In my third cycle of applications,
I have finally secured a Training Contract!
Interestingly, this was my
first ever direct TC application and I have
never secured a vac scheme (take what you will from that).
I want to thank the entire TCLA team for their invaluable advice and guidance along this journey, and obviously
@Jaysen for creating this amazing community. Big shout out to
@George Maxwell @James Carrabino and
@Jessica Booker for believing in me and replying to my messages on such short notice!
For those seeking a TC, the biggest piece of advice I got (from George or James) was to change my mentality.
- You have to believe it is only a question of "when" and not "if" you get a training contract.
- If you don't believe in yourself, how can you expect anyone else to?
- Please stop comparing yourself to others and honestly, I don't think LinkedIn helps as it is a constant reminder of all our connections getting TC's.
Secondly,
TCLA Premium is so worth it.
- Even if it is just for a few months (especially the month before your AC).
- I have gained so much value from those courses, it has been such a valuable investment (we've all wasted more money on dumber things ie alcohol).
- Since taking the Watson Glaser course by Joe Mallet, I have passed all 5/5 Watson Glaser exams.
Finally, I do believe that you really need to pick a few firms and apply to those only.
- I think most people are drawn to the big international firms for the reputation, money, status or simply because everyone else is applying to them.
- But when you sit down and think about what truly matters to you, then you can probably narrow that list down to less than 10.
- For example, I realised I actually care about my mental health and work-life balance (having tried to balance a full-time job with a part-time masters).
- Hence why I stopped applying to magic circle firms...
- Quality > Quantity (despite the numbers game argument, there is no way you can produce more than 20 good quality apps in any given cycle that you genuinely care about).
- Also when researching, it is important to realise that all firms regurtitate the same bs (great culture, great client contact, lots of responsibility at an early stage). In reality, these are all just sales pitches. For example: great client contact = asking the client if he/she has received the document you sent him
Good luck to everyone and remember, "Mistakes don’t mean failure. Mistakes are a sign that you are trying something new. You make mistakes; mistakes don’t make you."