TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2022-23

[Lily721]

Hi @Jessica Booker . If the work experience section of an application form does not set a word limit for each entry, how long should I keep my answers? I was going to use my work experience entries from another application which were 150 words each, but not sure if I should expand my answers given there is no word limit.

 

[Ghassen]

If a firm has 31 TCs and recruits 50% of trainees through direct TC, 50% from vac scheme and there’re 55 vac schemers, does that mean that the conversion rate from VS to TC is (25%)? I’m wondering about Macfarlanes specifically.

@Jessica Booker any thoughts on this would be appreciated. Thanks!

I have the same exact concern !

 

[lawapplicant]

is there a reason that most, if not all firms dont have any schemes in august? They are all competing for the same talent and bunch their schemes so much?

Bro Shoosmiths VS is end of May. Right in middle of exam season

 

[CorpLawyer00]

Bro Shoosmiths VS is end of May. Right in middle of exam season

rahhhhh

 

[drowsybeige]

have many people heard back from Norton Rose after WG regarding telephone interview?

React if you have plz

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Hi @Jessica Booker . If the work experience section of an application form does not set a word limit for each entry, how long should I keep my answers? I was going to use my work experience entries from another application which were 150 words each, but not sure if I should expand my answers given there is no word limit.

Firstly, I would think about it across entries rather than just singular ones. If you have a lot of different experiences, then you’ll want to keep the entries generally shorter as collectively there will be much more to read through. If you have fewer experiences, you might want a little more detail. Basically you want to get the balance between providing enough relevant detail to sell your experiences without it becoming too long to read your work experience in total.

It also depends on the experience itself though. A couple of days work shadowing may only need 60-80 words, while a paralegal role that you have done for a year where you have had varied responsibilities might need more like 250-300 words.

 

[Lily721]

Firstly, I would think about it across entries rather than just singular ones. If you have a lot of different experiences, then you’ll want to keep the entries generally shorter as collectively there will be much more to read through. If you have fewer experiences, you might want a little more detail. Basically you want to get the balance between providing enough relevant detail to sell your experiences without it becoming too long to read your work experience in total.

It also depends on the experience itself though. A couple of days work shadowing may only need 60-80 words, while a paralegal role that you have done for a year where you have had varied responsibilities might need more like 250-300 words.

Thanks, @Jessica Booker. So in this case where I have quite a few experiences to note, I shouldn't worry about having different length of entries for each (provided I don't go to either extreme)?

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Thanks, @Jessica Booker. So in this case where I have quite a few experiences to note, I shouldn't worry about having different length of entries for each (provided I don't go to either extreme)?

Then you’ll want to make sure your entries are more concise as there will be more to read through. Any substantial experiences can go into more detail/utilise more word count though.

 

[Lily721]

Then you’ll want to make sure your entries are more concise as there will be more to read through. Any substantial experiences can go into more detail/utilise more word count though.

Thanks @Jessica Booker - that's noted! Sorry, final question on this - would you recommend the same approach with applications that have a 250 word limit for the work experience section i.e. should I use the full word count for all of my experiences, bearing in mind that I have 8-9 experience to add?

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Thanks @Jessica Booker - that's noted! Sorry, final question on this - would you recommend the same approach with applications that have a 250 word limit for the work experience section i.e. should I use the full word count for all of my experiences, bearing in mind that I have 8-9 experience to add?

It depends on the experiences. Are they all substantial work experiences with varied responsibilities and/or over a long period of time?

It’s likely that a one may need the full word count, others might not.

Try to think about your experiences as a whole and also how they fit into the application as a whole. Do you really want your reader to skim read 2000-2500 words and then the rest of your application, or do you want them to read most of what you write?

 

[sdsou]

If a firm says you have until Monday 27 Feb to complete the VI, does that mean 11:59 on 27 Feb or 11:59 pm on 26 Feb :3 please help!!

 

[yasmars]

If a firm says you have until Monday 27 Feb to complete the VI, does that mean 11:59 on 27 Feb or 11:59 pm on 26 Feb :3 please help!!

I think it means the former.

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

If a firm says you have until Monday 27 Feb to complete the VI, does that mean 11:59 on 27 Feb or 11:59 pm on 26 Feb :3 please help!!

11.59pm on the 27th

 

[Ghassen]

If a firm has 31 TCs and recruits 50% of trainees through direct TC, 50% from vac scheme and there’re 55 vac schemers, does that mean that the conversion rate from VS to TC is (25%)? I’m wondering about Macfarlanes specifically.

@Jessica Booker any thoughts on this would be appreciated. Thanks!

@Jessica Booker Can you give your thoughts on this if you don't mind ? Knowing that they recruit 33 for the TC I guess, not 31, and there are 3 schemes.

 

[Lily721]

It depends on the experiences. Are they all substantial work experiences with varied responsibilities and/or over a long period of time?

It’s likely that a one may need the full word count, others might not.

Try to think about your experiences as a whole and also how they fit into the application as a whole. Do you really want your reader to skim read 2000-2500 words and then the rest of your application, or do you want them to read most of what you write?

Thank you @Jessica Booker - that makes sense. I won't try to lengthen my answers to 250 words for the less substantial experiences that I don't have that much to say about.

 

[refy]

If a firm has 31 TCs and recruits 50% of trainees through direct TC, 50% from vac scheme and there’re 55 vac schemers, does that mean that the conversion rate from VS to TC is (25%)? I’m wondering about Macfarlanes specifically.

@Jessica Booker any thoughts on this would be appreciated. Thanks!

Yes, I'd say you're right on average - of course it would fluctuate based on ability on the vac scheme though, might be the case that more people perform well on the vac scheme one year, and not many on another.

 

[EliteWhovian]

I came across this interesting conversion rate article from VS to TC among law firms (I had to use the WayBack Machine)

Vacation Schemes: Are They Really “Half The Battle”? | AllAboutLaw

web.archive.org

It's an old article, so things have most likely changed, interesting read nonetheless

 

[Deleted member 22634]

Anyone who knows about Simmons assessment?

 

[UnTCSilVousPlait]

I came across this interesting conversion rate article from VS to TC among law firms (I had to use the WayBack Machine)

Vacation Schemes: Are They Really “Half The Battle”? | AllAboutLaw

web.archive.org

It's an old article, so things have most likely changed, interesting read nonetheless

Interesting find! This must be from 2017 at the latest — Nabarro and BLP were still independent firms.

 

[hkulsk2021]

Forsters - I applied to summer VS and they filled up the places on AC and transferred it to TC application. Anyone on the same boat?