TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2021-22 (#1)

[Legalmel_99]

Just done the interactive assessment and increased my grit this year but decreased my digital mindset so I honestly don’t know what they are expecting

 

[ssolicitorz]

Just done the interactive assessment and increased my grit this year but decreased my digital mindset so I honestly don’t know what they are expecting

Is this for Gateley? How was it?

 

[Asil Ahmad]

I have a lot of time for Chris (have worked with him in the past and think AS is an amazing 🥲 organisation) but I don’t think this is great advice. 8 hours to proofread is not realistic nor productive in my opinion. It also doesn’t set you up well for the career when you’ll have far less time to proof read documents. I would say 8 hours is enough to draft, fill out and proofread an application on average.

I agree with everything you said as if you keep on proofreading again and again then it will become stressful.

 

[therealellewoods]

Opinions on shortening phrases in applications?
E.g. 'private equity (PE)' and then referring it to PE then onwards?

 

[NaimK]

Opinions on shortening phrases in applications?
E.g. 'private equity (PE)' and then referring it to PE then onwards?

I personally do that. I think as long as you fully write out the term first and then put the necessary bracket after (as you've done), you can then refer to the shortened version thereafter. I wouldn't overdo it though, but it can be useful in saving words.

 

[therealellewoods]

I personally do that. I think as long as you fully write out the term first and then put the necessary bracket after (as you've done), you can then refer to the shortened version thereafter. I wouldn't overdo it though, but it can be useful in saving words.

Thank you!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Opinions on shortening phrases in applications?
E.g. 'private equity (PE)' and then referring it to PE then onwards?

That is fine.

 

[therealellewoods]

That is fine.

Thanks Jessica!

 

[CorporateLaw101]

Just my view/opinion on the recruitment process and it’s stresses, just to add it to the conversation.

The process is stressful for the vast majority of people. You will probably never experience so much rejection/lack of success in your lifetime ever again. And even if you do, you’ll probably get much more guidance on why that was the case. Once you get into your career, there will be many more small wins you have that will balance out the things that don’t go to plan.

But stress does not just come from failing. For many people their stress triggers are very different, and they may find the career a lot more stressful than the recruitment process because of that.

I think it also depends on what else you have got going on in your life. Many people find this process stressful as there aren’t other key stresses in their life. Sometimes people are more blasé about this process because compared to other things they are dealing/dealt with, this is less significant. For the next person, this is their only/main/first stress causer.

But I agree with the earlier comment that these forums are a conduit for off loading some of that stress, or in some cases helps to minimising it because of the information/advice shared. It really is part of the reason we are here - we are trying to make the journey easier for people. Our purpose is to have an open forum where people can discuss these things openly and productively. Sometimes that means it can cause a trigger in another person, but we can’t constantly censor ourselves in fear of it impacting others. We wouldn’t be able to post much at all if we did that.

But my final comment is I think it is absolutely vital to learn from this process on how to deal with your stresses. If you feel yourself getting anxious about something, try to analyse what is causing that and try to think about ways of remedying it. Sometimes that will be trail and error. Sometimes that will be by doing something silly. Sometimes that will be being good to yourself. Sometimes it will be by doing good for others. But this is the best way to prepare yourself for the career, because it is going to be stressful and you need to prepare yourself for that no matter what you are feeling right now.

Hi Jessica, this is really helpful. Although I have been lucky enough to not endure mental illness as of yet, I have some personal circumstances that I have placed into an application and was planning on using for multiple applications in the future. I’m going to private message you the details, I hope this is okay!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica, this is really helpful. Although I have been lucky enough to not endure mental illness as of yet, I have some personal circumstances that I have placed into an application and was planning on using for multiple applications in the future. I’m going to private message you the details, I hope this is okay!

Of course, not a problem at all.

 

[AL123456]

Is Cooley rolling. I can't find any info online

 

[Asil Ahmad]

Is Cooley rolling. I can't find any info online

Last year they sent out WG invite 3 weeks after the deadline and the rejections all the next day. I remember this as I applied last year and they do it like this every cycle.

 

[Jessica Booker]

@Jessica Booker

Would you know anything about the BCLP situational judgment test? Although the firm has said it won't time you, it still recommends you spend about 45 mins. However, I'm thinking about taking advantage of the situation by spending as much time as I need. I'm just concerned as to whether there is a running timer or not (unlikely, but I had to provision for that possibility)? If there is, I'd probably try to stick to 45 mins as much as I can. If not, why not take as much time as I want?

To clarify, while I won't have a time limit to complete my test, I also want to know whether there is a timer running in the background anyway.

SJTs are generally not timed and so I don't think this is an issue. They have probably said 45 minutes as a guide as to how long it can take to complete it so that people can prepare accordingly and block out enough time to complete it.

If you want to take more time, then I would encourage you to do so.

 

[Ambs123]

my face after Mishcon VI - I have never in my life been so shocked than I was with the last question.
genuine question- does it matter if you remain calm, confident and keep answering the question even if the subject matter may have been less than?
So upset that it went poorly

Literally felt the same! My answer was all over the place ahh!

 

[Legalmel_99]

Is this for Gateley? How was it?

Yeah I got 6,9,7,7 for the interactive assessments

 

[LawEnthus]

Has anyone received the email with instructions for Gowling AC on Tuesday? It said in my booking confirmation we would receive one ‘no later than 48hrs before the assessment day’ but it is now under 48hrs

 

[lawful_neutral216]

A firm has asked for my transcripts before my AC next week. Do you think I could potentially get questioned on my grades at uni (specially the poor ones) Asking because I have mitigating circumstances which impacted my uni grades in second year. So I am trying to figure out the best way to answer a question like this.

@Jessica Booker Wondering if you would have inputs on this?

 

[GXA123]

A firm has asked for my transcripts before my AC next week. Do you think I could potentially get questioned on my grades at uni (specially the poor ones) Asking because I have mitigating circumstances which impacted my uni grades in second year. So I am trying to figure out the best way to answer a question like this.

@Jessica Booker Wondering if you would have inputs on this?

I think it is only to confirm with the grades on the your app form, it will have nothing to do with interviews and so on.

 

[ISABE11A]

This is a silly question but... when answering 'what difficulty may arise when operating in country X' and discussing political difficulties: what is the reasoning? Is it that general political difficulties may affect clients, re taxation or changes to laws, or the firm itself? My head has gone totally blank!

 

[Jessica Booker]

A firm has asked for my transcripts before my AC next week. Do you think I could potentially get questioned on my grades at uni (specially the poor ones) Asking because I have mitigating circumstances which impacted my uni grades in second year. So I am trying to figure out the best way to answer a question like this.

@Jessica Booker Wondering if you would have inputs on this?

Just a quick question before I provide more guidance - were your module grades on your application form?