To me, this is definitely the latter rather than the former, unless you are truly geeky about the first topics and can show you have integrated this into your interests/activities (e.g. you are part of a sustainable tech organisation/charity etc). Therefore, I would go with the wood work example.
Complete guess here, but by mentioning the woodworking, they will be much more likely to remember it. I recently went to an event with Vinson & Elkins, and they kept referring to one of their recent trainees who talked about cheesemaking in his application. Like, they kept referencing it, as it had clearly made an impression, and hey, he got hired.
That makes sense - I mentioned green tech in passing in the previous application question, but not substantiated like you have mentioned. Thanks for clarifying!
You raise a good point! I can imagine grad rec loving a cheese-making example. I was recently told about how Taylor Swift made it into an application answer, and it was received quite well haha
I’m not either of them but I went to an event and spoke to them. I’d say still apply they’ll still look at your application and treat it the same as if you applied on the first day.
It is never too late to apply - I suspect the firm will still receive over 20% of their applications in the next five days. If this is the best opportunity for you for this cycle, I would apply anyway but if there are other vacation schemes you are eligible for and are willing to wait for, at the same time you may be in a less risky position to hold out for that opportunity instead.
If you do not convert a vacation scheme, I'd encourage you to ask the firm whether it is worthwhile reapplying. There won't be a general view of how firms will look at this - it very much depends from candidate to candidate. For the same firm, I have actively encouraged someone to reapply the next cycle as they narrowly missed out (and I thought they could easily improve their development areas) while for another candidate, I encouraged them to not reapply because I didn't think their motivations were going to change (and we couldn't offer them the career they truly wanted).
As you are working part-time this is not an issue. Extracurricular activities demonstrate that university students are busy and developing skills beyond their degree, but part-time jobs can serve the same purpose. You can also refer to other extracurriculars from your undergraduate degree or even college too.
Thank you Jessica good information.
I just had two questions re interviews:
