TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[Paul Jules Steullet]

Hi all

I’m in the very fortunate position of having secured my first vacation scheme at a dream firm which I’m so excited about.

A bit of background to me, I’m a career changer having spent the last few years working at a UK finance company in a variety of roles.

Initially my plan was to take two weeks of annual leave for the vacation and not say anything to my employer, however I dug out my contract yesterday and I found that it says:

18. Other Employment

You may not during Your employment without Your line manager's prior written consent, be in any way directly or indirectly engaged or concerned with any other business or employment. Such consent will not be unreasonably refused.

Now I guess I’m faced with a dilemma. I’ve never mentioned anything to my current employer about me wanting to make a career change and transition to law so this would be very much out of the blue. I also don’t want them to question my loyalty to the company and burn any bridges as I need to plan for a worst case scenario of not being successful at the vacation scheme. I don’t want to be in a position where I’m suddenly sidelined and then I find myself (in a worst case scenario) out of a job one day.

This is why I was initially not going to say anything and just take annual leave. I’d love any advice on what the best thing to do here is. I’m afraid that if I don’t say anything and then my company finds out e.g. through a LinkedIn tag/photo or some other means. Is this realistic? Would they have any way of actually finding out?

A part of me is thinking is it worth the risk? Would the law firm look at me differently if they knew I had misled my company by withholding this information? I’m really stuck at the moment and I would appreciate any advice, especially if you’ve been in a similar position to me. @Jessica Booker

Thanks!

People do this all the time and most contracts stipulate this. So, if you think about it, no working person would get a TC through a VS route. I have 2 friends that said nothing, took annual leave and now have the TC at SH and Latham. I think you have to do what is best for you. If you have a good relationship with your supervisor and they are supportive - ultimately their allegiance is to the company but maybe you have a close relationship with your supervisor? Personally I would do it and not say a word. For one, I don’t believe that it impugns your integrity- firms are aware working people do this. Second, if your firm knows you’re essentially looking for other employment that could adversely affect you if you don’t get the TC. Also, when these companies are ready to fire you, they do it- no questions asked no considerations for your personal circumstances.

It’s your annual leave you can do with it what you like. I would say if you believe the VS would be a conflict of interest due to the nature of the work you do, then yeah maybe say something but otherwise keep it to yourself and go get that TC! Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[AS24]

Hiya @AS24

Great question! I'm sure @Andrei Radu and @Amma Usman could add more here, but I tend to approach this question much like I would "Why Me?" in a cover letter. I think the key is to make your response personal, specific, and relevant to the firm. I'd also try to incorporate vivid or compelling examples, ones which really demonstrate how your skills, experiences, and interests make you a great fit for the firm.

One way to approach this is by identifying your key strengths and connecting them to the firm’s "USPs". For instance, if the firm is known for work in certain practice areas or client sectors, mentioning your own experience with these sectors can be a real asset. I worked in a very research intensive university hospital for several years and gained a strong understanding of developments in life sciences as a result, and this was something I highlighted when applying to firms like Cooley and Goodwin.

Similarly, my experience of managing international development projects while living overseas allowed me to highlight not just an interest in international work but a genuine understanding of what can go wrong in project finance matters that occur in other countries. Alternatively, if a firm has very lean teams, think about the particular skills that would be in demand for trainees joining such firms, and any experiences you have which demonstrate those types of skills.

Overall, I think the strongest answers will be able to (1) identify certain aspects of the firm (e.g. practice areas, lean teams, nature of their work or clients) and (2) potentially identify certain skills you have that will be a real asset for a firm with those specific features.

Hope this helps and good luck with the video interview!

Thank you @Ram Sabaratnam

 

[g.cl.2020344]

Just did the Wombles SJT.

Very generic, lots of reused questions. No 'slider' questions, just choose the 'best' and 'worst' answers of four. One of the numerical questions had a minor error, another was quite ambiguous.

Scored:

• verbal - excelled
• numerical - excelled
• grit - 4
• applied intellect (social) - 3
• creative - 7
• digital mindset - 7

Heya, also just did the SJT, how long did it take to receive your feedback report?

 

[Wannabe_Lawyer]

Heya, also just did the SJT, how long did it take to receive your feedback report?

It was immediate for me.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi all

I’m in the very fortunate position of having secured my first vacation scheme at a dream firm which I’m so excited about.

A bit of background to me, I’m a career changer having spent the last few years working at a UK finance company in a variety of roles.

Initially my plan was to take two weeks of annual leave for the vacation and not say anything to my employer, however I dug out my contract yesterday and I found that it says:

18. Other Employment

You may not during Your employment without Your line manager's prior written consent, be in any way directly or indirectly engaged or concerned with any other business or employment. Such consent will not be unreasonably refused.

