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TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25
- Thread starter Jessica Booker
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- Sep 9, 2024
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Last year Willkie definitely reviewed applications before the VI stage. I would be really surprised if they changed the process this year, as firms almost never give automatic VIs - it would only increase the graduate recruitment teams' workloads.
Quite a lot of firms use the "do you have an internal contact at X firm?" on their application, and I'm just wondering what actually counts as an internal contact. E.g. if one of your close friends from secondary school or university is currently an associate, but you haven't spoken to them in several years, would this be an internal contact? What's the purpose of the question?
Read Jake Schogger’s Training Contract handbook. The Commercial Awareness book by Christopher Stoakes is good too. Plenty of YouTube content from Idin and Simran too.
- Sep 9, 2024
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Hey @_shims_ first of all, huge congrats on the VS - it is an amazing achievement, the fact that you got so far shows that you are an exceptionally strong candidate! It is completely normal to feel nervous ahead of it (everyone else on the scheme will), but you should also know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you have all you need to succeed. As cliche as it sounds, a big part of VS conversion just comes down to confidence in your own abilities.
Now, as for resources, I would definitely recommend taking a look at this thread, as it contains both a lot of pointed tips and links to more in-depth and comprehensive guides. I would also advise you to take a look at TCLA's course on VS conversion, this was particularly helpful for me.
Finally, to give you some of my own top tips:
- Pay a lot of attention at the initial presentation of the VS to ascertain what are the criteria the firm will assess you on and how much weigh the firm is likely to place on any criterion. If need be, ask further questions to grad rec and trainees. Then revise your VS strategy accordingly. Although firms may look for similar skills and attributes, their assessment methods can differ quite substantially. In my case, at Milbank a lot of emphasis was placed on the final interview performance and on your level of social integration in the firm, at Willkie there was no final interview or assessment and the quality of your work product was the primary consideration, while at Slaughter and May the TC interview was treated as completely separate from the VS and therefore only your final interview performance was considered. Should I have prioritized getting a lot of work over getting to know people at Milbank, I would have been erring, but doing this was exactly the right strategy at Willkie.
- Focus on doing a good job and scoring well on all the relevant criteria, instead of trying to blow people away with your smarts. I have noticed a tendency among unsuccessful vacation schemers of having this notion that they must be seen saying and doing a lot of impressive things to succeed. That they must somehow show themselves to be absolutely brilliant. However, because of how much they focused on excelling, many of these people would forego doing properly the simple and easy things they were assessed on. For instance, a person I knew that was making it a point to go to at least 10 coffee chats per day ended up not being able to submit the main written task in time. Moreover, this kind of attitude can put people off. In truth, as a vacation schemer you are at the bottom of the competence hierarchy in any law firm. Because of your inexperience, you will simply know a lot less than anyone else. As such, always trying to show off your knowledge and skills will make you look overconfident and might annoy those you are working with. Long story short, my advice is to be enthusiastic, confident, and eager to engage and contribute, but not to take it to the extreme.
- Know how to read the rooms you are in. At most firms, your ability to connect with your supervisor and other team members will have a substantial impact on your success chances. This is why you must be able to change your attitude and way you interact depending on the particular person and circumstances. For instance, in my first day in a VS I noticed my supervisor was very stressed and busy, so I didn't bother them with many questions. I could see they really appreciated that and the second day they took away a significant amount of their time to chat and get to know me. On that point, once again try to ascertain what other people would like to talk about. Of course it's good to be enthusiastic about the work, but many times when people in a firm take some time away to chat, they just want to relax for a minute and forget about their job. Being able to connect to people in the firm is an important part of the assessment and will also influence how much people will want to help you out in securing a TC, so I would not overlook it.
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I think firms have these questions because of anti-nepotism policies. In your case, since you have not been in contact a long time, there could not be any reasonable suspicion that your old friend would try to influence the recruitment process in your favour. As such, I think he would not count as an 'internal contact', but @Jessica Booker is better placed to answer this.
- Sep 9, 2024
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I'm sorry to hear about the DLA AC @cleojwilliams, I imagine how disappointing it is to get so close to your goal. But know that you can and will bounce back stronger, and that getting so far shows that you have everything it takes to succeed! If possible, I would reach out to DLA and ask for some feedback on your AC so that you can work on whatever can be improved before your next one.
As for your question, @Ram Sabaratnam might know more, but I do not think you should filter in firm facts for these questions. There is definitely no expectation to this effect from recruiters, and I think trying to do so might reduce the clarity of your main points.
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At an open day I was told by someone at HSF that you are guaranteed a disputes and a corporate seat. If I am not mistaken, doing one of each is actually mandatory for most trainees. However, you are not guaranteed any specific seat within the broad 'disputes' and 'corporate' umbrellas. Certain practices, like International Arbitration, will always be more competitive.
So sorry to hear this! When did you apply. I applied around 5th and haven’t heard back
Anyone getting the Taylor Wessing application error? Site says something about maintenance but can't tell if they've just shut it early
- Sep 9, 2024
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Just to add to some of the great responses forum members have already given you, I think it is natural to have some anxiety ahead of an interview. To properly manage it, I would firstly remind myself that just by being in that room I have been selected in the top 5% of candidates or better, which must mean I have what it takes to succeed and that I only need to be able to properly show it. Secondly, I would focus on simply having the best possible performance, as if I truly did my best, I knew I would have nothing to regret. Changing my focus from a very outcome-oriented one helped me feel a lot more in control of the situation.
Finally, while this might sound a bit weird, I purposefully slept for only 6 hours, around 2 hours less than I normally do. I have found that at 6 hours of sleep, with a cup of strong coffee I am able to function at 99% of my ability whilst significantly reducing my anxiety. Being slightly sleep deprived in this way meant I simply did not have the energy to overthink very word and sentence I was saying. This meant I could just naturally express what I was thinking about any question and to seem a lot more confident while doing it. However, this strategy was very particular to my circumstances and I would not advise you to use it unless you have had previous experiences with performing well while sleeping less than usual.
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Hi @yasmars I do not remember much from Willkie's VI last year, but I do not recall it differing much from my other VIs. Regarding general VI advice, I recently wrote a comprehensive guide on all that goes into competency interviews - be they VI or final stage. I quoted bellow the most relevant bit, but I'd advise you to take a look over the whole thing, especially the initial part on my step by step preparation approach.
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Hey @helloj I would say this is good news. While you weren't immediately progressed, it is not at all uncommon for firms to have holding lists. The fact that they reviewed your application and did not reject means that you have likely done better than more than 90% of other applicants.
I spoke to grad rec who said they won't be comparing answers. However, I wrote about something quite niche so I was worried about keeping my answer the same.
Hey guys, I am applying for a TC position at Hogan Lovells and the final question on the application form is:
"Tell us about any open days and events that you have attended in the legal sector. (Max 250 words)"
I have attended a couple of open days, but neither of them have been at Hogan Lovells. Could you please provide some guidance as to how to respond to this question?
Many thanks!
"Tell us about any open days and events that you have attended in the legal sector. (Max 250 words)"
I have attended a couple of open days, but neither of them have been at Hogan Lovells. Could you please provide some guidance as to how to respond to this question?
Many thanks!
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