TCLA Direct Training Contract Applications Discussion Thread 2021-22 (#1)

[samni]

@Jessica Booker Hi Jess, just wondering what your thoughts are on using digits for numbers in applications? I wouldn't usually use digits for numbers under 10, but I've seen people do both and someone reviewing my application has suggested I change all written numbers into digits. Does this matter either way/is there a strict preference? Or does it look better as digits in terms of quantifying achievements?

Edit: and is there a preference for writing out common abbreviations like M&A, USP, NDA etc in full?

(Please let me know if there's a better place to ask this!)

 

[Scandi]

@Jessica Booker Hi Jess, just wondering what your thoughts are on using digits for numbers in applications? I wouldn't usually use digits for numbers under 10, but I've seen people do both and someone reviewing my application has suggested I change all written numbers into digits. Does this matter either way/is there a strict preference?

(Please let me know if there's a better place to ask this!)

From experience, I've had no issues spelling out numbers under 10. I think it's safer to stick to this grammatical norm (unless it's exceptionally unclear to read otherwise, but which I think would be rare)

 

[samni]

From experience, I've had no issues spelling out numbers under 10. I think it's safer to stick to this grammatical norm (unless it's exceptionally unclear to read otherwise, but which I think would be rare)

Thanks @Scandi! I'd prefer stick with spelling them out too so will go with that

 

[WAL007]

I believe eversheds has responded back to the tc apps! My friend just got an reply.

 

[John Travoni]

I believe eversheds has responded back to the tc apps! My friend just got an reply.

Has anyone heard from the London office ???

 

[thefutureladylawyer]

Has anyone heard from the London office ???

I applied to Cardiff and still no reply

 

[Life&Law]

I believe eversheds has responded back to the tc apps! My friend just got an reply.

Is this for the Manchester office?

 

[lawnoob]

Do you guys put your work experiences that are short term? I've had about 5 jobs that I would do only during summer holidays so I've only held each for about 3/4 months. Would this be received badly to GR? Would appreciate your insight on this @Jessica Booker

Additional question, I'm being headhunted for a promotion but at another company, but have only been in my current role for less than 6 months.

Would it be better to have more experience on my CV, or to stick with one place for longer to demonstrate commitment?

(I'd love to get some advice and talk about this to somebody as it has specific details if possible also!)

 

[Scandi]

Do you guys put your work experiences that are short term? I've had about 5 jobs that I would do only during summer holidays so I've only held each for about 3/4 months. Would this be received badly to GR? Would appreciate your insight on this @Jessica Booker

Additional question, I'm being headhunted for a promotion but at another company, but have only been in my current role for less than 6 months.

Would it be better to have more experience on my CV, or to stick with one place for longer to demonstrate commitment?

(I'd love to get some advice and talk about this to somebody as it has specific details if possible also!)

I would absolutely include all the experience that you have! It's great that you can show a variety of experiences (both legal and non-legal), especially as you probably have trained different skills.

 

[Bradley Draper]

I believe eversheds has responded back to the tc apps! My friend just got an reply.

Has anyone heard from the London office ???

I applied to the London office and have not yet received a reply

 

[Adrian_S]

Do you guys put your work experiences that are short term? I've had about 5 jobs that I would do only during summer holidays so I've only held each for about 3/4 months. Would this be received badly to GR? Would appreciate your insight on this @Jessica Booker

Additional question, I'm being headhunted for a promotion but at another company, but have only been in my current role for less than 6 months.

Would it be better to have more experience on my CV, or to stick with one place for longer to demonstrate commitment?

(I'd love to get some advice and talk about this to somebody as it has specific details if possible also!)

I’m sure others have more well-thought views on this, but I don’t think there’s any harm in lumping some together under one work experience entry. For instance, I often held several jobs during the summer. For one of my entries, I write down the main job I did at a bookstore and then in my description I also mention other part-time work I did during this time (e.g. working as a barista, tutoring, etc.). I also describe how holding multiple jobs helped me manage my time, develop customer service skills, etc.

However I wouldn’t take a ‘lumping’ approach to those jobs that offered me significant experience. My vac scheme at V&E was only a week, but I don't lump that together with other vac schemes. Rather I’d enter each vac scheme separately. Again, the nature and type of job you did may determine whether you lump them together with others.

Just my view Very curious what others might think.

 

[Asil Ahmad]

Do you guys put your work experiences that are short term? I've had about 5 jobs that I would do only during summer holidays so I've only held each for about 3/4 months. Would this be received badly to GR? Would appreciate your insight on this @Jessica Booker

Additional question, I'm being headhunted for a promotion but at another company, but have only been in my current role for less than 6 months.

Would it be better to have more experience on my CV, or to stick with one place for longer to demonstrate commitment?

(I'd love to get some advice and talk about this to somebody as it has specific details if possible also!)

