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TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25
- Thread starter Jessica Booker
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- vacation scheme
- Sep 7, 2024
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Hiya @lawyeringitout
Just jumping in ahead of @Amma Usman @Andrei Radu and @Jessica Booker on this, but wanted to reassure you that it certainly wouldn't be ridiculous to choose a training contract at a mid-market UK firm over an American City firm.
Having completed vacation schemes exclusively at US firms, I've personally met several exceptional associates who trained at excellent mid-market UK firms (e.g. firms like Bird & Bird, Charles Russell Speechlys, Clyde & Co, Pinsent Masons, and Stephenson Harwood) before moving to those US firms a few years after qualification. Many of them expressed to me how much they appreciated the structured training and supportive environment during their training contracts, which helped them build strong foundations and become successful junior associates.
Additionally, trainees at US firms sometimes face considerable challenges post-qualification, either struggling to secure NQ roles internally due to competitive retention processes and also struggling to find external roles at mid-market UK firms due to the difficult economic market. I just wanted to be clear that training at a US firm doesn't automatically guarantee a smooth or superior career trajectory.
Ultimately, as @jta227 alluded to, it's important to consider carefully where you think you'll best develop the skills and experience that align with your long-term career goals. Think about the type of work, the areas of practice you're genuinely passionate about, and the environment that best suits your personal and professional growth. Hope this helps and looking forward to what the others have to say
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Has anyone heard from Farrer & Co post AC?
Hey guys, just wanna reach out for some advice. I had a TI with a firm today, and the next stage is a two-day AC. Unfortunately, the first day of AC clashes with my interview with SM, but the first day is just an unassessed insight day to prepare us for the next day, so I might be able to miss it. I don’t know the outcome of today’s TI yet, but should I reschedule my SM interview just in case?
If I do reschedule, should I mention it’s due to another AC or give a different reason? Thanks
@Jessica Booker @Andrei Radu @Ram Sabaratnam @Amma Usman
If I do reschedule, should I mention it’s due to another AC or give a different reason? Thanks
@Jessica Booker @Andrei Radu @Ram Sabaratnam @Amma Usman
Travers PFO and Paul Weiss SVS offer to finish off the 24/25 application season.
… Another Vac Scheme offer to finish my cycle 🙈
Last year (and the year before really), nobody wanted me and now it’s 3 VS’ and 1 TC 🤣 (I’m not allowed to say who my TC or last VS are for per firm’s rules).
To everyone going through this process, please don’t give up. You learn something new from every cycle. Without me learning from my mistakes on the last two, I never would have got to this point!
Best of luck to everyone still waiting to hear back from firms!
I’m going to keep popping on here though 👀 I’ve been on this forum for nearly two years, it feels a bit like home 💖
Last year (and the year before really), nobody wanted me and now it’s 3 VS’ and 1 TC 🤣 (I’m not allowed to say who my TC or last VS are for per firm’s rules).
To everyone going through this process, please don’t give up. You learn something new from every cycle. Without me learning from my mistakes on the last two, I never would have got to this point!
Best of luck to everyone still waiting to hear back from firms!
I’m going to keep popping on here though 👀 I’ve been on this forum for nearly two years, it feels a bit like home 💖
Your heart must be so full!! Well done and congratulations 🫶🏾🤍✨
I’ve spent the last two days crying or dancing around the kitchen with joy!! 💖
A stark contrast to November when I was so depressed from rejections I couldn’t get out of bed!
Thank you so much.
Anyone here heard from Hill Dickinson post-vi
Depends. You need a very (or, depending on the firm, mildly) different profile for a Direct TC than a Vacation Scheme most of the time. If you have the experience, then both are equally challenging. If you don't have the experience, some Direct TCs will just reject you outright (I don't just mean legal experience, Direct TCs are ideal for career changers too)
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Thank you!Congrats! May I ask what date you completed the assessment and what your stats were please?
I completed the assessment a couple of days before the deadline & my stats were 9977 & the highest bar for numerical & verbal
Hi, I got an invite to Stephenson Harwood Assessment. It involves an amberjack test with a video interview at the end with 4 questions. Does anyone if we have unlimited preparation time or is there a time limit? Thank you!
It is timed - it says all the information once you start the test, though there isn’t a ‘time limit’ per se, more something to be mindful of!
Congratulations! What did you change this application season?
I can’t believe it but I got a call yesterday offering me a vac scheme at my favourite firm!!!! (asked not to disclose until a week or so). Last year I never made it to interview, so it feels very surreal to have actually progressed!
I’d say two things: my confidence in interviews and my research into the firm.
I don’t think it can be understated just how much firms look at your people skills. I was so, so nervous and uncertain on my first two cycles, and although I was obviously still nervous this cycle, the experience I’d already had with interviews and the kinds of questions that were asked allowed me to prepare a lot better and therefore feel a lot more confident in myself going forward into interviews.
In one of my interviews this cycle, I was still so nervous I couldn’t eat that day. But, on my feedback, my interviewer said I didn’t seem nervous at all!
Regarding research, I was rather vague my first two cycles into what I’d researched. I’d say what the firm did on the surface-level and why I was interested, but I never specifically talked about cases that interested me. This cycle, I was a lot more specific and that allowed my enthusiasm to be communicated better.
I hope that helps!!
Congrats! I got a Vac Scheme offer too yesterday from my favourite firm, I wonder if it’s the same one 👀 but was told to keep it under-wraps. We’ll have to DM each other in a few weeks 🤣
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