Linking back to vacation scheme in covering letter?

[theintellectualpropertygirl]

Currently writing a covering letter. I find myself every few sentences saying something like '...and I want to explore this during the scheme' or 'this is why I want to do the scheme'... Feels like I am repeating myself and wasting words but if I don't say it I feel a bit like I'm just listing a bunch of facts that don't really have a clear relevance to the application (even though it should be fairly easy to infer). Does anyone have any advice here? Should you keep linking back to the scheme? If so, is there a less boring way to do it? Thanks so much!

 

[Andrei Radu]

Currently writing a covering letter. I find myself every few sentences saying something like '...and I want to explore this during the scheme' or 'this is why I want to do the scheme'... Feels like I am repeating myself and wasting words but if I don't say it I feel a bit like I'm just listing a bunch of facts that don't really have a clear relevance to the application (even though it should be fairly easy to infer). Does anyone have any advice here? Should you keep linking back to the scheme? If so, is there a less boring way to do it? Thanks so much!

The way I see it, when discussing your interest in the firm in a cover letter, you do not need to explicitly link features of the firm you find attractive to opportunities you would have in the Vacation Scheme itself. Instead, what I ended up doing in my cover letters (and what I know quite a number of other successful candidates have done in theirs) was to simply express an interest in those features of the firm in and of themselves (eg. "I am applying to X firm because of its strengths in M&A and PE, as these are the practices I am most interested in."). Thus, we would talk from the perspective of a prospective trainee rather than that of a prospective vacation scheme attended.

To the extent any recruiter would expect the latter, I still think this would likely not be a major issue, as the link between there being a feature of the firm which makes it an attractive place for your TC and you wanting to explore it in the VS is a clear and obvious one. As such, recruiters would not generally expect you to waste word count by repeating the same line over and over again even when the meaning of your points would be clear without it.

 

[theintellectualpropertygirl]

The way I see it, when discussing your interest in the firm in a cover letter, you do not need to explicitly link features of the firm you find attractive to opportunities you would have in the Vacation Scheme itself. Instead, what I ended up doing in my cover letters (and what I know quite a number of other successful candidates have done in theirs) was to simply express an interest in those features of the firm in and of themselves (eg. "I am applying to X firm because of its strengths in M&A and PE, as these are the practices I am most interested in."). Thus, we would talk from the perspective of a prospective trainee rather than that of a prospective vacation scheme attended.

To the extent any recruiter would expect the latter, I still think this would likely not be a major issue, as the link between there being a feature of the firm which makes it an attractive place for your TC and you wanting to explore it in the VS is a clear and obvious one. As such, recruiters would not generally expect you to waste word count by repeating the same line over and over again even when the meaning of your points would be clear without it.

Thank you!!

 

[RasAlGhul]

Currently writing a covering letter. I find myself every few sentences saying something like '...and I want to explore this during the scheme' or 'this is why I want to do the scheme'... Feels like I am repeating myself and wasting words but if I don't say it I feel a bit like I'm just listing a bunch of facts that don't really have a clear relevance to the application (even though it should be fairly easy to infer). Does anyone have any advice here? Should you keep linking back to the scheme? If so, is there a less boring way to do it? Thanks so much!

This is a really common concern and you’re not wrong to be thinking about it. For what it’s worth, this is exactly the feedback I’ve had from different grad rec teams when I’ve asked them this question directly.

The consistent message has been "You don’t need to keep explicitly linking every sentence back to “the scheme”.
Grad rec can infer relevance if your structure is clear and your examples are well chosen.

What they’ve said they don’t want is:

Candidates repeatedly saying “this is why I want to do the scheme”
Over-signposting motivation at the expense of substance
Paragraphs that feel padded just to make the link explicit

Instead, the advice I’ve been given is to anchor your motivation clearly once, then let the rest of the letter evidence it.

A typical, strong structure (again, straight from grad rec feedback) is:

Opening paragraph: clearly why this firm / this scheme
Middle paragraphs: experiences, interests, reflection
(the relevance should be obvious from what you’re choosing to include)
Closing paragraph: pull it back to the scheme and the kind of trainee you want to be

Because they’re reading at volume, they don’t need you to keep reminding them why you’re telling them something, they’re already reading it in that context.

Grad rec teams have also said they prefer candidates to link via outcomes and skills, not by naming the scheme over and over. For example:

• “This reinforced my interest in developing X in a trainee role”
• “I’m keen to build on this in a structured training environment”
• “This experience shaped how I think about working with clients”

Best of luck!

 

[LauraWhite0502]

There's a couple of different ways you can make a link between your experience and why you're making an application, but I think perhaps finding this difficult is an indication of the fact you might need to be considering the structure of your cover letter a little more deeply.

Broadly, in a cover letter you're looking to answer three questions:
- Why you're interested in a career as a commercial solicitor;
- Why you want to be a commercial solicitor at the firm you're applying to; and
- Why you have the skillset to be an excellent solicitor.

So, as a starting point, I'd reflect on each of the experiences/personal attributes you're including in your cover letter and consider which of the above questions each is answering.

Then the phrases you use to connect your experience to why you're applying can flow from these three questions. For example, if an experience demonstrates why you're interested in becoming a commercial solicitor, you could say things like, 'gives me confidence that being a solicitor is the career I would find most interesting and personally fulfilling' and 'means I am excited by x aspect of being a solicitor'.

Similarly, if an experience is a good example of why you specifically would like to be a commercial solicitor at the firm you're applying to: 'this demonstrated to me the importance of [value of the firm], which is why I am particularly drawn to [firm name]', or 'it made me enthusiastic about training at a firm where [something specific about the way the firm structures its TC]' or 'means I am sure a firm with a strong [practice area the firm is known for] is somewhere I would be excited to work'.