I sent my application like 1-2 days before the deadline and selected Spring, Summer 1 and Summer 2. 🥲
I havr a sneaking suspicion that like like every other firm, they'll take a lifetime to respond...
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Register HereI sent my application like 1-2 days before the deadline and selected Spring, Summer 1 and Summer 2. 🥲
I agree. I also emailed for an update about a month ago and have heard absolutely nothing! Very frustrating.PMCs communication is terrible. Have not heard anything from them since I applied on the 12/12, apart from the automated "thanks for submitting". Nothing when they closed applications, nothing to explain the ridiculously long wait, nothing after I emailed them three weeks ago now to get an update. Their application was SO lengthy as well. They've done all their ACs too, like I genuinely don't understand why they don't send PFOs at that point or at the very least answer emails??
yes they said they would “aim” to get back to us this week! I am so curious and desperately waiting (cannot stop refreshing my emailsam i right in thinking WBD are supposed to get back to us this week post-test?
Congratulations on landing the final stage interview for Goodwin!Anyone have advice for a final stage interview. I heard that the interview also includes a case study type scenario which is communicated verbally by interviewers. I’m feeling anxious about this and just generally the interview considering this is such a competitive firm 😭
Amazing, congratulations on the AC! I applied for the summer scheme but still haven't heard back after their confirmation of receipt email. So I'm trying to figure out what that means because they have already sent out AC invites for some and not for others..Hi I applied for the spring, what about you?
Sorry for the confusion but this was the VSCongratulations on landing the final stage interview for Goodwin!
Can I ask if this was for the DTC, and when did you hear back post VI?
I have not heard back from Goodwin since my video interview and Im wondering whether I should assume PFO.
I am not sure, hopefully you hear back soon! Best of luckAmazing, congratulations on the AC! I applied for the summer scheme but still haven't heard back after their confirmation of receipt email. So I'm trying to figure out what that means because they have already sent out AC invites for some and not for others..
I heard back from them today with an interview invite, so they're definitely still going through apps!Is there anyone who's not heard anything from Travers Smith post app? Is there any chance of them offering any more interviews now that a decent few people have received VS offers?
Congrats on getting the interview!I heard back from them today with an interview invite, so they're definitely still going through apps!
Just checked this for you - [email protected]anyone know an email address that white and case grad rec replies to, Im not getting responses or even automatic replies for some reason
Hi @Cool pigeon my advice would be to go with the last option and be honest about your approach, although I would perhaps focus a bit more on the US firm with the larger trainee intake when making comparisons. Firstly, that's because I think any disadvantage vis a vis the interviewer's impression as to how much you want a Slaughter and May TC will be offset by the comparatively much greater advantage of showing yourself as a very desirable and successful candidate. To take them one at a time: the disadvantage of you seeming US firm-focused is not likely to be very great, particularly if you mention other UK firms you have applied for. Partners all well aware as to how competitive it is to get a TC nowadays and that it would not make sense to put all your eggs in one basket. Furthermore, my impression from my time spent at the firm is that many partners at Slaughter and May find it difficult to conceive that anyone would reject them to work for a US rival; and that they are still at the very pinnacle of prestige in the London market. As such, they would likely find it hard to believe you would not sign their TC offer if they were to give you one. At the same time, I cannot imagine many things that can better portray you as an extremely successful and desirable candidate than mentioning 3 VS offers. In my cohort at UCL Law I know of only two people besides me who got 3+ schemes, and across universities and cohorts I have not met more than around 10-15 people in total who had achieved that. Thus, I think you would be doing yourself a huge disservice by not mentioning the accomplishment.Does anyone have any advice ?
I have an upcoming DTC interview with slaughters.
I also have 3 vac schemes, all with US firms with smaller cohorts.
As part of the interview they ask about application strategy?
- Shall I not mention them and say different firms I applied for but then it seems like I have had an unsuccessful season if they ask how I have got on (such as macfarlances , linklaters, etc)
- one of the VS is with a US firm focused on corporate work, and have a trainee intake of about 25. I could mention them for similar work but again training is v different.
- mention all the vac schemes and be totally honest about strategy- wanted firms where I will get to work on high calibre corporate work and firms that I’ve met.
I think the schemes will make me seem like a stronger candidate but also I worry they will not think I WANT slaughters enough because of them.
