Ask Withers Anything!

[Katherine - Withers]

Hi Katherine,

Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions today!

I was just wondering whether you could provide any insight into the situational judgement test, such as what will be assessed and whether there is a benchmark.
Thank you!

Hello,

The SJT assesses the qualities/strengths that we think are important in our trainees. There is a benchmark. My best advice is to answer authentically and not to over think it.

Katherine

 

[Katherine - Withers]

Hi Katherine,

My name is Julia, and I am a Durham Law graduate. Thank you very much for your time today and for this opportunity to learn more about Withers. If possible, I would be grateful for your advice and opinion on a few areas of the application process:

1. What aspects of a candidate’s personality or motivation are you aiming to learn through the question: ‘If your life had a mascot, what would it look like and what would it cheer for?'
2. Could you share more about the interview process, will it be primarily competency-based or strengths-based?
3. Could you tell us more about what to expect from the online strengths-based assessment, will it include numerical, verbal reasoning and critical thinking components?
4. Lastly, what distinguishes the most successful trainees at Withers, especially given the firm’s strong client contact?

Thank you again for your time and guidance, and I hope you have a great day!

Hello Julia,

Thank you for your questions.

1. We are looking for genuine and authentic answers to the question - we want to get to know the real you
2. The first-round interview is strengths-based
3. The situational judgement test also includes numerical and critical thinking questions
4. There is no one thing that makes a successful trainee at Withers - we want a very diverse cohort to match our client base and we encourage diversity of thought. You have to be genuine and authentic and able to think on your feet which is why we ask questions such as the one about the life mascot on the application form


Katherine

 

[r.ily]

Hi Katherine,

Thank you so much for taking time to answer our questions today.

I have two questions I wanted to ask. 1) What attracts you in an application that makes it stand out from others? 2) How can we answer the question 'Why Withers?' without sounding like we copied and pasted it from the website?

Thank you.

Rachel Ip

 

[LaDiva]

Hello Katherine,

Thanks for your time. I have two questions:
1. Regarding the online assessments, is there a particular threshold to meet before you look at the application? Or would you still consider a strong application despite a more moderate score on the online assessments?
2.Do you review applications on a rolling or non-rolling basis?

Thank you.

 

[Katherine - Withers]

Hi Katherine,

Thank you so much for taking time to answer our questions today.

I have two questions I wanted to ask. 1) What attracts you in an application that makes it stand out from others? 2) How can we answer the question 'Why Withers?' without sounding like we copied and pasted it from the website?

Thank you.

Rachel Ip

Hi Rachel,

Thank you for your questions.

1. Applications that actually answer the question and do not feel like they have copied and pasted is a key one for me - I want to get to know you in the application form
2. People say they want to work at Withers because we are international - but why is that important to you? We want to know your personal reasons for applying to the firm and too often they sound generic

Many thanks,

Katherine

 

[Katherine - Withers]

Hello Katherine,

Thanks for your time. I have two questions:
1. Regarding the online assessments, is there a particular threshold to meet before you look at the application? Or would you still consider a strong application despite a more moderate score on the online assessments?
2.Do you review applications on a rolling or non-rolling basis?

Thank you.

Hello,

We review all applications prior to inviting to the first assessment. We then review the applications of those who meet the benchmark again and decide whether or not to progress them to our second assessment.

We review application on a rolling basis and invite to assessment regularly. There may be a delay if you apply to TC as we prioritise VS initially.

Katherine

 

[Jolie_RD]

Hi Katherine,

I was wondering whether you could share any pet peeves that you have when it comes to application forms - other than answers which sound too generic/copy and pasted.

Thanks again - Jolie

 

[Angie Goh]

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Hello - we use Cappfinity for our Situational Judgement Test.

My best advice is to answer the questions honestly and do not try and overthink it. Many candidates try and analyse and think about we are looking for rather than giving their genuine answer.

Thank you for the clarification, Katherine. That’s really helpful.

