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TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26
- Thread starter Ram Sabaratnam
- Start date
I’ve not applied to the firm before but surely if there’s no grades or WE it makes it a level playing field for all. It’s not based on grades or who has the most experience but who is the best at the tests or interviewing stage! I’d say it’s best imo as you would know why you were rejected (the assessments).
If a video interview is monitored to ensure it’s completed “independently and unaided”, is it generally acceptable to make brief notes from the question and my own ideas during the preparation/reading time (e.g. to structure my answer), provided the notes are made from memory and not from any external materials? The prep time is unlimited.
Firms with no application questions always like to brag about their application numbers!
And firms with automatic test invite 😭 if I knew there's no chance I'd not apply them
There is no VI attached to the SJT. You must pass the SJT before moving onto the VI
Hey guys I know this is quite late but I'm confused - I'm trying to figure out if the Autumn budget truly led to high tax rises? income tax didn't increase. there is fiscal drag but this affects individuals and high earners. from my understanding businesses are not affected significantly from the budget, with the only changes being to min wage, capital allowance relief and more compliance requirements. Would the dividends tax increase be problematic? I'm not sure what to make of this from a business POV. Would love some help!
It's double edge sword, recently the UK wants to mirror US whistleblower tax policy, the Parliament still consider it with a prospect to be enacted in 2026. The HMRC stated even though only high earners got the direct impact, it influences business. Many high earners work at big business even for SMBs, the owner or the head also can be HNWI. So, that can be challenging, we've seen that many people moved their residency to GCC such as Revolut CEO, even some move their corporate HQ elsewhere too.
The UK remains a hotspot for market segmentation for business and sourcing high talent, better than US due to their current lucrative immigration and income tax policy. I think that without whistleblower, it's perceived as negative as the HNWI tax isn't effective and unfriendly to business.
Hey!
I'm really sorry to hear about that situation - it's incredibly frustrating when things go wrong that are out of your control.
It's difficult to say either way, and I couldn't say whether an individual firm has a policy on adjusting outcomes for technical issues, even when they're genuine. That said, emailing them promptly and clearly explaining what happened was absolutely the right thing to do, and it means the issue is at least on record.
A weaker first answer doesn't automatically equal a PFO, especially if the rest of your interview was solid and they know you had technical issues to deal with. I'd say that the graduate recruitment team are generally aware that the VI interface isn't always intuitive, so they may have a policy in place for these situations.
At this stage, you've done everything you reasonably could. I'd try not to assume the worst based on one disrupted answer, and hopefully the strength of your preparation and later answers will carry more weight
Hey!
Generally, yes - making brief notes during the preparation / reading time is acceptable unless the firm explicitly says otherwise. In previous VIs, I have used the preparation time to structure my thoughts on paper, and I haven't ran into issues with this. "Independently and unaided" is usually aimed at preventing candidates from using external help (e.g. other people, pre-written scripts, websites, or AI), not at stopping you from jotting down a few structure points.
As long as the notes are made during the prep time, they're based only on the question and your own ideas, and you're not reading from a pre-prepared script or external materials, then this is typically fine and very common practice.
I would just make sure to check the specific VI instructions carefully - some platforms explicitly allow note-taking, while a few may ask you not to. If it's not prohibited, brief bullet-point notes for structure are generally understood and acceptable.
Best of luck with the VI!
Sorry if this has been covered, but I can't find information on the types of questions. Were any of the VI follow-up questions motivational? Or, strictly about the section/situational?
just completed the Ashurst test, it's like Latham's first stage test but much much longer (the personality slider thing and ordering ABCD based on what you would most likely do and least likely do). it has WG at the end similar difficulty to Latham's second stage WG, it's not split into different sections like Latham's test but you can go back to your previous answers. if you've done Latham's test i would say just go for it and do Ashurst's asap, don't waste time preparing for it it's really not needed in my opinion
This is such detailed, helpful advice. Thank you!
May I know where you found the practice test? Tried searching online but couldn't find a link
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