space to write about them, and by grouping them with open days and volunteering makes them seem quite minor, whereas they all lasted at least a week and are the experiences that will be most relevant.

I spoke to Jen (recruitment manager) during the last cycle and she said it is 'absolutely fine' to include 'legal, unpaid work experience' in the paid work experience section. She also said you can include open days, commercial law presentations, workshops etc you have been to at other firms in the Voluntary/Open Day Section.

 

[Osh]

For law students Hogan Lovells has a large window for training contract submissions, September to July, is there still emphasis on getting an application in early?

 

[Ricky]

For law students Hogan Lovells has a large window for training contract submissions, September to July, is there still emphasis on getting an application in early?

They recruit on a rolling basis. So earlier the better. 31st January deadline is for non-law and graduates The 31st July deadline is for current law students.

Edit: Website says interviews for law students won't begin until August, after the deadline. So, in that case, there is not a great rush. Are you a finalist? That later window normally applies for penultimate year law students with finalists being allowed to apply for direct TC earlier. I would check with Grad Rec. The website could be clearer.

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

For law students Hogan Lovells has a large window for training contract submissions, September to July, is there still emphasis on getting an application in early?

no - as most people will be applying once they have their results in the summer

 

[pinkfrog]

I spoke to Jen (recruitment manager) during the last cycle and she said it is 'absolutely fine' to include 'legal, unpaid work experience' in the paid work experience section. She also said you can include open days, commercial law presentations, workshops etc you have been to at other firms in the Voluntary/Open Day Section.

this is amazing - thank you!

 

[Osh]

no - as most people will be applying once they have their results in the summer

ahh okay thank you

 

[Osh]

They recruit on a rolling basis. So earlier the better. 31st January deadline is for non-law and graduates The 31st July deadline is for current law students.

Edit: Website says interviews for law students won't begin until August, after the deadline. So, in that case, there is not a great rush. Are you a finalist? That later window normally applies for penultimate year law students with finalists being allowed to apply for direct TC earlier. I would check with Grad Rec. The website could be clearer.

I am a finalist, but yeah I will check thank you.

 

[Serah O]

I spoke to Jen (recruitment manager) during the last cycle and she said it is 'absolutely fine' to include 'legal, unpaid work experience' in the paid work experience section. She also said you can include open days, commercial law presentations, workshops etc you have been to at other firms in the Voluntary/Open Day Section.

Hi, do you know if it is okay to write in third person or bullet point for the unpaid section?

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Hi, do you know if it is okay to write in third person or bullet point for the unpaid section?

I’d avoid writing in the third person. Your application is about you, not other people and if you are writing about yourself, the third person is a really odd way of doing so.

 

[KatieCCM]

Hi everyone, I’d just wondered how people approached the question about describing a time where you enjoyed working with people from different cultures, backgrounds and/or personalities etc.

 

[Mena M]

The word count for each individual work history entry is 250 words. Do you think it would matter if we were far off that word count? I cannot think of what else to write other than the responsibilities of the job, and even then it is nowhere near the word count.

 

[James Kitching]

The word count for each individual work history entry is 250 words. Do you think it would matter if we were far off that word count? I cannot think of what else to write other than the responsibilities of the job, and even then it is nowhere near the word count.

Doesn’t matter, succinct writing >> Waffling irrelevance

 

[Kareena]

You really have no suitable answers from your extra curricular activities, part time work or work experience ?

I honestly don't know what to write for this, I was planning to give it a humorous approach of saying I am really organized not allowing me to fall in this situation or I was going to use a situation from my personal life, where my sisters' wedding was right before my exams. And i would basically talk about how I balanced both.

Do you think either is a good idea?

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

I honestly don't know what to write for this, I was planning to give it a humorous approach of saying I am really organized not allowing me to fall in this situation or I was going to use a situation from my personal life, where my sisters' wedding was right before my exams. And i would basically talk about how I balanced both.

Do you think either is a good idea?

I’ll be frank - the first idea is not a good approach. You will ultimately have to do this regularly as a trainee, so it is a skill you will need to demonstrate. If that’s the only example you have, then you’ll have to use it.

 

[Alice G]

I honestly don't know what to write for this, I was planning to give it a humorous approach of saying I am really organized not allowing me to fall in this situation or I was going to use a situation from my personal life, where my sisters' wedding was right before my exams. And i would basically talk about how I balanced both.

Do you think either is a good idea?

You need to be mindful of the different cultures and backgrounds element of this question too, many candidates overlook this