TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[legal18]

That’s really annoying! it seems as though most scored quite badly on the test so that wouldn’t be fair if they focused on that😭

Do/did you do any extra curricular that wasn’t focus on eduction or career building etc? As I found that many at my ACs were all the same… high achievers standard committee positions on law, finance, commercial societies etc. All great things to do btw but no one stood out Imo. congrats for getting on the in person open day!!😆​

Hockey

 

[simplyfaith]

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi @Jessica Booker @Andrei Radu and actually anyone else who might have opinions on this:

I received a feedback call after being rejected post-AC today. They said I performed well in other areas but not so much in the interview. They pointed out a few areas of improvement which I was grateful for but I am left confused because of its contradictory nature:

1. Building a rapport - they said that I had failed to build a rapport with the interviewers and this left me confused because my interview ended with the partner talking about his life outside of work and his wife's work (this was in no way connected to my question and he had no reason to feel the need to tell me aside from just wanting to). While I was leaving the office, I had a chat with the receptionist and we were just exchanging pleasantries when she offered to look up all the people I had interacted with on the day and tell me what she could - She was surprised that I got the Partner to talk about his personal life because it was way more than what she had gotten out of him.
Additionally, they said building a rapport is very important as they are a people business and it is an essential ingredient in relationship building. This is what confuses me more because they said that I had done very well in the other exercises and my relationship building skills clearly shined through.

2. Detail Orientation - They said I fell below the mark for this and advised me to structure my answers in a manner that has sufficient detail and thoroughly and properly answered the interviewers' questions. I asked them for an example for the same because I believed my answers were sufficiently detailed. The example question they chose for me was not relevant to my situation and I told them that I had done what they expected and more in the interview. Since I was confused, I asked if they could give me more direction but they simply said "oh! well unfortunately we can't go into other questions at this time".
There was also the fact that my interview lasted exactly for the duration scheduled and I have a habit of asking if they would like me to go into more detail for questions where I felt more elaboration could help. I was reassured that wasn't needed and my answer had properly addressed the question.
Additionally, they pointed out my detail-oriented nature as a strength in the other aspect of the day.

3. They mentioned a scenario question in passing because I asked for more areas I could improve and they believed I could have performed better in that question whereas in the interview I was told I answered parts of the question they thought I might miss and gave me an impressed look.

I left at 3am for this AC and did a uni exam on my way back. I honestly would appreciate any input someone might have as to how I could improve (if I have the chance to) in the future. I genuinely just want to see where I went wrong or if I'm missing something.

I'm sorry for the long post but just feeling a little defeated and feeling my RSD kick-in making things worse😞

It’s very difficult to give further context on your feedback without being an assessor from the day.

What I would generally say on the points you raise are:

1) Rapport needs to be something built from the start of the interview. Although your interviewer may have spoken about themselves at the end, I wouldn’t necessarily say this signals rapport. I can’t say this is what happened in your interview but rapport generally comes down to:

- eye contact
- smiling
- if you have two interviewers, making sure you engage with both of them, not just the one asking you the questions or the one who is most senior.
- active listening - ensuring you really listen to what the interviewers are asking if you and adapting your answers accordingly.

2) Detail - interviewers can often be looking for the detail in your initial response/answer rather than it having to be drawn out from further follow up questions. From what you have said, there is likely to have been a mismatch in expectations as to what they thought was sufficient and how detailed you perceived your answers to be. It’s hard for me to give further guidance on this based on what you have said. Feel free to PM me with further detail of the question you felt wasn’t relevant to you and we can potentially explore this further.

3) Scenario based question - this is likely to have assessed different elements. Although it maybe that you impressed in certain aspects and that was reflected on what was said in the interview, it may have been that other elements were missing. I wouldn’t necessarily expect interviewers to always give you feedback in the interview itself to give you clarity on what you had and hadn’t presented well, so it maybe that they just focused on the positive elements to keep the interview energy levels up and in a positive way.

 

[Star Light]

I was asked to give my availability over two weeks for an interview. I received an email today confirming the date but I realised it's not the most ideal date for me. Is it okay to ask to change the date or do I risk reflecting badly?
@Jessica Booker

 

[fitzer401]

If anyone is waiting on Ashurst post interview please PM me if they call you tomorrow. I know that their final interview slot is tomorrow midday so hopefully we can expect to hear back this week

 

[AnAnonymousDuck]

hate to sound like a broken record but has anyone else heard back from w&c for the spring vac scheme?