I had a few quick follow-up questions, if that’s alright:

1. Is there a particular benchmark or threshold candidates need to meet in the Situational Judgement Test to progress to the next stage?
2. What qualities do you most commonly see in trainees who excel at Withers?
3. How involved are trainees in Withers’ pro bono initiatives, and what kinds of pro bono projects do they typically get to contribute to?
4. What kind of personality or working style tends to thrive in Withers’ private client environment?
5. What’s the level of client contact trainees usually get?

Thank you so much again for taking the time to answer my questions.

 

[Katherine - Withers]

Hi Katherine,

I was wondering whether you could share any pet peeves that you have when it comes to application forms - other than answers which sound too generic/copy and pasted.

Thanks again - Jolie

Hi Jolie

For me it is when a candidate has copied and pasted their answers from a previous year and not checked if any of the information has changed or when the website is quoted at us without saying why something is important to the individual. The question isn't "what do you know about Withers?" but rather "why are you applying to Withers?"

Whilst I think AI is a great tool, it is very evident when applications have been written using AI and those applications all sound the same and I don't feel like we have a good understanding of you as an individual.

Katherine

 

[Katherine - Withers]

Thank you for the clarification, Katherine. That’s really helpful.

I had a few quick follow-up questions, if that’s alright:

1. Is there a particular benchmark or threshold candidates need to meet in the Situational Judgement Test to progress to the next stage?
2. What qualities do you most commonly see in trainees who excel at Withers?
3. How involved are trainees in Withers’ pro bono initiatives, and what kinds of pro bono projects do they typically get to contribute to?
4. What kind of personality or working style tends to thrive in Withers’ private client environment?
5. What’s the level of client contact trainees usually get?

Thank you so much again for taking the time to answer my questions.

Hello,

1. Yes, there is a benchmark in the SJT to progress to the next stage
2. We see numerous qualities which mean that our trainees excel - one of the good things is that everyone is very different
3. Further information about our pro bono work may be found here: https://www.withersworldwide.com/en-gb/about/our-pro-bono-commitment Trainees are able to get involved in what interests them
4. As per question 2, we do not have a typical Withers person
5. Trainees will have client contact from the very beginning of their TC


Many thanks,

Katherine

 

[tamarateper123]

Hi Katherine,

I hope you are having a lovely day.

My questions are:

1) Is Withers recruiting on a rolling or non rolling basis after the SJT

2) In an Interview/Assessment centre how do you think candidates can stand out as a top applicant.

Thanks!

Tamara

 

[l.m.g.]

Hi Katherine,

My name is Leya and I’m really interested in the firm. Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions!

If you’re still able to answer questions today, I would be grateful if you could elaborate on the following:

1) Regarding the work experience portion of the application, do you prefer bullet points or prose? And do you expect us to be detailed about the skills we learned? I’m just curious about how much emphasis is put on the description of work experience.

2) Do you have any further firm events / talks happening besides the Open Day where we can get to know the firm more?

3) Is it okay to emphasize that we are applying to the firm because of their strengths in a particular area of law, or would it be best to talk about the firm as a whole?

4) I would be grateful if you could explain this question a bit more: Please give details of your current interests and activities including the nature of your involvement (60 words max) and what advice you have on answering it in 60 words.

Thank you so much!
Leya

 

[Katherine - Withers]

Hi Katherine,

I hope you are having a lovely day.

My questions are:

1) Is Withers recruiting on a rolling or non rolling basis after the SJT

2) In an Interview/Assessment centre how do you think candidates can stand out as a top applicant.

Thanks!

Tamara

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• #33

Hi Katherine,

I was wondering whether you could share any pet peeves that you have when it comes to application forms - other than answers which sound too generic/copy and pasted.

