2020-21 Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion

[Dwight]

Anyone know how long they give to complete the WG test? Also, they send it via email link right?

 

[thirdtimelucky]

This is probably quite a vague question but what exactly are firms looking for in a video interview? In this case it’s 2 competency questions and a firm question

 

[WannabeSolicitor24]

The person heard back earlier today, the firm might have internally relaxed their rule which is interesting.

last year for the Vac scheme I got the WG 3 weeks before the deadline. If you read the website it says they don’t make final decisions until after the deadline ie don’t give out offers.

 

[Dwight]

last year for the Vac scheme I got the WG 3 weeks before the deadline. If you read the website it says they don’t make final decisions until after the deadline ie don’t give out offers.

Thanks for sharing. If you are happy to say, how long did they give you to complete the WG and did they send a link via an email or did you access the WG via the portal?

 

[AspiringLawyer112]

Reed Smith PFO. Don't know what went wrong with the SST, as I had felt that I had done well. Oh well, onto the next one!

Hi, sorry to hear this! What strengths did you get, if you don’t mind me asking?

 

[AspiringLawyer112]

Met the benchmark for Reed Smith's SST, just got an email from them with the 3 questions If anyone has any advice/insight it would be greatly appreciated!

congratulations! Sorry I am new to applying to Reed smith. Was this following the SST online test, when they give you the top 3 strengths? What did you get? How do they determine a benchmark from this test!

 

[Rob R]

Huge congrats! That's brilliant news Which firm if you don't mind me asking?

Latham.

 

[Dwight]

Guys does anyone know where I can find all the seats that a firm offers.

Also, does anyone know if BCLP offer a private equity seat. I am aware that they do a "funds and investment management" seat. Does this count as PE?

 

[bibss]

I second this. I don't believe any WG invites have been sent.

Just saw someone on the student room say they got an invite today.

That's what I was referring to. Good luck everyone!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Apologies Jessica, I’ve left it quite last minute as well. After submitting, I noticed my answer to that section was N/A, the system automatically transferred an application I submitted to them last year and this was my answer. Since then I have had achieved an award but forgot to put it on there - it was on my workshop application which was successful. Do you recommend I leave it as it is or edit and resubmit? I submitted about 30mins ago.

Edit it if you can after the deadline (might as well). Don’t resubmit a new application though (not that you will be able to now).

 

[Jessica Booker]

This is probably quite a vague question but what exactly are firms looking for in a video interview? In this case it’s 2 competency questions and a firm question

the only thing that will be consistent is clear and concise communication.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Guys does anyone know where I can find all the seats that a firm offers.

Also, does anyone know if BCLP offer a private equity seat. I am aware that they do a "funds and investment management" seat. Does this count as PE?

Doubt it would be considered PE as it is a different part of the finance industry

 

[Hele25]

I'm stuck in the lurch like others. Do you mind me asking if you were invited for an AC in the end?

I just sent them an email last night also and (hopefully), received the same response. GR responded this AM and said they hope to be back to everyone in the next week.
I can’t imagine how unbelievably busy they are, the reply was sent at 6:15am, in response to a 21:47 email from me last night.

 

[Jessica Booker]

I just sent them an email last night also and (hopefully), received the same response. GR responded this AM and said they hope to be back to everyone in the next week.
I can’t imagine how unbelievably busy they are, the reply was sent at 6:15am, in response to a 21:47 email from me last night.

a lot of people are working early or late because of home schooling during the day.

 

[AS2000]

Hi, sorry to hear this! What strengths did you get, if you don’t mind me asking?

I think I had drive, social adaptability and confidence as my top strengths on the test. I tried going for the competencies that RS lists on their website but it didn't pan out the way I wanted it to.

 

[Jessica Booker]

I think I had drive, social adaptability and confidence as my top strengths on the test. I tried going for the competencies that RS lists on their website but it didn't pan out the way I wanted it to.

My advice is to not “try” for competencies in strengths based assessments. This can actually cause contradictions in your responses which may negatively impact your test. Aiming for something that’s a “right” answer is really not the way to take these tests.

 

[AspiringLawyer112]

Has anyone applied for Reed Smith? I sent in the first application form on the 30th, but haven’t received the link to the SST yet. Was expecting the link to come through the next day. Should I contact them?

Hi, I sent mine on 24.12.20 and received a link yesterday. It may be worth emailing grad recruitment if you still haven’t received it

 

[MizM]

Not sure if I am early or late to the party with this one but, in the spirit of keeping everyone informed, a couple of days ago I received a WG invite from Hogan Lovells for their Summer VS

 

[syw]

Has anyone heard back post Video Interview for Bakers yet (Spring)? I haven't seen anyone say they've had a PFO or AC

 

[Dheepa]

Does anyone know what a mark-up exercise usually involves?

I have an assessment centre next week and they just sent me the schedule, which includes a “mark-up exercise” that wasn’t on their grad rec website, the AC invite email, or any past AC experiences on the forum, so I’m assuming it's a new addition to their assessment process. There’s no further information on what the exercise involves or what they’ll be looking for, just that it will be assessed verbally (telling the assessors what changes I made/errors I spotted).

I’ve never done a mark-up exercise before and I’m not really sure what to expect. Is it normally a legal document (like an NDA or transactional document) or non-legal document (like general articles or client emails)? Are they just looking for you to spot spelling mistakes and grammatical errors or would they also expect you to pick up on any inconsistencies in the document (for example, a clause in an NDA that contradicts what is set out earlier in the document)?

I’m completely lost here so if anyone has done one or has an idea of what they tend to involve, that would be super helpful. Any tips on ways to prep/practice would be great too!

Exactly as you said. Mark up exercises involve spotting inconsistencies, grammatical errors, punctuation errors, spelling mistakes and even mistakes in document formatting (wrong numbering, inconsistent bullet point styles etc.) Especially for spotting inconsistencies in the actual contents, being able to actually understand the document is pretty important. I don't know what kind of document you'll be given but to prepare for mine I looked through basic contract examples online just so I could familiarise myself with their general layout. Other than that there's not much you can do to prepare actually, my best advice is to work through the document systematically and not worry too much if you run out of time (my mark up exercise at a firm was really time pressured). Focus on spotting as many mistakes as you can on the pages you do get through rather than blindly trying to get to the end of the document.