TCLA General Discussion Thread #2 (2021)

[S87]

Talking about interviews..yesterday I had one which lasted 3 hours (1hour written test and 2 with the 2 GCs) I was so tired that I slept the entire afternoon. I am supposed to work on 2 apps but I am watching golden girls! Gosh I don’t know how people can do so many things at the same time. After work, I can only exercise Or relax. Plus, I spent my lunchtime yelling imaginary “fxxxxoff” at people on LinkedIn..why do you need to post about each day you spend on your VS?? My fiancé thinks I am losing my mind! Well tomorrow is another day and need to work on my 2 last apps..

just moaning , but seriously how do you do it?

 

[Kubed]

Talking about interviews..yesterday I had one which lasted 3 hours (1hour written test and 2 with the 2 GCs) I was so tired that I slept the entire afternoon. I am supposed to work on 2 apps but I am watching golden girls! Gosh I don’t know how people can do so many things at the same time. After work, I can only exercise Or relax. Plus, I spent my lunchtime yelling imaginary “fxxxxoff” at people on LinkedIn..why do you need to post about each day you spend on your VS?? My fiancé thinks I am losing my mind! Well tomorrow is another day and need to work on my 2 last apps..

just moaning , but seriously how do you do it?

Totally get it, the whole process to get your foot in the door at law firms is probably one of the most intense things I've ever done! Something I've learnt though is to try to not compare my approach, experiences or success with others - posting on LinkedIn must be (or feel like) a productive activity for them, while for others, it's not important. Just keep doing what you're doing.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi all,
Do you think I can reference a vacation scheme being cancelled last year as an example of resilience? It was disappointing for me and I have bounced back by reapplying this year, but I am worried that it will look bad because I failed to secure the TC.

I suspect there are stronger (and more unique) examples you have in all honesty.

 

[Jacob Miller]

Hi all,
Do you think I can reference a vacation scheme being cancelled last year as an example of resilience? It was disappointing for me and I have bounced back by reapplying this year, but I am worried that it will look bad because I failed to secure the TC.

I would tend to agree with Jessica here.

When thinking about a resilience question, it's really important you try and speak about something that sets you apart. Many hundreds of vacation scheme students would have had schemes cancelled last year, so I think an answer on that may come over as white noise to some extent.

I would really encourage you to consider examples which are unique, that couldn't really be discussed by others because they wouldn't have the same shared experiences.

 

[Jacob Miller]

Talking about interviews..yesterday I had one which lasted 3 hours (1hour written test and 2 with the 2 GCs) I was so tired that I slept the entire afternoon. I am supposed to work on 2 apps but I am watching golden girls! Gosh I don’t know how people can do so many things at the same time. After work, I can only exercise Or relax. Plus, I spent my lunchtime yelling imaginary “fxxxxoff” at people on LinkedIn..why do you need to post about each day you spend on your VS?? My fiancé thinks I am losing my mind! Well tomorrow is another day and need to work on my 2 last apps..

just moaning , but seriously how do you do it?

I'm oddly comforted to find out that I'm not the only person who audibly curses at their LinkedIn feed as a matter of course.

On a serious note - and I will caveat this by saying that I'm usually a terrible example here, so do as I say and not as I do - I think it sounds like your body and psyche are telling you you need a rest, so I would try and listen to them.

Take a little time out and you'll come back a lot more switched on and focussed.

 

[h2020]

Congratulations on securing the interview!

I think the same broad principles apply as a VS or TC interview, largely. Know the firm, know the role, know why you're a good match and be prepared to justify that. Understand what paralegals do in that firm - the paralegal role is more fluid and less consistent firm-to-firm, department-to-department. Try and learn as much as you can about the role where you're applying for, and that's pretty much half the battle.

Thanks Jacob, that was really helpful.

 

[Imababysolicitor]

Hello everyone,

Has anyone applied to the Linklaters Get Ahead Programme? If so, when are we likely to hear back.

Thank you 😊

Hi! I’m still waiting to hear back, have you heard anything yet and know what the actual process is?

 

[Jaysen]

May I know if the recorded version of this webinar is available yet?

Uploading this today

 

[Eliana]

Subjective Q but what are the main reasons why people get rejected after a virtual VS? Feel like its so much harder to get yourself across and build up an image but then everyone is in the same boat! @Jessica Booker what do you think?

 

[Jacob Miller]

Subjective Q but what are the main reasons why people get rejected after a virtual VS? Feel like its so much harder to get yourself across and build up an image but then everyone is in the same boat! @Jessica Booker what do you think?

To be totally honest, I think it's really for much the same reason(s) as they would get rejected from a 'normal' VS. There are a lot of variables though - for example, in a virtual VS, there may be more weight attached to formal assessments as it's often harder, from an infrastructure perspective, to get students onto the company mainframe/ intranet to do secure work. In that case, it could be that the candidate's assessment scores weren't good enough (in much the same way as if they fell short on supervised work during a normal scheme). Alternatively, they maybe weren't particularly engaged or forthcoming in discussions or Q&A sessions.