Now I guess I’m faced with a dilemma. I’ve never mentioned anything to my current employer about me wanting to make a career change and transition to law so this would be very much out of the blue. I also don’t want them to question my loyalty to the company and burn any bridges as I need to plan for a worst case scenario of not being successful at the vacation scheme. I don’t want to be in a position where I’m suddenly sidelined and then I find myself (in a worst case scenario) out of a job one day.

This is why I was initially not going to say anything and just take annual leave. I’d love any advice on what the best thing to do here is. I’m afraid that if I don’t say anything and then my company finds out e.g. through a LinkedIn tag/photo or some other means. Is this realistic? Would they have any way of actually finding out?

A part of me is thinking is it worth the risk? Would the law firm look at me differently if they knew I had misled my company by withholding this information? I’m really stuck at the moment and I would appreciate any advice, especially if you’ve been in a similar position to me. @Jessica Booker

Thanks!

This is a pretty common/standard terms in any employment contract for full time roles, especially in regulated industries or the public sector.

Enough people breach their employment contract by undertaking various forms of employment on top of their job that stipulates this type of term.

How seriously your original employer will consider it a breach of contract is going to depend on how much it conflicts with or impacts your job. There can also be some issues of honesty and ethics if you have not been truthful about the situation.

However, many vacation scheme students manage to keep it quiet and no one finds out. When they do, they often have to think about what they say to various people - not just in their current job but also the people they will interact with during their vacation scheme.

Being tagged on LinkedIn or having your photo on a “welcome our vacation scheme students” post is a possibility - so you have to factor that risk in. How connected your job/employer is to your vacation scheme firm means that risk is going to be varied from person to person.

You’ll also have to factor in conflict checks too. It’s not impossible for a conflicts check to flag up something that would potentially need to be flagged back to your employer or that the firm would say you would need to flag to your employer. But again the chances of this highly depend on what your job is and who you are employed by.

But ultimately you are going to breach of your employment contract and you have to consider that doing so could lead to your job ending. You have to calculate your risks and your risk tolerance to work out what to do.

 

[anonymouscatboy]

Does anyone know the preferred percentage for the Watson Glaser test at Freshfields?

 

[Babablacksheep]

why is hogan lovells not responding after WG

 

[applicationzzzzz]

Has anyone heard anything from Travers Smith for Summer VS?

 

[Amma Usman]

Can someone provide a guide to private credit?

@Jaysen has made a post on this in the past which I’ve linked here - https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/forum/ams/what-i-found-out-about-private-credit.500/

 

[User5678]

Not sure if anyone has applied but has anyone done the VWV video interview?

I have applied but not given the vi yet, will do it by tomorrow. On that note, if anyone has any tips or advise please please reply to the thread or pm me. Many thanks

 

[pepsicola96]

any updates from baker mckenzie? completed my VI on the 27th, and the email said to hear back within 2 weeks.

expecting a PFO but would still like confirmation lol

 

[elsx]

Hi,
I am planning to do the Fladgate VI tomorrow and was wondering if anyone would be willing to share (I would be very grateful!) which type of question it was (motivation/competency/commercial). It's only one question so it's a bit of a hit or miss and I don't usually have great results with VI...

 

[ria_s01]

Random but has anyone done a VI with VWV. Not sure if anyone in the thread has applied to them but I have no idea what the format will be

4 questions, you get 2 minutes to prepare for each and get 2 recording takes

 

[thelawstudent]

anyone know how many NRF advance through from VI's with grad rec to AC's?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Would it be ok to send a LinkedIn message to a trainee I've met for tips for their firm's VI?

Yes - definitely not an issue to do this, just don’t take it personally if they don’t respond or feel like they can’t help. Sometimes people may not have the time or energy to advise people, but there is absolutely not issue in asking just in case they can.

 

[OliverTwist]

Anyone found anything on the Morgan Lewis telephone interview? Currently spiralling trying to prep

I did it last cycle, feel free to drop me a line!

 

[cjwx]

What's a holding email?

An email saying they are still looking at applications and they are not getting back to the Direct TC applicants till later in the month. The holding email from CRS was for the direct TC applicants incase anyone was worried.

 

[desperateTCseeker1998]

I am going to ask possibly the stupidest question to ever be posted here: what pronouns should you use when talking about a law firm? It feels natural to me to say they/their (I guess because I think of a firm as a collection of people?) but articles always seem to say it/its - also does it even matter as long as I'm consistent?

 

[desperateTCseeker1998]

I did it last cycle, feel free to drop me a line!

You are a legend, have dropped you a message

 

[aa1]

Hi,
I am planning to do the Fladgate VI tomorrow and was wondering if anyone would be willing to share (I would be very grateful!) which type of question it was (motivation/competency/commercial). It's only one question so it's a bit of a hit or miss and I don't usually have great results with VI...

Planning to do it soon also so can't help re type of question but would prep a mix of comptency / what can you bring to the role type questions and why fladgate / area that we specialise in etc. Good luck!!!