ROPES & GRAY VAC SCHEME!!!! I can’t believe it. I’m elated! First app cycle and tons of embarrassing posts on TCLA later….. Wooooo hooo!!! I’m on the Summer one so if you’ve got the same as I please message me & let’s link up!!
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TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2021-22 (#1)
- Thread starter Jaysen
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You'll probably hear a lot of feedback to this saying "No, never put future work experience on your application because you haven't worked it yet" but I know from my past successes, no one in grad recruitment will reject you because you did so lol. I think you have about a 1 in a million chance that your amazing application will be binned because you put "incoming VC at amazing LLP." If you want to, do it. I've done it a few times for VS myself.
In my experience, if they give you a deadline for it without a specific time then assuming 11:59pm is a safe bet. Other firms with earlier-in-the-day deadlines will specify these! For example I believe Cooley’s was before 12 (noon) and they said this in the WG email
Not sure if its conventional but I think it would be okay, for example, if you are doing TC applications this summer.
My personal opinion, I would not include it because it is not actual job you have done yet.
Hey, I was wondering if a job as an administration assistant/floor support worker at a law firm would count as work experience in helping to apply for vacation schemes or training contracts. I am a recent graduate who is preparing to for another round of applications and am struggling to get a paralegal job
All work experience is good because you learn important skills that are necessary for being a trainee. For example, time management, communicating with those in the office, attention to detail, prioritising, team work. These are all transferable skills that are highly valued by firms and should definitely be highlighted in the application. I think its important when talking about the experience that you pick out the key things you learned that can also be transferable to the role of a trainee! Best of luck with your applications
Hey - this is just my opinion and I’m welcome to others with more experience but I don’t think it’s the job title that matters with experience. a lot of people seem to think it’s having the title paralegal that’s counts but honestly paralegal can mean so many different things to different organisations and the work a paralegal does hugely varies. With its experience I think It’s how you leverage it that counts. What transferable skills can you demonstrate with the role. So for example as as an admin assistant you’ll get an insight into how a law firm operates as a business. You’ll develop time management skills you might have to balance several tasks at once. You’ll work with others etc.
Jessica Booker
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I’d try to include them elsewhere where you can. It’s only if they can’t be referenced elsewhere that you could include them (although many application systems don’t allow you to add future dates anyway).
If you do add them, you can’t really provide any detail beyond the department you are allocated to (if you know that).
Jessica Booker
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There's a difference between percentile and percentage, which might explain this. It is possible you could have still scored 80% in the firm's WG test and been 30th percentile. That would be because 70% of people happened to score better than 80% on the test.
From my experience, firms don't tell you what percentage you actually scored on the test - only how you ranked in comparison to others. So there is no way to know what percentage of questions you answered correctly, whereas most practice tests will tell you your actual percentage.
Hope that makes sense lol lots of percentages
I'd recommend comparing 2-4 things that stand out to you most about the firm. It could be their trainee intake/training contract structure, clientele, strategy, strength of practice areas- anything, really. Ensure you identify what the firm you're applying to does better than its competitors in your comparison to bring out how the firm stays competitive.
People do it all the time but I think it's a bit silly - you haven't done anything, you haven't gained any experience. That said, you *have* been vetted by grad rec somewhere and that serves as a shorthand to grad rec elsewhere that you're worth taking seriously. There's also the benefit of creating a sense of urgency as you will prospectively have other offers, but flipside is that the firm you're applying to will be less confident you'll sign with them for a TC. Would probably park it in 'other information' or similar because, again, getting through a recruitment process is not itself a work experience.
This is a great answer and I think a key thing is focusing on the points that stand out to you most. Very easy to agonise over this kind of question ad nauseum - @Paul - Shearman & Sterling will have had the misfortune of reading my overwrought answers to this question on several occasions (sorry Paul) - and this tends to lead to worse or, at best, inauthentic answers. At best I think this question allows you to demonstrate firm/market knowledge and demonstrate how you think and what you care about. Easier said than done, but try to do that.
Anyone else still in the aether with Travers?
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