TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[SamiyaJ]

What firms?

HSF WVS, CC & Latham open days

 

[SamiyaJ]

Honestly just take the rest of the day off, maybe even a few. It can be really brutal, put your mental health first!❤️

Thank you 🤗 Just keep telling myself “it only takes one” 🤞🏾

 

[VMS]

Has anyone heard back from Paul, Weiss yet about their October Open Day? I saw on the forum we'll have heard back by Monday, but was just wondering if anyone had heard anything so far.

 

[Andrei Radu]

hey! I received a hfs open day invite and also my uni timetable which clashes! so annoying but does anyone know if I can request to switch onto another one, or would I just have to reapply?

Hi @member7830! I do not think there is any general policy for this situation, so whether you will be able to switch to another open day date will probably depend on each firm's/head recruiter's individual attitude. When in the same situation with an HSF open day, I decided to be flexible with my university schedule: I spoke to my tutor about joining another tutorial group for the week and just watched a recording of the lecture I missed. However, I don't think you would stand to lose anything by emailing the graduate recruitment team to ask if they can accommodate you on another date. Subsequently, you can make a call if you want to try to reapply for another open day or make other arrangements for your classes.

 

[Victor87]

Hey guys, for the Linklaters WG, can I go back to previous sections once I move to the next ones? I'd like to review all my answers after finishing the entire test.

 

[jojo23]

Hey @jojo23 , you could make the comment on the extra information section of the application, then email graduate recruitment with an update on the change. I presume it’s nothing to worry about as the time lag between when you submitted the application and now is only four days. @Jessica Booker will have more thoughts on this.

I could say something simple like 'I apologise for the inconvenience but, I noticed x grade was missing from the gcse section. Thank you for your understanding.'

 

[HelpAStudentOut]

People who received Simmons AC invites, what date is the AC?

Had mine today

 

[Andrei Radu]

I’m interested to know if anyone is applying/has applied for both the HL Winter Vac and for their Lift Off scheme. I see nothing on the website which suggests you cannot apply for both.

Since the Lift Off scheme includes an invitation to an assessment centre for their Summer Vac, is this a loophole allowing you to be considered for both Winter and Summer? Or should I just focus on other firms now I have applied to HL once?

Hi @James Wakefield! I've taken a look and found a statement from HL explicitly stipulating that "Please note there are no restrictions on applying for the HL Lift Off programme alongside a Vacation Scheme. However, you cannot apply for two vacation schemes or a vacation scheme and training contract role within the same application window." As such, it seems you can definitely apply for both. I think the only potential problem might arise if you have reached the AC stage and were rejected for a Winter VS application. In that case, especially if the structure and exercises of the ACs are similar, they might not allow you to complete a second AC following the Lift Off track, since that may disadvantage other candidates.

As to whether you should focus on other firms now or complete the Lift Off application as well, I would say that to maximize your chances of securing a TC you should do the former, unless:

1. You would place HL among the firms you are most interested in and thus would like to prioritize maximizing the success chances of this individual application rather than maximizing the success chances of securing any other TC; or
2. If, having completed a VS application already, completing a high-quality Lift Off application would take you a significantly reduced amount of time (not more than maybe 2-3 hours of focused work).

 

[B2025]

Anyone know DLA email.

 

[tarty23]

When applying for PWC is there also no space for entering experience for anyone else? All I can see is a section for skills and LinkedIn

 

[Andrei Radu]

I want to apply to Latham's open day as I've heard they value that for when applicants then submit applications for their VS but on both the open day and VS application, there is the exact same question about extra-curricular activities, positions of responsibilities etc... I won't submit my VS application until after knowing the outcome of my open day application but would I have to make the answers completely different or could I keep them the same? And if I do need to make them different, how do I even do that?

Hi @ellabasing! I would advise you not to keep them the same. Although getting an open day at Latham definitely involves one of the most competitive open day application processes, it is still significantly less competitive than getting on a vacation scheme. As such, recruiters generally hold your answers to higher standards when applying for the latter. Therefore, an answer that was good enough for an open day can be bellow what is required to be progressed in a VS application.

