TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2023-24

[Seven]

There is some truth to this in some instances, so I don’t think you can say it’s “incorrect”. Like most aspects of recruitment it’s completely subjective and down to personal preferences.

However, I have seen negative outcomes when a candidate has said at interview that they are not working full time to focus on applications of the back of a “what are you doing now” / “what have you been up to since you graduated question” because for many firms with more intense hours, they will wonder whether you are up to the pressure of working if you can’t work and still dedicate some time to application/recruitment processes. I don’t think this is the case for every candidate with every firm, but I have seen it enough to know it is a possibility.

Yeahh that's fair, probably wrong wording but yeah it is definitely firm-dependent like you said!!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Any advice on reaching out to Milbank 3.5 weeks after AC with no contact, despite being told 3 weeks was the absolute absolute maximum they would wait before giving responses. Do you know if Milbank has a track record of leaving in limbo (saying limbo, I know offers already out but would like confirmation of rejection)

Wait until the end of this week or even Monday and ask if there is an update on timescales (rather than an outcome).

Firms can have all the best intentions of having a certain timeframe to go back to candidates by and then something comes along and slows it down. All it takes is for someone to leave, be off sick, major issue or project needing to be prioritised and these things can go down the priority order (unfortunately).

I don’t know about their track record though, so can’t comment on that unfortunately.

 

[bella98]

Honestly, I would strongly advise against this strategy.

I know how time consuming the process is and the amount of time you want to dedicate to it, but the issue will be having a huge gap on your CV. If you get to AC interviews and they see you’re not currently employed after leaving uni, they may question that. If you say you’re spending the year solely focused on applications, I think they’d regard that as a poor use of time management/ability to balance various responsibilities when there will be plenty of others coping with applications, jobs, uni etc.

I also think you’d be incredibly bored and lose motivation. I think spending 4/5 months solid writing applications would be a drag. I think any form of employment/voluntary work is a better option

Have just seen @futuretrainee2023’s comment though and do feel it could probably work with winter schemes. Any grad jobs are competitive these days and if you say you’re actively looking but are also balancing apps, I reckon that’s fine. If you had an AC in March/April though and hadn’t been doing anything bar applications for 8 months, I’m less sure!

I appreciate your perspective and the reasoning behind it, and while I see the value in gaining work experience to fill gaps in a CV, I think that taking any job, regardless of its relevance to your career aspirations is not necessarily the best course of action.
I would say that if you're not constrained by immediate financial pressures, dedicating time and energy exclusively to applying for legal-related opportunities or even exclusively training contracts after graduation could indeed be a more strategic approach. Because if you work, say, as a sales assistant just to fill the gap in your CV after graduation, you are then exhausted after work and not able to dedicate the appropriate time to secure your dream job - I know many unfortunately don't have a choice and balance those responsibilities very well, but I'm talking for those who have.
But that's just my opinion!

 

[LawBrah]

RE The Postgraduate job debate

What you really want is a job/volunteering role etc. that in reality has minimal or has very flexible hours that you put down on your CV as your current occupation. This allows you to have both the significant time necessary to secure a TC in this ridiculous market, and avoid the "so what have you been doing since graduating" which WILL come up imo frequently, including via the "tell us about yourself" question and others.

For example, a zero hours hospitality job where you can take 2 weeks off on demand to apply and prep for ACs (and attend the ACs themselves), or a volunteering position where you choose your own hours, and then go into an AC with "Barista Supervisor" or "Research Volunteer" as your current job is imo the best position to be in.

Real challenge of course is finding these positions and even harder to find ones that are particularly impressive.

 

[axelbeugre]

I've just been invited to the Fladgate AC! This is my first cycle so it feels nice to have one in the diary and definitely takes the (slightly insane) pressure off a touch going forward.

Congratulations! Very well done!

 

[laby201]

I appreciate your perspective and the reasoning behind it, and while I see the value in gaining work experience to fill gaps in a CV, I think that taking any job, regardless of its relevance to your career aspirations is not necessarily the best course of action.
I would say that if you're not constrained by immediate financial pressures, dedicating time and energy exclusively to applying for legal-related opportunities or even exclusively training contracts after graduation could indeed be a more strategic approach. Because if you work, say, as a sales assistant just to fill the gap in your CV after graduation, you are then exhausted after work and not able to dedicate the appropriate time to secure your dream job - I know many unfortunately don't have a choice and balance those responsibilities very well, but I'm talking for those who have.
But that's just my opinion!

I 100% understand your logic - I've done hospitality jobs before and hated it, so the thought of having to do that for the sake of it instead of solely applications doesn't sound appealing.

I believe it's important to have something than just applications/legal events. That could be volunteering, a part-time job, a full-time job, it doesn't really matter. Even if you're in the privileged position of not needing to work at all so can focus your energy on applications alone, it's exactly the problem of when it comes up in interviews. Part of a training contract, especially at the US firms, will be long hours, competing deadlines, and various priorities. Being exhausted is unfortunately part and parcel of that, so if they see that you're unable to balance applications with anything else, I don't think it reflects well.