Non-conversion doesn't necessarily mean that the candidate has done something bad or wrong, though. It could be, for instance, that they were part of an exceptionally strong cohort and others just outshone them in comparison. Similarly, it might just be the case that the firm didn't feel they had enough knowledge of/ about a candidate to give them the TC (i.e., what's been seen and done is positive there just hasn't been enough of it to be certain they're ready for the TC).

TLDR: innumerable variables and it's nearly impossible to give a set answer without knowing a lot more about individual facts and circumstances.

 

[Eliana]

To be totally honest, I think it's really for much the same reason(s) as they would get rejected from a 'normal' VS. There are a lot of variables though - for example, in a virtual VS, there may be more weight attached to formal assessments as it's often harder, from an infrastructure perspective, to get students onto the company mainframe/ intranet to do secure work. In that case, it could be that the candidate's assessment scores weren't good enough (in much the same way as if they fell short on supervised work during a normal scheme). Alternatively, they maybe weren't particularly engaged or forthcoming in discussions or Q&A sessions.

Non-conversion doesn't necessarily mean that the candidate has done something bad or wrong, though. It could be, for instance, that they were part of an exceptionally strong cohort and others just outshone them in comparison. Similarly, it might just be the case that the firm didn't feel they had enough knowledge of/ about a candidate to give them the TC (i.e., what's been seen and done is positive there just hasn't been enough of it to be certain they're ready for the TC).

TLDR: innumerable variables and it's nearly impossible to give a set answer without knowing a lot more about individual facts and circumstances.

Thank you for that detailed response Jacob ! I understand it varies with different experiences, I just feel like I am not doing enough

 

[Jessica Booker]

Thank you for that detailed response Jacob ! I understand it varies with different experiences, I just feel like I am not doing enough

What makes you think you aren’t doing enough?

 

[S87]

Well me again!

Beyond the stress of the last apps and work, I am also helping my dad and my brother with our family business.
I am just amending our English brochures and I am also giving a makeover to the english website. But I was wondering if you could give me some tips to upgrade my website, to reorganise it and make it more appealing. We are targeting certain clients and God knows that I want my dad to scream you are my favourite child!

@Jaysen you are my man

 

[Jaysen]

Well me again!

Beyond the stress of the last apps and work, I am also helping my dad and my brother with our family business.
I am just amending our English brochures and I am also giving a makeover to the english website. But I was wondering if you could give me some tips to upgrade my website, to reorganise it and make it more appealing. We are targeting certain clients and God knows that I want my dad to scream you are my favourite child!

@Jaysen you are my man

Sounds great, do you know which platform the website runs on?

Unfortunately, I'm not the best person to ask when it comes to design. TCLA runs on Wordpress, which is pretty easy to tweak, but anything to do with design/branding we'll tend to send to third parties. Usually, I lean towards delegating this to others with more expertise in the area.

Depending on your needs, it doesn't have to be overly expensive - fiverr can be a very budget-friendly platform to find freelancers, although you may need to do some digging to find the right person. There is also Upwork if you decide to go down this route (generally more expensive but higher quality).

 

[Dheepa]

God knows that I want my dad to scream you are my favourite child!

Big relate ahaha - your posts always make me laugh so much! 😂

 

[S87]

Big relate ahaha - your posts always make me laugh so much! 😂

Well I know in my heart..but my brother is the mannnnnnn !

Glad I made you laugh tho

 

[S87]

Sounds great, do you know which platform the website runs on?

Unfortunately, I'm not the best person to ask when it comes to design. TCLA runs on Wordpress, which is pretty easy to tweak, but anything to do with design/branding we'll tend to send to third parties. Usually, I lean towards delegating this to others with more expertise in the area.

Depending on your needs, it doesn't have to be overly expensive - fiverr can be a very budget-friendly platform to find freelancers, although you may need to do some digging to find the right person. There is also Upwork if you decide to go down this route (generally more expensive but higher quality).

I sincerely do not know on which platform the website runs but I can look into.

Will ask the boss and work out a budget!

Thank you so much @Jaysen

 

[Sam7051]

Does anyone have a video interview invite from Ince? Or has anyone done one before? This is one of my last applications in the cycle, so I would really appreciate any tips and hints for video interviews. I had one with Simmons before and absolutely bombed it. So now, I am terrified.

 

[josemourinho]

Unfortunately not.

It was good news anyway in the end! Slaughter and May March 2024 TC offer! Absolutely over the moon given what a rough couple of months it has been.

 

[Jessica Booker]

It was good news anyway in the end! Slaughter and May March 2024 TC offer! Absolutely over the moon given what a rough couple of months it has been.

Congratulations!! Amazing news