OK, so a couple of months ago I posted this thread because things weren't looking good with regards to getting a training contract and I really needed a glimmer of hope.
I can't believe I'm writing this, but I now myself have been offered a training contract with a top global law firm!
I'd like to say a quick thank you to everyone who shared their success stories - when you've had so many rejections, it's really hard not to take it to heart. So many times I worried I wasn't cut out for law and wondered whether to cut my losses and go down a different career path. Two years and 20+ rejections later, I've come out the other end with a training contract! Remember, you only need one. Thanks, too, to the Corporate Law Academy for the incredibly helpful resources (especially the page on M&A and the weekly commercial updates) and to Bing in particular who gave me a mock interview in preparation for my assessment centre.
To answer the question I originally posted, here are the three key reasons I thought I was successful:
1. Commercial Awareness
I can't stress how much of a difference it makes if you are confident in discussing business. First, pick up Christopher Stoke's 'All You Need to Know About the City'. It discusses all these mysterious concepts that are important to law firms and sound impressive if you understand them, like IPOs, shares vs. equity and private equity. Then, read this page on the Corporate Law Academy to see what lawyers actually do: https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/mergers-and-acquisitions-case-study/. I've been asked about what lawyers do in an interview before, so this page is essential! Finally, buy a subscription to The Times app (only £2 a month if you're a student) and read the business section every single day. Weekly updates on commercial awareness are helpful in highlighting the 'key' issues in my mind, but really you need to be following the business press daily to get an idea of current themes. You don't need to read every single story - just read their three-minute digest of the key business stories, then read any stories which will be particularly interesting to law firms (e.g. stories about big FTSE 100 companies, stories about the economy) or stories which keep cropping up (e.g. Neil Woodford's investment fund).
2. Confidence
I think the key thing that 'changed the game' for me was my confidence with interviews. Sit back in your chair, speak calmly, smile and crack a few small jokes if you can (for instance, I mentioned that I'd met one particular firm about three or four times before - I added 'you can't seem to get rid of me!' which got a laugh from the partner). Most importantly, ask questions about the interviewer throughout the interview if you can - not just at the end. If they ask you why law or why their firm, don't be afraid to say, 'Just out of interest, how did you decide on law?' This makes the interview feel more like a conversation than a Q&A session. I found the best way to become confident was (a) do lots of mock interviews - the Corporate Law Academy provide these at very reasonable prices! and (b) if you can, try and meet lawyers one-to-one. Use your university's alumni service and see if there's anyone who would be around for a coffee. Towards the end of the process, I was so used to meeting unfamiliar lawyers and so used to how they speak that interviews didn't phase me so much.
3. Luck
This is simultaneously the most comforting and least comforting thing about the process! Sometimes you get an absolute beast who gets 4 or 5 vacation schemes in one cycle but in my experience, a lot of it comes down to luck. I've written applications that I spent hours on and thought were brilliant, and then got rejected. I've had interviews that have gone terribly and interviews that have gone brilliantly, and it wasn't necessarily because of me - what it actually came down to was who was interviewing me, and whether I had a rapport with them (I felt it was a bit like dating - sometimes you have chemistry and sometimes you don't, and you can't really control that). I found written exercises and case studies extremely difficult to prepare for - whether I did well depended on that particular case study. If you get a rejection, try to establish why (ask for feedback if you've been on an AC) and try to fix that for next time. But if you get a rejection and you think you gave it your best, or maybe something went wrong but it wasn't anything you could've foreseen or prepared for, don't take it to heart. Sometimes that firm just isn't right for you. I personally am *so* glad I got so many rejections before now, because otherwise I wouldn't have accepted a TC with the firm who offered it to me. And the firm who offered it to me just seem like a perfect fit culturally.
Anyway, I hope this helps for those who are still on the hunt for a TC. Even when it seems like it's not going to happen, have faith that you can do it. Don't give up!
Thank you for this great advice. I have just ordered a copy of the book you suggested. Unsuccessful round for me this time but I have a lot of hope for next round, especially after reading your post
Time to celebrate!!!!