Osborne Clarke VS Question

[julie1995]

Hello,

I am currently drafting a structure for the two questions below. At first glance, they seem relatively straightforward. However, after reading over the questions several times, I think I am starting to overcomplicate things.

To avoid doubt, I would be really grateful if someone could share their approach/interpretation in answering these questions!

1. How is Osborne Clarke different from the other firms you have applied to? (250 words)

Plan: Outline OC's key USPs and link them to my decision to apply (etc sector focus, innovation and training)

2. Please outline your reasons for pursuing a career in commercial law at Osborne Clarke. You should include details on how you developed your skills through your hobbies and interests. (500 words)

Plan: Most of the word count (maybe 300) would be dedicated to why commercial law. But with the wording of 'at Osborne Clarke' I suppose I would need to make it clear as to why a career in commercial law with OC would be different? Though, the confusion here is whether this would be overlapping with the first question?

For the second half of the question, I would outline skills developed from hobbies/interests and briefly explain how these skills would assist me as a commercial lawyer at OC.


Many thanks in advance!

 

[Jaysen]

Hello,

I am currently drafting a structure for the two questions below. At first glance, they seem relatively straightforward. However, after reading over the questions several times, I think I am starting to overcomplicate things.

To avoid doubt, I would be really grateful if someone could share their approach/interpretation in answering these questions!

1. How is Osborne Clarke different from the other firms you have applied to? (250 words)

Plan: Outline OC's key USPs and link them to my decision to apply (etc sector focus, innovation and training)

2. Please outline your reasons for pursuing a career in commercial law at Osborne Clarke. You should include details on how you developed your skills through your hobbies and interests. (500 words)

Plan: Most of the word count (maybe 300) would be dedicated to why commercial law. But with the wording of 'at Osborne Clarke' I suppose I would need to make it clear as to why a career in commercial law with OC would be different? Though, the confusion here is whether this would be overlapping with the first question?

For the second half of the question, I would outline skills developed from hobbies/interests and briefly explain how these skills would assist me as a commercial lawyer at OC.


Many thanks in advance!

I love it when candidates show they've thought about a question before asking, so good job!

1. Plan sounds great.
2. I agree, this question can seem quite difficult. You have flexibility with your approach provided you make sure you cover all parts of the question.

Yep, so beyond just a general 'why commercial law?' answer, you want to clearly explain 'why OC?'. That doesn't have to mean a completely new approach though, just be sure to link your reasons directly to the firm.

This is similar to the Ashurst question in that Q1 will be focused on explaining what makes the firm different, while in Q2, you'll be tying in why you want a career in commercial law at the firm. Some overlap is fine.

 

[julie1995]

I love it when candidates show they've thought about a question before asking, so good job!

1. Plan sounds great.
2. I agree, this question can seem quite difficult. You have flexibility with your approach provided you make sure you cover all parts of the question.

Yep, so beyond just a general 'why commercial law?' answer, you want to clearly explain 'why OC?'. That doesn't have to mean a completely new approach though, just be sure to link your reasons directly to the firm.

This is similar to the Ashurst question in that Q1 will be focused on explaining what makes the firm different, while in Q2, you'll be tying in why you want a career in commercial law at the firm. Some overlap is fine.

Thank you so much for the quick response Jaysen! Really helpful advice!

 

[layk]

I've read the first question to mean how is OC different to others (and as such how does it have a competitive advantage) to illustrate we know about the firm's business strategy. Kind of like Shearman's 'what makes us have a competitive advantage' question. Should I not be looking at it this way and look at it more as a way to say why I would want to train there?