TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2023-24

[TonyStark]

I would really appreciate if anyone could share their notes from the White & Case All About Law session on the 2nd of May. I wasn’t able to make it unfortunately because of work 😔

 

[amy2002]

Hi @Jessica Booker!

I have a vacation scheme coming up next month and in terms of preparation, how much does it differ from preparation for an assessment centre? Would you just refreshen your knowledge of the firm, recent deals, brush up on commercial awareness and the like? I don't know if there is something else I should be doing.

Also, when it comes to the final interview, would the questions you ask at the end differ from ones you may have asked at the AC? For instance, if I wanted to know what their (the interviewer's) favourite aspect of the firm was, or what pro bono work they've engaged with at the firm, is this type of interview a fine time to ask this? Or should the questions be more reflective of my time on the VS?

Thanks!

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Hi @Jessica Booker!

I have a vacation scheme coming up next month and in terms of preparation, how much does it differ from preparation for an assessment centre? Would you just refreshen your knowledge of the firm, recent deals, brush up on commercial awareness and the like? I don't know if there is something else I should be doing.

Also, when it comes to the final interview, would the questions you ask at the end differ from ones you may have asked at the AC? For instance, if I wanted to know what their (the interviewer's) favourite aspect of the firm was, or what pro bono work they've engaged with at the firm, is this type of interview a fine time to ask this? Or should the questions be more reflective of my time on the VS?

Thanks!

I don’t think you need to prepare in the same way as interviews/assessment centres because you have plenty of time during the scheme itself to apply your learning.

I would follow the firm’s social media and see what thought pieces they are putting out/what work they are highlighting - this will give you some indication of the general trends within the firm and what they feel is important. As you read these elements, if there is anything you don’t understand, then that’s a good idea to read around the subject to develop your knowledge further. If you know which department(s) you will be working in, then you can focus this reading on to the topics more related to that department.

I’d personally suggest more nuanced questions for a VS to TC interview. I am not sure you really gain much from knowing what other people have worked on/what they like. Try to ask questions that are really going to help you get into specific detail that is important for you to find out more about. You are going to have lots of opportunities to learn about people’s work as you network, so instead think about what you haven’t gained from your scheme so far and ask questions that will give you an insight into those areas.

 

[amy2002]

I don’t think you need to prepare in the same way as interviews/assessment centres because you have plenty of time during the scheme itself to apply your learning.

I would follow the firm’s social media and see what thought pieces they are putting out/what work they are highlighting - this will give you some indication of the general trends within the firm and what they feel is important. As you read these elements, if there is anything you don’t understand, then that’s a good idea to read around the subject to develop your knowledge further. If you know which department(s) you will be working in, then you can focus this reading on to the topics more related to that department.

I’d personally suggest more nuanced questions for a VS to TC interview. I am not sure you really gain much from knowing what other people have worked on/what they like. Try to ask questions that are really going to help you get into specific detail that is important for you to find out more about. You are going to have lots of opportunities to learn about people’s work as you network, so instead think about what you haven’t gained from your scheme so far and ask questions that will give you an insight into those areas.

Thanks Jessica, that's really helpful!

When you say more nuanced, how do you mean exactly? Would that be more culture related because your culture would have been limited until you've had that first-hand experience? Or have I misinterpreted you there?

 

[Farhan65756]

hey yes i have - have you heard back yet?

No I haven’t heard back yet

 

[Zaidoz10]

@Jessica Booker could you please briefly explain how background checks and references work upon receiving an offer from a firm? Are you required to provide reference details for every work experience you include on your application and CV? Some firms require you to input details for two references on the app form itself. How do these checks work for firms who don’t have this on their apps?

 

[gazdgazd11]

do u think I should put ‚incoming vacation scheme’ on my LinkedIn (I will attend a vac scheme in June)

 

[lolololol]

anyone got a response from bdb pitmans?

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Thanks Jessica, that's really helpful!

When you say more nuanced, how do you mean exactly? Would that be more culture related because your culture would have been limited until you've had that first-hand experience? Or have I misinterpreted you there?

Any questions do not need to be about the firm’s culture - it can be about any topic.

I meant that you are going to get a lot of the typical questions someone would ask during a VS interview answered by being on the scheme itself. You are going to see in action the culture/the work etc, so by asking broad questions at the interview you are less likely to get answers that are really going to inform you any more than your experience already has.

By nuanced, I mean more specific and tailored. You will be in a position where you have already seen a lot, so ensure the questions you ask bring value to you by ensuring they are more precise/specific and will help answer questions you haven’t had answered yet through the scheme

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

@Jessica Booker could you please briefly explain how background checks and references work upon receiving an offer from a firm? Are you required to provide reference details for every work experience you include on your application and CV? Some firms require you to input details for two references on the app form itself. How do these checks work for firms who don’t have this on their apps?

When you provide one or two referees this is typically for any pre-offer check processes.

Post accepted offer, you will typically be asked to complete a form that will provide all your previous employment and academic details within a certain timeframe. Thai can be anywhere between 3-10 years depending on the firm’s policy.

This information is given to whoever is doing the checks alongside your original application, and they request confirmation of your employment or education/qualifications typically via the information you have provided. However, some of the large reference check companies have large databases of previous contacts for organisations, and may just seek the information from those.

