I was starting to think I'd never be able to say this but - I've just been offered a training contract at one of my top choice firms!!
I'm still in a slight state of disbelief and shock as I was thinking about giving up after this cycle, and I just wanted to let people know who may be feeling disheartened after rejections and not know where they're going wrong - this was my
fourth cycle. I have loads of paralegal and non-legal experience and despite a couple of final round interviews early on I didn't get beyond application form stage for ages, and could not figure out where I was going wrong.
To be honest I still don't know! Application forms that I thought were v strong got nowhere, and firms I thought I was perfect for because of my experience still rejected me. 10 mins after I got the call to offer me the TC I got rejected by another firm at application form stage! This process is really demoralising, but I'm proof that if you keep at it you'll eventually get there.
I am by no means an expert but here is what I've learned:
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application forms are a skill in themselves (which is something I didn't realise for a long time) - use resources on TCLA and youtube (I can recommend some videos I used) to break down what makes a good answer.
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figure out your weaknesses and work on them. as a slightly older applicant (I did other things in my early-mid 20s) my commitment to law was questioned a lot. I now have three years of paralegal experience to back my interest in law despite my earlier career path, and that's been really helpful in interviews.
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sometimes you can do everything right and it still won't work out: my second cycle I got through three intense interviews to the final round at one firm and (as I thought) nailed every assessment, but got told in my feedback that I "didn't seem committed enough to the firm". I still find that one baffling because it was genuinely my first choice at the time and if they really thought that why take me all the way through to the final interview?!
- there is no magic formula to this, it's just a lot of hard work and (I think) a lot of luck.
I'm super happy to send people resources I found helpful/generally chat if you're struggling with the process.
Also - this is the first year I've used TCLA and I have found it all hugely helpful - but specialyou thanks to
@Jessica Booker,
@Jacob Miller @Dheepa @Jaysen for answering my questions with so much patience as I'm sure they're ones they've been asked a million times before.