 

[tobywstress]

Has anyone heard back about Linklaters summer VS other than being on hold? Also, does it make a difference if there is a tick next to candidate review?

 

[jacksollaf]

Has anyone heard back about Linklaters summer VS other than being on hold? Also, does it make a difference if there is a tick next to candidate review?

No, and for the second part, please don't worry about it being 66% or 77%, with a tick or without... I feel like everyone is emphasizing on the percentages and ticks, but it really does not mean anything; i know we are all desperate to hear back from them, me included, but I also feel like we're over-reading into it, and traumatizing everyone else by seeking an imaginary comfort...

Please guys dont take what i am saying negatively or in an insulting manner, i really mean it with good intentions; i just feel like everyone is worrying over something that doesn't even exist; the percentages don't mean anything really... Just pray for the best and try not to overcomplicate your life by focusing on percentages that add no value... because some have 66% but will get an invite while others may have 77% and still not get through...

 

[Jessica Booker]

I was asked to give my availability over two weeks for an interview. I received an email today confirming the date but I realised it's not the most ideal date for me. Is it okay to ask to change the date or do I risk reflecting badly?
@Jessica Booker

With the back and forth so far, I would recommend going ahead with the date unless there is a clear commitment you have on the day.

This is why it’s really important to be clear upfront to the dates you could do. If the date wasn’t ideal for you, then it would have been better to not include it when responding with your availability.

If something has changed since you sent them your availability, then explain this and they may be able to reschedule you.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi @Jessica Booker

Which written exercise would you recommend for Freshfields?

Thank you!

We would recommend the SPAG exercise for Freshfields:

Written Exercise (SPAG) | The Corporate Law Academy

Simply order below. 1. Select your preferred time slot the next working day in your order notes. 2. You will be sent the written exercise, together with the instructions, at the beginning of the time slot. 3. You will email your response in a Word document. 4. We will provide you with...

www.thecorporatelawacademy.com

 

[BBsharkk]

Hi @Jessica Booker @Andrei Radu and actually anyone else who might have opinions on this:

I received a feedback call after being rejected post-AC today. They said I performed well in other areas but not so much in the interview. They pointed out a few areas of improvement which I was grateful for but I am left confused because of its contradictory nature:

1. Building a rapport - they said that I had failed to build a rapport with the interviewers and this left me confused because my interview ended with the partner talking about his life outside of work and his wife's work (this was in no way connected to my question and he had no reason to feel the need to tell me aside from just wanting to). While I was leaving the office, I had a chat with the receptionist and we were just exchanging pleasantries when she offered to look up all the people I had interacted with on the day and tell me what she could - She was surprised that I got the Partner to talk about his personal life because it was way more than what she had gotten out of him.
Additionally, they said building a rapport is very important as they are a people business and it is an essential ingredient in relationship building. This is what confuses me more because they said that I had done very well in the other exercises and my relationship building skills clearly shined through.

2. Detail Orientation - They said I fell below the mark for this and advised me to structure my answers in a manner that has sufficient detail and thoroughly and properly answered the interviewers' questions. I asked them for an example for the same because I believed my answers were sufficiently detailed. The example question they chose for me was not relevant to my situation and I told them that I had done what they expected and more in the interview. Since I was confused, I asked if they could give me more direction but they simply said "oh! well unfortunately we can't go into other questions at this time".
There was also the fact that my interview lasted exactly for the duration scheduled and I have a habit of asking if they would like me to go into more detail for questions where I felt more elaboration could help. I was reassured that wasn't needed and my answer had properly addressed the question.
Additionally, they pointed out my detail-oriented nature as a strength in the other aspect of the day.

3. They mentioned a scenario question in passing because I asked for more areas I could improve and they believed I could have performed better in that question whereas in the interview I was told I answered parts of the question they thought I might miss and gave me an impressed look.

I left at 3am for this AC and did a uni exam on my way back. I honestly would appreciate any input someone might have as to how I could improve (if I have the chance to) in the future. I genuinely just want to see where I went wrong or if I'm missing something.

