Sidley Vac Scheme interview

[reedyboy]

Hey guys,

I have an interview with Sidley next week and thought it would be good to hear from people about their experiences.

I get the impression it is much more of a conversational interview and unlikely to be a set menu of questions, but just wondering if anyone has been interviewed here before and could elaborate on the process.

Any general tips for interviews would also be appreciated!

 

[Manifesting]

Omg!!!! Congrats!!! Is this for their Winter Vacation Scheme?

Sidley is exhibiting on AllAboutLaw's virtual law fair this week. They have a panel on Wednesday that specifically addresses the vacation scheme application and interview process, as well as a few Q&A sessions. So if your interview is later in the week, those panels could be helpful.

Otherwise, going through TCLA's 260+ Training Contract Interview Questions can be really helpful.

 

[reedyboy]

Thanks so much! Was really happy to recieve the email. Yeah for the Winter Scheme.

haha that is so unfortunate, my interview is on the Wednesday morning. I'll have to watch it after, still a really good resource.

Those are great I will make sure to go through them. Thanks so much.
Good luck with all of your applications!

 

[Manifesting]

Good luck!!!!

I also applied for that scheme but I still haven't heard back. I saw some rejections on the main "hearing back" thread, so I suppose no response at this stage could be a good sign. But who knows.

Also, making sure you have seen these to help you prepare:

https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/forum/threads/sidley-austin-interview.133/#post-9561

https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/forum/threads/sidley-austin-vac-interview.1856/#post-16427

https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/forum/threads/sidley-austin-vacation-scheme-2018.196/

When writing my applications, I listened to Sidley's podcast, which I have found insightful. Although the application had no questions to address "why Sidley", knowing that I was still doing research really helped boost my confidence levels when applying.

 

[pinnip]

Thanks so much! Was really happy to recieve the email. Yeah for the Winter Scheme.

haha that is so unfortunate, my interview is on the Wednesday morning. I'll have to watch it after, still a really good resource.

Those are great I will make sure to go through them. Thanks so much.
Good luck with all of your applications!

How did it go?
Any idea how long they take to get back after the interview?

 

[33c]

How did it go?
Any idea how long they take to get back after the interview? I have one soon

Congrats on the interview! Can I ask when you applied and heard back?

 

[reedyboy]

Good luck!!!!

I also applied for that scheme but I still haven't heard back. I saw some rejections on the main "hearing back" thread, so I suppose no response at this stage could be a good sign. But who knows.

Also, making sure you have seen these to help you prepare:

https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/forum/threads/sidley-austin-interview.133/#post-9561

https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/forum/threads/sidley-austin-vac-interview.1856/#post-16427

https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/forum/threads/sidley-austin-vacation-scheme-2018.196/

When writing my applications, I listened to Sidley's podcast, which I have found insightful. Although the application had no questions to address "why Sidley", knowing that I was still doing research really helped boost my confidence levels when applying.

Exactly! hope you hear back soon, your tips were really useful in my preparation.

 

[reedyboy]

How did it go?
Any idea how long they take to get back after the interview? I have one soon

Haven't heard back yet so not sure how it went! But it was an enjoyable interview, the Partner was really friendly and we had a great conversation. It is definitely a less structured format than other interviews, but I found that this worked really well. I was able to learn a lot about the firm but also just enjoy the process.

We spoke a lot about my educational background (non-law) and went through parts of my application, there is definitely a focus on the commercial awareness question.

The article review mainly involved talking about the commercial and legal implications of the article, I would say when they email it over, try not to panic and just try to prepare some talking points, it is best to have a personal view on the article and an awareness of the bigger implications.

They also send over a bio of your interviewer 15 minutes before (along with the article), I think this is a really good way to do it as I had more personalised questions and learnt more about one of the firm's practices.

The Partner said that it would take about a week or so, so hoping to hear back at some point this week.

Hope this was helpful and good luck with your interview!

 

[Manifesting]

Exactly! hope you hear back soon, your tips were really useful in my preparation.

I'm so glad to hear that and I hope you receive positive news next week!

Unfortunately, I have not yet heard back. I still have my fingers crossed though!

One of my biggest application regrets is that I didn't include links to Sidley in some of the questions on the application form where I feasibly could have. Part of me felt that I should but I had also read advice suggesting that it was important to stick to what the questions explicitly asked for and not what I wished they had. During a law fair, Sidley GR emphasised that successful applicants will have made an effort to tailor their application form and shown why they are interested in firm. Interestingly at the same law fair, a different firm explicitly mentioned not to cover points beyond what their prompt asks for.

 

[pinnip]

Got an offer for their Winter Vac Scheme... very happy

 

[reedyboy]

Got an offer for their Winter Vac Scheme... very happy

Congrats thats great news. I heard back from them today and got an offer too, so exciting!