Ask A Graduate Recruiter Anything!

[Jaysen]

You guys are doing legendary stuff on a 3-staff-team basis. HUGE kudos for the work y'all do! (not applying for the scholarship but just wanted to thank ya, Jaysen)

That is very kind, thank you - you guys make it worth it!

 

[Jessica Booker]

You guys are doing legendary stuff on a 3-staff-team basis. HUGE kudos for the work y'all do! (not applying for the scholarship but just wanted to thank ya, Jaysen)

It’s one of the side effects of this place being so busy in recent months. It’s great to see - even if it is keeping us on our toes!

 

[Jessica Booker]

That is very kind, thank you - you guys make it worth it!

This many times over. This community is a fantastic one - it’s been so great to see so much positivity come from it, even when people are not always getting the outcomes they would like from firms.

 

[SamsanTech]

Competency question is “tell me about a time” type questions, asking you to pull on your previous experiences to demonstrate you have developed that competency.

Strength based questions are one of two things. Either forward looking, asking you to place yourself in a situation that would happen in the workplace of where you have applied and you discussing how you would navigate that situation. It is basically asking you to be more self-reflective of your ability/attitude and demonstrate what strengths of yours you would pull upon in that situation. Strengths based questions can also be reflective of past experiences but ask you to talk about what you felt rather than what you did.

Thank you for the response! Just a quick follow up, how would you go about preparing for strength-based questions?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Thank you for the response! Just a quick follow up, how would you go about preparing for strength-based questions?

Just think about your strengths - what’s your default approach to things, especially if presented with similar situations.

EDIT:

Realise this may not have been helpful (sorry was posting in a rush between commitments).

Also familiarise yourself with the type of scenarios trainees might experience and think about how you might personally deal with those matters - what things you will be more confident about, which things you feel you may need support on (and don’t be afraid of the latter - support is a necessary part of being a trainee).

Also reflect on what drives you - what parts of processes do you get energised from more so than others. Being self aware is vital for trainees so being able to reflect on what parts of the job will come more naturally to you than others is important

 

[Dwight]

You have told us about your academic achievements and work experience and now, in no more than 600 words, we are keen to hear more about you. This should include your extra-curricular activities, positions of responsibility and an achievement of importance which you are most proud of. (600)

This is the only application question for Clifford Chance's training contract app - I have the following questions:

Regarding, "extra-curricular activities", do they want to hear something specific. In other words, would they like to hear about sports I have been involved in and the achievements incurred from them. Also, Considering positions of responsibility is the other section what could be included as part of extra-curricular activities?

Secondly, do you advise I structure this question in the following way (1) extra-curricular activities (2) positions of responsibility (3) an achievement of importance which you are most proud of

Thirdly, do you have any general advice/tips for this question?

Thank you so much in advance - your contribution to this platform has been amazing!

 

[Jessica Booker]

You have told us about your academic achievements and work experience and now, in no more than 600 words, we are keen to hear more about you. This should include your extra-curricular activities, positions of responsibility and an achievement of importance which you are most proud of. (600)

This is the only application question for Clifford Chance's training contract app - I have the following questions:

Regarding, "extra-curricular activities", do they want to hear something specific. In other words, would they like to hear about sports I have been involved in and the achievements incurred from them. Also, Considering positions of responsibility is the other section what could be included as part of extra-curricular activities?

Secondly, do you advise I structure this question in the following way (1) extra-curricular activities (2) positions of responsibility (3) an achievement of importance which you are most proud of

Thirdly, do you have any general advice/tips for this question?

Thank you so much in advance - your contribution to this platform has been amazing!

no - nothing specific will be on their agenda in terms of activities. They will just be looking for people who have sought opportunities beyond their degree and work experience. It really doesn’t matter what it is - could be Sport, arts, politics, writing, student journalism, social activism, volunteering, student support, education (eg supporting other people’s education not your own),

Positions of responsibility is anything where you actively take up an active role. So just being a member of a society or playing for a sports team is an extra curricular, while a position of responsibility would be if you sat on the committee, and had additional responsibilities in a role like treasurer or social secretary.

Completely up to you on how you structure it - you could easily structure it in the reverse order and it could still make sense. Just make sure you cover all three sections appropriately.

Tips:

• Ensure you paragraph it well.
• Nothing is off limits - don’t fall into the trap of just telling me the things you think I want to hear. The other things are often more interesting
• Ensure there is evidence of team work in there somewhere. If all your pursuits are solo ones, then ensure team work is emphasised elsewhere in the application
• Put context in your descriptions - explain things using numbers and other forms of descriptors to shows how heavy the commitment was
• Show your impact in PoR - don’t focus on just what you did (you might not have a lot of word count to do this anyway), focus on what was achieved because you were in the role.

 

[Helpme12345]

Hi! Looking for some direction on Orrick's application questions:

Describe your involvement and positions of responsibility in any extra-curricular activities including societies, sports, charitable and voluntary work. 200
Does this require we simply detail our involvement, or should I focus on two/three key activities and explain them a bit more?

Please detail academic awards, prizes or scholarships and non-academic achievements at school, university and law school (if applicable). 200
Again, is this asking for an in-depth answer, or just factual information?

 

[Lumree]

Hi Jessica,

I know you’re bound to have answered this before so apologies for asking again (I couldn’t track a similar answer down!)