I would love to know this also as I have done 3 temporary litigation paralegal roles over 3 months.

 

[samni]

Do you guys put your work experiences that are short term? I've had about 5 jobs that I would do only during summer holidays so I've only held each for about 3/4 months. Would this be received badly to GR? Would appreciate your insight on this @Jessica Booker

Additional question, I'm being headhunted for a promotion but at another company, but have only been in my current role for less than 6 months.

Would it be better to have more experience on my CV, or to stick with one place for longer to demonstrate commitment?

(I'd love to get some advice and talk about this to somebody as it has specific details if possible also!)

I personally would - I don't think it's different to having an internship that would only be a couple of months maximum anyway! If they're more minimum wage experiences that overlap/are at the same place then it might be worth collating them, but I still think it wouldn't be wrong to put them separately.

Also interested to know what others think!

 

[lawnoob]

I would absolutely include all the experience that you have! It's great that you can show a variety of experiences (both legal and non-legal), especially as you probably have trained different skills.

I’m sure others have more well-thought views on this, but I don’t think there’s any harm in lumping some of them together under one work experience entry. For instance, I often had several jobs during the summer. For one of my entries, I write down the main job I did at a bookstore during the summer and then in my description I also mention that I was doing other part-time work during this time (e.g. working as a barista). I describe how holding multiple jobs helped me manage my time, develop customer service skills, etc.

However I wouldn’t take a ‘lumping’ approach to those jobs that offered me significant experiences and skills. My vac scheme at V&E was only a week, for instance, but I wouldn’t lump that together with the other vac schemes I did. Rather I’d enter each vac scheme separately. Again, the nature and type of job you did may determine whether you lump them together with others.

Just my view Very curious what others might think.

I personally would - I don't think it's different to having an internship that would only be a couple of months maximum anyway! If they're more minimum wage experiences that overlap/are at the same place then it might be worth collating them, but I still think it wouldn't be wrong to put them separately.

Also interested to know what others think!

ooh thank you guys for your responses! Thank you for the insight and advice - really like hearing different perspectives on this!

 

[MarianaMartins]

Hi ! This is my first time using TCLA... I hope I am on the right thread.

When answering "biggest challenges for the legal sector over the next 12 months" question. I am thinking of writing about Climate and sustainability and The SQE? Am I on the right lines on this question?

Also, about how Brexit and Covid-19 affected a number of sectors. I wrote about how litigation has been affected as a result. Or should I write about the financial sector,particularly, employment law?

 

[Adrian_S]

Hi ! This is my first time using TCLA... I hope I am on the right thread.

When answering "biggest challenges for the legal sector over the next 12 months" question. I am thinking of writing about Climate and sustainability and The SQE? Am I on the right lines on this question?

Also, about how Brexit and Covid-19 affected a number of sectors. I wrote about how litigation has been affected as a result. Or should I write about the financial sector,particularly, employment law?

hi i think these could be promising answers. i take it that these are for addleshaw goddard’s application?

re: the biggest challenges question, the SQE could definitely be thought of as a challenge for the legal sector. if you can convincingly show what implications it has for law firms, junior lawyers, etc., the SQE can make for a good answer. climate and sustainability are also potentially big challenges for the sector; such an answer will be especially persuasive if you can identify legally-specific issues that climate change/sustainability raise (i.e. try to avoid answers that apply to businesses more generally).

re: the brexit/covid sector question, i’d be hesitant to describe litigation as a ‘sector’. it’s better described as a practice area. that being said, you might identify a sector that AG specializes in and say how brexit/covid have raised litigation-related issues in that particular sector.

i’m sure others on here have better insights, but these are just some suggestions to hopefully make your answers more tailored to law/AG.

 

[Scandi]

A firm requires the following on my CV: a full classification and percentage breakdown of all academic results.

Does this ALSO require a full module breakdown of my (equivalent) A-level and GSCE results? (other than summaries). I'm afraid the CV is going to look colossal with so many module breakdowns.

Oh well, maybe I should stay on the safe side and include everything?

 

[thefutureladylawyer]

I didn't declare my GCSEs and A Levels as I did them over 20 years ago. I stated that I did not feel they were an accurate reflection of my current potential

 

[kr253]

A firm requires the following on my CV: a full classification and percentage breakdown of all academic results.

Does this ALSO require a full module breakdown of my (equivalent) A-level and GSCE results? (other than summaries). I'm afraid the CV is going to look colossal with so many module breakdowns.

Oh well, maybe I should stay on the safe side and include everything?

I personally wouldn't include module breakdowns for A-levels and GCSEs, mostly because I have no idea what they were or how to find them as I did them >10 years ago... But I also can't imagine why a firm would need to know these

 

[ssolicitorz]

Do you guys think talking about a specific deal the firm is involved in, or a specific practice area and its work is a necessity in an application?