Thanks again - Jolie

Hi Jolie,

For me it is when a candidate has copied and pasted their answers from a previous year and not checked if any of the information has changed or when the website is quoted at us without saying why something is important to the individual. The question isn't "what do you know about Withers?" but rather

Hi Katherine,

I hope you are having a lovely day.

My questions are:

1) Is Withers recruiting on a rolling or non rolling basis after the SJT

2) In an Interview/Assessment centre how do you think candidates can stand out as a top applicant.

Thanks!

Tamara
Click to expand...

Hello Tamara,

Thank you for your questions.

1. At the moment, we have not invited any candidates to our second assessment - we will do this in batches in the coming weeks - we will be rolling though as we hope to schedule interviews prior to the deadline this year


2. In terms of the interview/assessment centre - the candidates who stand out as top applicants are those who are genuine and authentic and have really thought about what doing a TC means. They come across as team-players with a genuine interest in private client work and someone who will be good in front of clients


Katherine

 

[Katherine - Withers]

Hi Katherine,

My name is Leya and I’m really interested in the firm. Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions!

If you’re still able to answer questions today, I would be grateful if you could elaborate on the following:

1) Regarding the work experience portion of the application, do you prefer bullet points or prose? And do you expect us to be detailed about the skills we learned? I’m just curious about how much emphasis is put on the description of work experience.

2) Do you have any further firm events / talks happening besides the Open Day where we can get to know the firm more?

3) Is it okay to emphasize that we are applying to the firm because of their strengths in a particular area of law, or would it be best to talk about the firm as a whole?

4) I would be grateful if you could explain this question a bit more: Please give details of your current interests and activities including the nature of your involvement (60 words max) and what advice you have on answering it in 60 words.

Thank you so much!
Leya

Hello Leya,

Many thanks for your questions.

1. We are not prescriptive with regards to the application form - we leave it to the individual to decide

2. We do not have any more events/talks happening this year

3. You are able to talk about the firm's strengths in a particular area, but should remember that if you complete a TC you will have four different seats

4. This questions just wants to find out more about you and what you enjoy doing outside of studying/working - as with all of our questions we just want to get to know you


Katherine

 

[Jolie_RD]

Hi Katherine,

You mentioned earlier that you worked at several other firms before joining Withers. I wondered whether you could speak a little bit about what makes Withers a special place to work in comparison.

Thanks again!

 

[Katherine - Withers]

Hi Katherine,

You mentioned earlier that you worked at several other firms before joining Withers. I wondered whether you could speak a little bit about what makes Withers a special place to work in comparison.

Thanks again!

Hi Jolie,

Thanks for the question.

It is very simple - the people!

We have really interesting clients, which in turn means really interesting work and that seems to translate into really interesting employees.

I love how different everybody is and that there isn't a typical Withers person. We encourage everyone to bring their ideas to the table. I am very fortunate in that I interact with a significant number of our partners in London and they are some of the kindest, most supportive people I have ever met. We genuinely have a high-performing culture and we expect the best of everyone, but we always support people. A lot of our partners are trained and retained at Withers - significantly more than at any other firm I have worked at, yet they embrace change and new ideas and are very forward thinking.

I know that when I am in the office tomorrow, I shall inevitably bump into lots of people and there will be a smile for me.

Katherine

 

[Jolie_RD]

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Hi Jolie,

Thanks for the question.

It is very simple - the people!

We have really interesting clients, which in turn means really interesting work and that seems to translate into really interesting employees.

I love how different everybody is and that there isn't a typical Withers person. We encourage everyone to bring their ideas to the table. I am very fortunate in that I interact with a significant number of our partners in London and they are some of the kindest, most supportive people I have ever met. We genuinely have a high-performing culture and we expect the best of everyone, but we always support people. A lot of our partners are trained and retained at Withers - significantly more than at any other firm I have worked at, yet they embrace change and new ideas and are very forward thinking.

I know that when I am in the office tomorrow, I shall inevitably bump into lots of people and there will be a smile for me.

Katherine

That was a really lovely answer - thank you!