TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2023-24

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legalgirlie

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Sep 25, 2023
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Does anyone have any advice for SJT’s please?

Either where to practice them or the approach you take to get to the next round.

It’s the one thing I genuinely don’t know how to improve on.
It's super important to find the traits a firm is looking for before a test if they list those somewhere. Other than that, what helped me most was when I combined all my previous feedback reports to see which metrics were my lowest -- I took notes on their suggestions for improvement and mapped them to what a relevant question might be and how I should answer (some aren't that clear but you can get a sense of what characteristics you should demonstrate more in general!).

I also did the JobTestPrep SJT pack, there's one for 'Graduates' and I'd say a good amount of the practice Qs on there are similar/applicable to the law firm SJTs! They give a breakdown of each answer and why it's more or less appropriate, and what skills it demonstrates, which was so helpful for deciphering what metrics are tested in each. There are also some great free practice tests I found on this forum, the one I remember was from HSF which you can find here: https://careers.herbertsmithfreehills.com/global/en/uk/early-careers/apply

I don't know if any of these suggestions are universally accurate, and I'm definitely not an SJT expert, but just wanted to share what worked for me to at least understand the process better and feel more 'in control' of what traits I'm trying to convey!! :)
 

axelbeugre

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Any advice on how to stop catastrophising post-AC/ interview?? I can’t stop thinking about my responses and how I should have answered some questions differently. 😭
I totally understand this and I used to do the same thing last year but I think that it is really important to focus on other areas of your life, whether it is work or university, friends and family and that helps massively. After my interviews, I immediately jumped into university work and that helped massively with forgetting about the interview performance until the calls!! I think it is important to focus on the positive aspects of all of this: you had an interview/assessment centre at a great firm, something that not many people can say to have, and you gave it your all!
 
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johnnn821

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Jan 16, 2021
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To those who received a second holding email from Reed Smith what does it say? If it says "Thank you for completing your assessment for our Vacation Scheme 2023/24 role. We will be in touch soon with an update on your application." its not a holding email, its an automated response
 

EK_27

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Dec 12, 2023
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It's super important to find the traits a firm is looking for before a test if they list those somewhere. Other than that, what helped me most was when I combined all my previous feedback reports to see which metrics were my lowest -- I took notes on their suggestions for improvement and mapped them to what a relevant question might be and how I should answer (some aren't that clear but you can get a sense of what characteristics you should demonstrate more in general!).

I also did the JobTestPrep SJT pack, there's one for 'Graduates' and I'd say a good amount of the practice Qs on there are similar/applicable to the law firm SJTs! They give a breakdown of each answer and why it's more or less appropriate, and what skills it demonstrates, which was so helpful for deciphering what metrics are tested in each. There are also some great free practice tests I found on this forum, the one I remember was from HSF which you can find here: https://careers.herbertsmithfreehills.com/global/en/uk/early-careers/apply

I don't know if any of these suggestions are universally accurate, and I'm definitely not an SJT expert, but just wanted to share what worked for me to at least understand the process better and feel more 'in control' of what traits I'm trying to convey!! :)
Thank you for this. This is really helpful and fingers crossed it works
 
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axelbeugre

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How do you answer and select a prospective client the firm should work with? @axelbeugre
I think it depends on the sectors you would choose. I had to do a presentation for a mentoring scheme I was part of and the presentation was based on the same question. The way I tackled this was choosing a sector I thought the firm should have focused their energy and resources in, for instance AI and technology, something that the firm was not focusing on at the time. Within that sector, I picked one client and I basically highlighted three reasons why the client would be beneficial to the firm and three factors about the firm (in terms of key characteristics about the firm, maybe its focus on a particular practice area that would be beneficial to the client) that will attract the client.

Of course you can use different structures and all will work as long as you manage to find a sector that the firm is developing at the moment and within that sector you find a client that might help the firm financially and also give them notoriety in the market.

I hope this is helpful and good luck with all your assessments!
 
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axelbeugre

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Sep 14, 2023
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It's super important to find the traits a firm is looking for before a test if they list those somewhere. Other than that, what helped me most was when I combined all my previous feedback reports to see which metrics were my lowest -- I took notes on their suggestions for improvement and mapped them to what a relevant question might be and how I should answer (some aren't that clear but you can get a sense of what characteristics you should demonstrate more in general!).

I also did the JobTestPrep SJT pack, there's one for 'Graduates' and I'd say a good amount of the practice Qs on there are similar/applicable to the law firm SJTs! They give a breakdown of each answer and why it's more or less appropriate, and what skills it demonstrates, which was so helpful for deciphering what metrics are tested in each. There are also some great free practice tests I found on this forum, the one I remember was from HSF which you can find here: https://careers.herbertsmithfreehills.com/global/en/uk/early-careers/apply

I don't know if any of these suggestions are universally accurate, and I'm definitely not an SJT expert, but just wanted to share what worked for me to at least understand the process better and feel more 'in control' of what traits I'm trying to convey!! :)
This is such great advice! I am sure people will find this very useful!
 
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tcplease2345

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Feb 6, 2024
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To those who received a second holding email from Reed Smith what does it say? If it says "Thank you for completing your assessment for our Vacation Scheme 2023/24 role. We will be in touch soon with an update on your application." its not a holding email, its an automated response
I got this email on 30th Jan and on Monday I got the email saying they will get back by the end of this week.
 
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