Also in the event they were to offer me a TC, does anyone know if they extend- I really want to do the schemes and I don’t know what I would pick honestly.
Hi @baj5 and congratulations on getting to the final stage, it is an incredible achievement! Although this has been posted a couple of times on the forum, I just thought to link again my Complete Competency Interview Guide, as it contains my best tips both for preparation and for the interview itself. I have also quoted a post bellow in which I analyse in more depth how you can go about managing your emotions during the big day. Let me know if you have any further questions and best of luckuhhhh I finally got offered a VS interview?! This is my first one, I have no idea what to expect, any and all advice or tips are absolutely welcome!!
My top tip would be to focus on doing well and not on being perfect. Many people go to ACs thinking they need to blow away the partners and the recruiters to succeed, but I think this is the wrong attitude to have. First of all, while your achievements and skills might be impressive for this stage, it is quite unlikely you will manage to overly impress anyone no matter how hard you try - you will know a lot less about any given commercial law subject than lawyer in the firm. Secondly, this attitude will make you feel even more stressed than you would normally be and will therefore likely impact your performance. If you will be assessed for a total time of a few hours, it is impossible to be perfect in every moment. When you notice an imperfection in an answer, the right reaction is to acknowledge it but then to move past it and make the best of the rest. Instead, the overly perfectionistic candidates tend to stress about it a lot more than they should, and in attempting to fix the initial mistake they do a lot more harm to their progression chances. People with this mindset thus often end up creating negative feedback loops for themselves: they make a small error, then they begin overthinking it, which decreases their self-confidence, which impacts their next answer, which in turn further intensifies their anxiety; a series of events which can end up completely derailing one's performance.
To avoid this, instead of aiming to excel everywhere, I would simply aim to perform well - to do a good job on every task and score well on every relevant assessment criterion. This boils down to using your preparation to make decent substantive points and communicate them in a clear and confident manner. If you manage to do this you will have performed better than the majority of candidates and in most cases should be enough to get you progressed - it did for me 4/4 times. If you reframe your task in this way, I think you should feel a lot less anxious about it: while perhaps it is difficult to convince yourself that you will pull of an extraordinary performance, you should feel a lot more confident in being able to respond sensibly to tasks and to cover all your bases well.
A final piece of advice I have for calming down on the day and to avoid blanking out is to take your time:
Finally, know that just by getting to the AC you have proven yourself to be one of the very best candidates out of a huge pool, which means you have all it takes to succeed! Best of luck
- Firstly, taking your time before starting your answer. Instead of just jumping into a response the instance the interviewer stops speaking (which is a very natural temptation) take 3-4 seconds to think about and structure your answer. This will significantly decrease the number of times you find yourself blanking out mid-answer or having difficulty finding the right way to end a sentence.
- Secondly, if you have difficulty with finding sensible points for a question, it is perfectly acceptable to request some thinking time - just say 'May I please take a minute to consider my answer?'. In the unlikely case you do not find anything after that, explain that you are unsure what to say; but also walk the interviewer through your thought process of your best guess.
- Thirdly, aim to speak more slowly. When you are anxious, your hear rate goes up and you naturally start speaking at a higher pace, which is problematic in that this simply means taking less time to think as you answer. This naturally reduces how articulate and confident you seem, especially since speaking quickly more often leads you to losing your chain of thought or expressing yourself in unclear language. As such, try to slow down. Also, use strategic 2-3 second pauses in your speech to add emphasis to points and to get valuable thinking time as you are moving between the different parts of your answer.
!
Hi @Adithi I completely understand how disappointing, disheartening, and anxiety-inducing it is to end up rejected everywhere as an international student - I have been in the exact same position only two years back. It is a difficult mental state to be in; and I think you should go easy on yourself and take your time to get through it. That said, you should also be conscious of a number of important facts that will make you understand your situation is nowhere near as desperate as you may think:Hi everyone, I don’t usually have long posts on this, but I’m feeling kinda helpless. I’m an international student and though it is only my second year and first round of applications I feel that I have failed. I have a few more law firms to get back to me but I’m sure that those are PFOs as well. I have only one more chance for applications and I feel quite lost. I don’t know what I’m going to do in the meantime, so any advice would be much appreciated.
For a bit more of context, I applied to a total of 35 firms, of which I got to the final stages of 2 and I’m waiting to hear if I got the the final stage of 2 more and I got put on reserve for 1.