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

do u think I should put ‚incoming vacation scheme’ on my LinkedIn (I will attend a vac scheme in June)

You can put this as a reference in your bio or something similar.

You can’t put future dates into your employment section on LinkedIn though, so adding it there will need you to effectively lie about the dates you will do the scheme but it would have to be from the date you add the entry to LinkedIn.

Some people get around this by putting “future” ahead of the job title, but I personally would only suggest doing this for Training Contracts rather than VS.

 

[Zaidoz10]

When you provide one or two referees this is typically for any pre-offer check processes.

Post accepted offer, you will typically be asked to complete a form that will provide all your previous employment and academic details within a certain timeframe. Thai can be anywhere between 3-10 years depending on the firm’s policy.

This information is given to whoever is doing the checks alongside your original application, and they request confirmation of your employment or education/qualifications typically via the information you have provided. However, some of the large reference check companies have large databases of previous contacts for organisations, and may just seek the information from those.

Do these checks also include internships? Or are they mainly for times of full employment? I pretty much only have legal internships for work experience and no previous full employment. What sorts of things do they check for? I assume they check if the duration I stated is true and my role as well?

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Do these checks also include internships? Or are they mainly for times of full employment? I pretty much only have legal internships for work experience and no previous full employment. What sorts of things do they check for? I assume they check if the duration I stated is true and my role as well?

Yes, it will include any employment, including internships.

The reference request may ask for more details than just employment dates and job title, but most employers providing references will only provide employment dates and job title unless there are any disciplinary issues.

 

[Zaidoz10]

Yes, it will include any employment, including internships.

The reference request may ask for more details than just employment dates and job title, but most employers providing references will only provide employment dates and job title unless there are any disciplinary issues.

Thank you Jessica. I have just realised that I entered the wrong dates for one of my internships on one of my applications. I accidentally put that it ended in 2023 rather than 2022. I’ve done a final interview for the firm’s vac scheme and am now worried that they’ll flag this. All of the other info is correct, it’s just this one internship I slipped up on. What would you advise me to do?

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Thank you Jessica. I have just realised that I entered the wrong dates for one of my internships on one of my applications. I accidentally put that it ended in 2023 rather than 2022. I’ve done a final interview for the firm’s vac scheme and am now worried that they’ll flag this. All of the other info is correct, it’s just this one internship I slipped up on. What would you advise me to do?

I’d point out the error as soon as possible as this will have potentially been viewed as a year long internship rather than one for a couple of weeks. It is bound to be seen as an innocent typo/error though if the day and month are correct and the year is just out by one digit on the keyboard.

 

[FTS209990]

Thank you for responding! @Jessica Booker

I thought it was a mistake because if I had told firm B my preferred date was 10 June, I could have potentially participated in all three VS.

So do you think it’s better to ask firm B if they could move me later on? I just thought asking now would give them more time to make arrangements (if even possible).

Hi @Jessica Booker - id love to know your thoughts

 

[Zaidoz10]

I’d point out the error as soon as possible as this will have potentially been viewed as a year long internship rather than one for a couple of weeks. It is bound to be seen as an innocent typo/error though if the day and month are correct and the year is just out by one digit on the keyboard.

By point out the error do you mean emailing them now and pointing it out before I receive a decision regarding my final interview? Or should I wait to see if I get a spot on the vacation scheme or get rejected and then tell them based on the outcome? I’m supposed to hear back by the end of this week. Also the internship lasted for about 4 months so it wasn’t a one or two week thing but I understand it still is a big difference compared to a whole year.

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Thank you for responding! @Jessica Booker

I thought it was a mistake because if I had told firm B my preferred date was 10 June, I could have potentially participated in all three VS.

So do you think it’s better to ask firm B if they could move me later on? I just thought asking now would give them more time to make arrangements (if even possible).

If you want to, you can but I don’t think it is worthwhile doing so until you have an offer from the other firm.

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

By point out the error do you mean emailing them now and pointing it out before I receive a decision regarding my final interview? Or should I wait to see if I get a spot on the vacation scheme or get rejected and then tell them based on the outcome? I’m supposed to hear back by the end of this week. Also the internship lasted for about 4 months so it wasn’t a one or two week thing but I understand it still is a big difference compared to a whole year.

But by adding another year on, the internship looked a year longer than it actually was. That is a significant error.

It is up to you. However, I would tell them at the earliest opportunity given the nature of the error just in case you are offered. If you wait until post offer it could look like you have intentionally lied/held this information back. If you were at an earlier stage of the process, I would wait to hear back if you were successful in getting to the next stage, but this sounds like the next stage is an offer, and so it’s best to tell them sooner rather than later.

 

[Zaidoz10]

But by adding another year on, the internship looked a year longer than it actually was. That is a significant error.

It is up to you. However, I would tell them at the earliest opportunity given the nature of the error just in case you are offered. If you wait until post offer it could look like you have intentionally lied/held this information back. If you were at an earlier stage of the process, I would wait to hear back if you were successful in getting to the next stage, but this sounds like the next stage is an offer, and so it’s best to tell them sooner rather than later.

Thank you Jessica. I emailed them just now explaining the situation. I really hope this doesn’t ruin my standing as I felt like I performed very well at the final interview. Do you think this will be a definite rejection?