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Do you include Open Days within the Work Experience section? Also, I struggle to fulfil the 250 words maximum on the work experience section - should I worry about that?

Hi guys,

How long should the W&C cover letter be? There is no official word limit on the application from.

Just a question regarding those firms that require you to submit a CV. Is it better to have a one page CV or 2? I'd drafted one of 2 pages, but sent it to my careers advisor at uni and she insisted it had to be 1...

Looking for any advice on the matter!

Thanks!

I came across this question

Excluding work experience, please detail all the events you have attended/organised which demonstrate your commitment to increasing your understanding of a career as a Solicitor. (250 words max)*?

My issue is should I include careers events that arent specific to the firm? or should I limit to more 'general careers events' such as LCN live , City Law Live , Law fairs etc?

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Hi all!

Pretty quick and mundane question I have to ask. Are bullet points a safe option when filling in the "brief summary" parts of an application form?

I'm thinking the work experience section but also sections such as Jones Day's Extracurricular Activities, which ask "Please give a brief summary of any prizes, scholarships, positions of responsibility and any other noteworthy achievements gained at School, University, Law School or in employment" and "Please give a brief summary of any activities you've been involved in outside academic study or work over the last four years." Both have word limits of 100.

Does everyone else generally use bullet points for work experience (unless the firm has explicitly stated not to) and would anyone advise I use bullet points for these two questions or go with narrative form?

Hi guys,

Currently working on the Norton Rose application. I'm wondering what the best way is to approach this question, given the tight word limit.

What issue have you been following in the press and how might this affect our global practice? (200 words)

I'm not sure of what topic I'd like to do yet, but I'd likely spend a sentence or two introducing it, then get into the details of its impacts. However, I'm wondering the best way to tie this into their global practice?

Thanks in advance guys!

Hi All,

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Hi guys,

I have an open day tomorrow with a firm and this will be my first one (ever). I am not too sure as to what this day entails as we haven't been given much information apart from the fact its an all day event

What does a typical open day entail? - Is it scary?

Hi everyone,

I'm seeing this question in some vac scheme apps this year. I was just wondering whether you think that I should just list the names of the events, or also add a line or two explaining what the events were about.

The word limits for the answers are usually very generous (around 250-350 words), so I have room to add detail if it's necessary.

P.S. I've seen this on the HL and W&C apps so far.

Thanks

Any tips on how to answer the above question without sounding so boring? Trying to prepare for my upcoming VI so any tips and guidance would be welcomed

Hello!

In BCLP's vacation scheme application, one of the questions is to -
"Please detail any academic awards, positions of responsibilities and/ or any interests or hobbies outside of academics and work experience (please list in bullet points)."

In comparison to other law firm applications, this question specifically asks for the achievements to be listed in bullet points. How should we go about structuring an answer? Do we simply list our achievements (e.g. just listing the positions of responsibilities), or should we still include the actions, outcomes and skills learnt during our positions of responsibilities?

Thank you!

Hi All,

On Thursday I'll be recording a second interview with Lewis Malkin, a trainee at Baker McKenzie. The last time we spoke, Lewis was yet to begin his training contract, and so in this interview we'll be talking about what life at a law firm is like, how he adjusted as a trainee, how he handles the pressure, and more.

In the meantime, if anyone has any questions they'd like me to ask in that interview, please post in this thread. Feel free to ask anything about law firms/Bakers/training contracts-- you'll find Lewis speaks very openly!

If you missed our first conversation, you can find it here. The last time we spoke, we discussed how to write a successful application, how to deal with rejection and how to stand out during a vacation scheme (as he managed to secure six!).

Thanks,

Jaysen

In general, why do firms ask if you have previously applied to them? Do you diminish your chances by applying to the same firm if you failed at the application stage the previous year? How should you approach these questions - do you need to touch on how your application has improved over the last year or do you just need to state when did you apply and the stage reached?

Hi all,

I can never seem to write anything for applications where the purpose it is to provide a scheme/award 'to encourage able students from disadvantaged and/or underrepresented backgrounds'

How in the world do you answer 1. Why you're applying? (because I'm underrepresented!) 2. What qualities you'd bring?

Any help with this would be much appreciated!

Thank you

I was doing the Macfarlanes app and as part of the pretty standard why us question they add "Please explain why you are applying to Macfarlanes and what your career ambitions are."

What do you think this adds to the question/ how should it change the answer from the standard why us format?

Hi everyone,

hopefully someone will have some advice on this(?)

1. How in the world do you place a tick in the box on a .docx in Google Docs? why can't these forms just be simple to edit! *argh!* The tick box disappears when I attempt to insert a symbol to suggest a tick.

2. The application form has a question:
Please explain why you are;
a) applying for an Access to the Bar Award
b) your interest in law
c) what qualities you would bring to the programme if selected.

My queries:
a) look into the differences between the other Inns and compare to Middle Temple, also refer to the requirements of the Access Award. Anything else?
b) I have four areas of interest, is that a bad thing? Do I write about all four?
c) I'm not sure about my qualities. Surely, this is a question of strengths?

Any help much appreciated

Hi guys,

This I think is the type of application question I struggle the most with! I'm not sure what the firms are trying to get out of me from this kind of question, is it a competency-based or motivation-based? Are they trying to find out what values I deem to be important? Do I need to provide concrete examples, i.e. successful leadership of a student society, or can I provide a more abstract answer, i.e. overcome my fear in public speaking and secured a place in a mooting competition's quarter-final? Does it need to be something huge and incredibly impactful or small achievements are okay?

Will really appreciate any advice or sharing of examples of how you have successfully approached this sort of question in the past. Thank you!

Sorry to be posting yet another thread but I've been mulling this one over for a little while.

I'm a recent graduate so I've left the bubble of societies, volunteering opportunities and sports clubs back at university. Ever since then, I've been stuck in a rut of part-time work (looking to go into a full-time role soon) and application writing and haven't done much in the way of extra-curricular activities apart from reading and video gaming - quite anti-social activities.

When answering questions about extra-curriculars and positions of responsibility, do we strictly have to stick to present-day examples? I don't want to talk about the past too much but my wealth of experiences are, pretty much, in my past. For example, while in the present I attend a coding course, my previous passion was writing journalistically and where I divested a lot of time and energy

So:
1) does anyone have any tips for getting involved with extra-curriculars while in part-time/full-time work? I don't want to join the gym just for the sake of it? And volunteering opportunities often restrict in terms of volunteering during weekdays only. What does everyone else do beyond uni?
2) does anyone know any news channels that accept amateur writing so I can continue writing journalistically as a hobby, as I did at uni?
3) in terms of a quick solution (I want to send applications before I'll probably have the opportunity to start anything new) should I mention some of my past activities/positions of responsibility?

The stock market in Saudi Arabia plunged as the nation prepare for sanctions over the 'disappearance' of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. In fact, stocks have dropped more than 9% since Khashoggi 'disappeared' almost three weeks ago. Further impact on the nation include:

1. The stock market tumbling has impacted the nation's 2030 vision which aims to increase foreign investment, boost tourism and grow the private sector.

2. Richard Branson has pulled back from two projects to develop red sea tourism and allegedly suspended talks with Saudi government about a $1 billion investment in his space companies.

3. Finally, a huge investment conference named 'Davos in the Desert' scheduled next week has seen some prominent speakers and participants drop out. The drop outs include CEO of JPMorgan (Jamie Dimon), executive chairman of Ford (Bill Ford) and CEO of Blackrock (Larry Fink and Stephen Schwarzman)

Anyone up for a paragraph on impact on law firms?