TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2022-23
- Thread starter Jessica Booker
- Start date
- Status
Out of interest, how would you define a benchmark for a VI? It feels much harder than defining a benchmark for a certain mark in the WG, for example. Genuinely curious.
Does anyone know just *how good* you need to be to get an offer post-AC? Last year, for an AC that I didn't get an offer after, grad rec told me that my interview scored the highest marks and my written exercise was very good, and also that the interviewers said I was super easy to get along with etc. However, despite my feedback call being nothing but positive feedback, I still didn't get the offer (it wasn't a *massively* competitive stage either, in that ~20/40 got offers).
The one VS that I got last year came after the interviewers stated that they "loved" one of my ideas, and decided to implement it into their office/way of working. It feels like that is a pretty high standard to have to meet, and I'm quite worried about my upcoming ACs. @Jessica Booker any advice would be massively appreciated, or indeed anyone else who knows about this kind of thing. Thank you so much.
The one VS that I got last year came after the interviewers stated that they "loved" one of my ideas, and decided to implement it into their office/way of working. It feels like that is a pretty high standard to have to meet, and I'm quite worried about my upcoming ACs. @Jessica Booker any advice would be massively appreciated, or indeed anyone else who knows about this kind of thing. Thank you so much.
Maybe benchmark is the wrong word. Do they compare candidates or just as long as your answers meet their standards you get progressed?
Depends on the firm but generally from what I’ve seen on this forum, you have 30s-1m to prepare/think about your answer and on average 1m30s to answer.
Can anyone please link any resources to practise the written part of an AC? Thank you! @Jessica Booker
DLA are jokers - take longest to get back to applicants and send PFOs on saturdays 💀
I think it depends on the Q you're asked (e.g. you can afford to talk a little longer for open ended questions like "tell me about yourself") but generally 1-3mins is good. You don't want to be too brief otherwise your answers come across as too superficial but equally you don't want to be talking for too long because you want to show that you can communicate concisely. But honestly I've never paid attention to how long it takes me to answer a Q during an interview (and I don't think my interviewers counted the minutes either). Just focus on giving a structured and concise answer and you'll be good! A final thing to note is that you don't want to be talking too fast. Practice with friends/family and see if they fully understand what you're saying. I didn't realise I speak very fast during interviews until I practiced with friends and family and got their feedback. Interviewers have to listen to your answers, understand it and think of follow up questions pretty much at the same time. Make their lives easier by speaking clearly and slowly so they catch everything you're saying!
I had a partner interview Friday, in which one of the questions was 'what would you be looking to do if there was not a career path in any area of law', to which I answered diplomacy. The interview was an hour long and we spent the next 20 mins talking about the Russo-Ukraine War, I understand that two-way conversations within the interview are a good sign. However, the conversation around Russia was mainly historical and I am wondering whether this would be looked down on, should I have tried to steer the direction of the conversation to a more legal/commercial footing? Or is it ok to just go along with wherever the interviewers take the conversation?
I am not sure as to whether I am thinking too much about it, but I wondered whether it could have been a test to see if I was able to steer the conversation back to a more commercially focused one.
I am not sure as to whether I am thinking too much about it, but I wondered whether it could have been a test to see if I was able to steer the conversation back to a more commercially focused one.
I haven't heard back yet for Spring post-VI/written exercise. When did you complete those and when did you receive your AC invite?
I could be wrong but I think its good that you showed you can talk about something outside of the law and have what seems to be a genuine interest.
No invite to Summer AC yet, I think they must still be working through Spring! Have you done an AC for Spring then?I haven't heard back yet for Spring post-VI/written exercise. When did you complete those and when did you receive your AC invite?
No, I haven't heard back after completing the VI/written exercise! Was just wondering if you were in the same batch and had already heard back!
The much loved waiting game haha
- Status
Similar threads
- Sticky
- Sticky
- Locked