When writing work experience out in bullet points, what are the key aspects to include? Should I be explicit about what I did and the skills I developed?

The reason I ask is because I usually write my work experience in sentences, allowing for the skills to be drawn through what I did. However, a graduate recruiter for a firm I am applying to mentioned a preference for bullet points because it is more methodical and therefore easier to read. Willing to give it a try, I just want to check what key content I should be including.

Thank you for your help

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica,

I know you’re bound to have answered this before so apologies for asking again (I couldn’t track a similar answer down!)

When writing work experience out in bullet points, what are the key aspects to include? Should I be explicit about what I did and the skills I developed?

The reason I ask is because I usually write my work experience in sentences, allowing for the skills to be drawn through what I did. However, a graduate recruiter for a firm I am applying to mentioned a preference for bullet points because it is more methodical and therefore easier to read. Willing to give it a try, I just want to check what key content I should be including.

Thank you for your help

I’d only put it into bullet points if you can format the writing as such

• like you can do with this forum
• if you can’t format bullet points like this

Then I would put it in full sentences.

This is just one recruiter’s preference and really depends on the context of the information you are being asked for elsewhere too.

But if the firm is telling you to use bullet points, I would generally go with that advice (if only for them).

 

[Lumree]

I’d only put it into bullet points if you can format the writing as such

• like you can do with this forum
• if you can’t format bullet points like this

Then I would put it in full sentences.

This is just one recruiter’s preference and really depends on the context of the information you are being asked for elsewhere too.

But if the firm is telling you to use bullet points, I would generally go with that advice (if only for them).

Thanks Jessica, it’s apply4law so I can put in bullet points but there is no option to indent like there is here on the forum. However, just for this firm, given their preference, I’m happy to put it into bullet points.

What do you think they meant by methodical? To me it means being explicit about what I did and what skills I gained in each bullet point

 

[Jessica Booker]

Thanks Jessica, it’s apply4law so I can put in bullet points but there is no option to indent like there is here on the forum. However, just for this firm, given their preference, I’m happy to put it into bullet points.

What do you think they meant by methodical? To me it means being explicit about what I did and what skills I gained in each bullet point

Just means you can prioritise bullet points. With prose you typically need more of an introduction/warm up to the meaty details

 

[MS2000]

Hi Jessica,

Is it the case that a CV cannot be say 1 1/2 pages, rather it either needs to be exactly 1 page or exactly 2?

Thank you

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica,

Is it the case that a CV cannot be say 1 1/2 pages, rather it either needs to be exactly 1 page or exactly 2?

Thank you

no - one of the worst myths out there.

would only be if it literally was just over a page and it looked odd, with just a couple of lines, then I’d say change it to fit on own page

 

[dollyparton]

Hi @Jessica Booker

On the Mishcon de Reya application form, there is a section entitled 'Questions' which has three typical application questions (why law/ why Mishcon / tell us about an issue you're passionate about). The next page is entitled 'Additional Information' and has one question:
Is there anything else you would like to add in support of your application? (300 words max)*

At first, I assumed this question was inviting applicants to talk more about themselves and the skills they can bring. However, I'm now wondering if this is actually for people to write about mitigating circumstances etc because it's not grouped with the rest of the questions (and is called 'additional information').

Do you have any thoughts on this?

Thanks in advance!

 

[nicole88]

Hi Jessica, I hope I find you well.

I have attended an open day at a particular firm and now I am trying to apply for a vac scheme. However, I am unsure how to answer the following question: "Have you previously applied to XXX for any position?"
Do I say "yes" and explain that I have applied for an open day or do I say "no" as an open day event is not really a position?

Thanks

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi @Jessica Booker

On the Mishcon de Reya application form, there is a section entitled 'Questions' which has three typical application questions (why law/ why Mishcon / tell us about an issue you're passionate about). The next page is entitled 'Additional Information' and has one question:
Is there anything else you would like to add in support of your application? (300 words max)*

At first, I assumed this question was inviting applicants to talk more about themselves and the skills they can bring. However, I'm now wondering if this is actually for people to write about mitigating circumstances etc because it's not grouped with the rest of the questions (and is called 'additional information').

Do you have any thoughts on this?

Thanks in advance!

Could be for either. It’s there for any additional information relevant to you and your application. That could include ext circs.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica, I hope I find you well.

I have attended an open day at a particular firm and now I am trying to apply for a vac scheme. However, I am unsure how to answer the following question: "Have you previously applied to XXX for any position?"
Do I say "yes" and explain that I have applied for an open day or do I say "no" as an open day event is not really a position?

Thanks

I would say yes, and that you applied for and attended the open day.

 

[dosblancos7]

Hi. I was offered a VS yesterday , and on call, I was told that I'd receive an email which had details of the scheme, and I had to accept the VS by Monday. They haven't yet emailed me, so i was wondering if I should chase them up? (I checked my junk too!). I did email them, though no response. Slightly worried(though probably irrational!)

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi. I was offered a VS yesterday , and on call, I was told that I'd receive an email which had details of the scheme, and I had to accept the VS by Monday. They haven't yet emailed me, so i was wondering if I should chase them up? (I checked my junk too!). I did email them, though no response. Slightly worried(though probably irrational!)

Just call them on Monday morning. They will be able to extend the deadline if you didn’t receive anything when you were supposed to.

Calling them at this time on a Friday is probably not ideal.