As to how to make them different, I can think of three main ways:

1. Improved writing skill: I have noticed both in my own experience and in many other candidates' that as an application cycle progresses, you tend to improve your application-writing skills. As you write more and more and engage self-critically with an answer, as time passes you will begin to notice ways you could have improved it that you simply could not see in the beginning. Thus, by the time you have attended the open day and are getting started on the VS application, you might naturally reach a point where there are many things you want to include/exclude/rephrase/recontextualize/elaborate upon/shorten etc and thus end up with a very different answer.
2. Input from others: Sometimes, what it takes to improve is simply some input from others (this was definitely the case for me). If by the time you attend the open day you still cannot think of anything to change in your answer, it may be worth to ask some other people to review and comment on it.
3. Different related questions: The application form questions for the open day application and the VS application are quite different. Thus, after you start writing your answers to the VS questions, you might realise you want to discuss some experiences that you had previously included in the extracurriculars section. To avoid repetition, you will then have to change the set of experiences you discussed in the original open day extracurriculars section. This might once again lead you to want to expand on some experiences you were initially brief about, or include some that you initially didn't, etc.
4. Rephrasing: Assuming that you cannot see any way of improving your original answer and you also have no need to change the set of experiences you discuss, the final option is to keep the answer substantively the same and just rephrase it. You might find various online tools to help you with that. The point of this would be to avoid having your answer flagged by the system to the graduate recruitment team as an identical copy paste of the open day answer. This is not normally a good look, as some recruiters might infer a lack of effort/drive to furtehr improve on your part.

 

[lawstudent2002]

Could you not do the summer scheme? That would be nearly six months after your graduate scheme starts.

I would ask to move to summer and then try and work out how to manage it if you got an offer with your future employer

Thank you Jessica !

 

[BM99]

HSF WVS, CC & Latham open days

Hi when did you apply for Latham?

 

[Andrei Radu]

@Jessica Booker hi Jessica! how much do law firms value a high2.1 - in the event I’ve got very strong a levels & gcses (straight A*) and an overall higher end 2.1 around 66/67 from a Russell group uni but I’ve got a few 2.2s from 1st year and lower end 2.1 for 2nd year - Does this put me at a disadvantage if my uni grades aren’t as strong despite my a-levels, however I showed consistent improvement?

@Jessica Booker will be able to tell you more about this, but I would definitely not worry about your grades situation. Showing consistent improvement is definitely valued and first year grades tend to be taken into account the least. Besides a very few number of firms which are well-known to have a preference for 1.1s or consistent high 2.1s, you will not be at a disadvantage. Even for those few firms I would not discourage you to apply, as an overall high 2.1 in your degree will likely mean your application will still be considered seriously.

That said, I do not think that your grades are strong enough to set you apart from the crowd in the application process. As such, I think it will still be key to focus on researching the firms in a lot of depth and writing high-quality applications.

 

[Amma Usman]

I want to apply to Latham's open day as I've heard they value that for when applicants then submit applications for their VS but on both the open day and VS application, there is the exact same question about extra-curricular activities, positions of responsibilities etc... I won't submit my VS application until after knowing the outcome of my open day application but would I have to make the answers completely different or could I keep them the same? And if I do need to make them different, how do I even do that?

Hey @ellabasing. Great question. I was in exactly the same position last year. I attended the open day first, then applied for the VS next, incorporating some aspects I had learnt from the open day in my VS application. You are right, in that the question on extracurriculars is quite different. When I was applying, I avoided submitting the exact same wording with similar questions, and paraphrased them whilst also adding new elements. Completely different answers aren’t necessary though, as your answers from both open day and VS will largely be the same.

 

[erderlylars]

Had mine today

How much time did you have from when you heard to doing the AC?

 

[BSD21]

Should i assume PFO from NRF? Seen a few people get the VI and even the AC...

I am also to hear back post AS test.

 

[HelpAStudentOut]

How much time did you have from when you heard to doing the AC?

Less than a week

 

[Amma Usman]

I could say something simple like 'I apologise for the inconvenience but, I noticed x grade was missing from the gcse section. Thank you for your understanding.'

Hey @jojo23. Thank you for your draft. I think it could be improved by making it more concise and professional. Here's an example of how it could be rephrased;

Dear Graduate Recruitment,

When drafting the application, I had omitted the grade for [subject]. I am using this section to correct the error.

Please find the updated information below:

Thank you for your understanding.

Kind Regards

[Name]

 

[BSD21]

When applying for PWC is there also no space for entering experience for anyone else? All I can see is a section for skills and LinkedIn

That's all I can see too