I wish I didn't have to work full-time and could dedicate my time to applications, so completely appreciate where you're coming from. It just comes down to when you're asked about it in an interview (which many have said there is a strong possibility of); if you have a reasonable explanation other than purely applications, you can probably get by. If you don't, I fear it wouldn't play in your favour in comparison to those who are working full-time/at university full-time and at the same AC as you

 

[bangarangbass39]

RE The Postgraduate job debate

What you really want is a job/volunteering role etc. that in reality has minimal or has very flexible hours that you put down on your CV as your current occupation. This allows you to have both the significant time necessary to secure a TC in this ridiculous market, and avoid the "so what have you been doing since graduating" which WILL come up imo frequently, including via the "tell us about yourself" question and others.

For example, a zero hours hospitality job where you can take 2 weeks off on demand to apply and prep for ACs (and attend the ACs themselves), or a volunteering position where you choose your own hours, and then go into an AC with "Barista Supervisor" or "Research Volunteer" as your current job is imo the best position to be in.

Real challenge of course is finding these positions and even harder to find ones that are particularly impressive.

Okay thank guys. Very reassuring. Something is better than nothing.

 

[ayiiii05]

Boodle Hatfield interview!

If anyone has interviewed with Boodle before please pm me

 

[sxw517]

Are these PFO's post WG for the Hogan Lovells summer scheme?

Yet to hear anything, but I could have sworn I've seen that they had already started AC's I'm confused...

 

[EllaClayton]

Are these PFO's post WG for the Hogan Lovells summer scheme?

Yet to hear anything, but I could have sworn I've seen that they had already started AC's I'm confused...

I’m also yet to hear but I think ACs would’ve been for their fast tracked candidates from first year schemes, open days etc

 

[Interested_In_Law]

On the topic of CV gaps, I’m wondering how it’s seen if you don’t have any extra curricular positions in final year? Uni is a real grind and balancing that with applications alone is tough enough, but is it ok if there’s a gap for extra-curriculars (or if you’re just going to events but not in a committee, or a team) in final year compared to the other years of your degree?

 

[sxw517]

I’m also yet to hear but I think ACs would’ve been for their fast tracked candidates from first year schemes, open days etc

Ah ok, I had no idea that was a thing, thanks!

 

[Zaakir]

Sorry I didn't see this earlier, the case study and my commercial answer on the app. The more I think about them the more I think I could have added but I also made the mistake of constantly introducing new commercial topics and news stories which I wasn't that comfortable talking about in detail so I messed up (because I just get excited and keep talking) . Idk just have to forget about it now nothing I can do.

Did they ask you a lot of follow ups?

 

[EllaClayton]

Ah ok, I had no idea that was a thing, thanks!

Only knew myself because I saw someone else talk about it hahaha! I imagine they processed those candidates first, now that’s done they sent the wave of PFOs today and maybe some good news soon for us 😂

 

[AnonKn635]

Anyone heard back from Latham Post AC for spring?

 

[Zaakir]

yes but I also kept adding so they would ask more. I wish I could have just zipped my mouth - the more I went on the more I lost structure.

Maybe they were just interested in what you had to say and wanted to know more- so don’t stress

 

[mfuturetrainee]

if i could turn back time id jus do a solicitor apprenticeship and save myself all this debt at this point 😭

Adding to the gap conversation:

I graduated without a TC offer and I didn't have the money to spend on the LPC or an LLM ( nor did I want any more debt + it's really not necessary, if you obtain a TC the firm will cover the SQE now anyway - UOL and BPP are just good at marketing).

I obtained a paralegal role through Flex Legal - I joined their system in March and obtained my role in August. I really enjoyed my paralegal role but it had a very high turnover which meant work would be dumped on you at the last minute and you'd just end up working late - not a 9-5 - which is fine, what I expected from a law firm but it meant I didn't have time to fully invest in applications and interviews ( I was stuck as a paralegal and I didn't want to be a career paralegal) .

If I could take back time I would work a retail job or a 9-5 where at 5 you're done or even a part time job, ( there are some paralegal/ legal admin roles). I would try to obtain some pro-bono work to bulk my cv ( citizen's advice/ support through court I believe are lowish commitment)

I would then apply for paralegal roles in January ( so once the vac scheme session is over you have a job). I think because of how tough it is to get a paralegal role you can get away with a gap a bit more ( as long as you're doing something else in that time).

I know a few people who just worked in retail and managed to obtain a TC. I worked as a paralegal and still don't have one.

I also know people who went into a different career and then obtained a TC - I wish I considered other careers alongside law at uni so at least I could have built a career elsewhere and entered law as a career changer.

 

[LehmanBrothersRiskManagementIntern]

if i could turn back time id jus do a solicitor apprenticeship and save myself all this debt at this point 😭

Same, however, back in my time solicitor apprenticeships didn’t even exist 💀

 

[yasminaddam]

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to make sense of all the direct TC application deadlines but cant find any information on if the deadline for Pinsent Masons has passed. Does anyone know if it has?

 

[EmileGreen]

PFO Hogan Lovells post-WG

10 PFOs so far, only 3 more to reject me!