I'm sorry for the long post but just feeling a little defeated and feeling my RSD kick-in making things worse😞

Not a future trainee, just someone who's been through quite a few ACs (both successful and unsuccessful ones), here's my two-cents:

1. This is dependent on the firm, but generally speaking I find that firms are never really that detailed when it comes to AC feedback. This kind of makes sense in that your actual interviewers likely only dropped brief comments during the interview and the HR who called you was simply "interpreting" the comments on the spot based on the very limited information they have. Imagine this: you (the HR lead) hosted ACs with 200 candidates, you have to reject 160 of them and you offer feedback call to some of them as late as 4-6 weeks after the actual AC, with the only information you have being the scoring sheet the 2 lawyers gave you. How helpful/bespoke do you think the feedback would be?

2. Even if we assume the process is completely fair and the assessment is fully accurate (I sincerely believe that it's impossible), it might simply be that other candidates were doing very well as well, and even the HR was struggling to pick the ones that stood out. If they assess you based on scores, there might very well 50+ people with the exact same scores, and there aren't places for all of them. So yes, it's a numbers game unless you performed so well above most of other candidates that they can't reject you even if they tried. And based on the quality of the pool of people that apply to top law firms, this is very very difficult.

3. Ultimately, please remember that a TC/VS in Biglaw is extremely competitive, if not the most competitive field in the UK. Law firms don't operate on a CV basis so the barrier of entry is already quite high. For any given law firm, if there are 10-20 places for TC, and you have 3000+ applications (most of which are at least 2:1 RG candidates) for them, some being career changers or had paralegal experience, while some having almost seemingly impossible resume (e.g. founder of start-ups, 15 different internships at elite institutions, etc.), I can't tell you enough how difficult this process is. The average 1.5% acceptance rate resembles that of a top Ivy-League university admission rate (much lower than the Oxbridge admission rate), so yes, it is unimaginably difficult. You simply need to get lucky, or be good enough and try for multiple cycles.

 

[Legalstalker]

No, and for the second part, please don't worry about it being 66% or 77%, with a tick or without... I feel like everyone is emphasizing on the percentages and ticks, but it really does not mean anything; i know we are all desperate to hear back from them, me included, but I also feel like we're over-reading into it, and traumatizing everyone else by seeking an imaginary comfort...

Please guys dont take what i am saying negatively or in an insulting manner, i really mean it with good intentions; i just feel like everyone is worrying over something that doesn't even exist; the percentages don't mean anything really... Just pray for the best and try not to overcomplicate your life by focusing on percentages that add no value... because some have 66% but will get an invite while others may have 77% and still not get through...

I‘ve had all 3 percentages you can get, I wouldn’t stress 🤣🤣🤣

 

[x_lauren112]

Are PW still sending out outcomes?

 

[Chris Brown]

Are PW still sending out outcomes?

I imagine they will be sending them out over the next few days. Paul, Weiss began updating people today and I have only seen PFO’s on the forum but not any AC invites. Paul, Weiss sent out test invites over a period of a few days so it will probably be the same for post-test outcomes (AC or PFO). 🙂

Best of luck to everyone still waiting for Paul, Weiss. Hopefully it’s good news for all of us. 🥲​

 

[VacSchemer]

I think I might be tired of waiting but still hoping😅 anyone heard from Latham (applied after first week of dec for the summer scheme, it’s been more than two months💀) and awaiting response/heard back ?

 

[x_lauren112]

I imagine they will be sending them out over the next few days. I have only seen PFO’s on the forum but not any AC invites. Paul, Weiss sent out test invites over a few days so it will probably be the same for post-test outcomes (AC or PFO). 🙂

Best of luck to everyone still waiting for Paul, Weiss. Hopefully it’s good news for all of us. 🥲​

Thank you!

 

[TC129129]

I think I might be tired of waiting but still hoping😅 anyone heard from Latham (applied after first week of dec for the summer scheme, it’s been more than two months💀) and awaiting response/heard back ?

I sent my app in September. I got the email about them still reviewing them last week. I am sure will be a PFO but cant be 100% or they wouldn't have sent that email

 

[VacSchemer]

I sent my app in September. I got the email about them still reviewing them last week. I am sure will be a PFO but cant be 100% or they wouldn't have sent that email

Oh my god it’s been like 5 months for you..I thought I was not ok but HOW ARE YOU COPING😭

 

[TC129129]

Oh my god it’s been like 5 months for you..I thought I was not ok but HOW ARE YOU COPING😭

Haha, I have been focusing on other ACs etc, you just put it in the back of your mind ig

 

[VacSchemer]

Haha, I have been focusing on other ACs etc, you just put it in the back of your mind ig

That’s amazing and maybe I should take a page out of that book, I hope your other ACs are going well!🧿