Hi everyone! My HL WVS is next week, and I am a bit nervous, as I don't know what to expect. This is my first ever VS, and I am hoping to convert it to a TC so any guidance/advice anyone has will be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!
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.
