2020-21 Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion
- Thread starter Jaysen
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Do it on a phone! I think it works a lot better that way as you need to react quickly in some tasks
Me too 😞
I am just waiting for my PFO from TW at this rate, its been months
Who else is in this same position of checking emails/ getting impatient with hearing back from firms but at the same time feeling hopeful as no rejections yet either?
Yep today! On an earlier email they said they would people 'on or around 2nd Feb'
Dheepa
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Competency interviews were the thing I hated the most. I really struggled thinking of experiences and situations because when you're actually carrying out the role, you do things that need to be done pretty instinctively and I don't think anyone ever stops to think "Wow I'm demonstrating adaptability here" which is what makes thinking about examples retrospectively so difficult too.
1. I'd recommend listing every single thing you've ever done. As someone else has already said, include your personal achievements too and don't feel the need to stick to purely professional/typical uni related examples. The former examples tend to be more memorable and also will come across as more genuine in what is otherwise a heavily scripted interview.
2. Instinctively write down what actions spring to mind when you think of things like teamwork, or time management. For me, when I think of time management, I think of my friend who writes every single thing down in her planner, sets reminders in her phone and never accepts even a social invite without first saying she needs to check her schedule. That's just the first thing that comes to mind but it gives me a good idea of times when I've had to very meticulous and systematic about all the different tasks I'm juggling. When I've had to break down things into chunks, think carefully about what I need to work through first, make lists and work accordingly. It's easier to see other people demonstrate these qualities than to objectively size your own work ethic up. So working backwards like this and seeing if you've done similar things might help.
3. Don't feel like you only need to talk about huge events that happened with your experiences. They can be smaller day to day examples. I drew so many examples from my part time job in retail even though I was nothing more than just an entry level shop floor staff. I clearly wasn't managing a huge team or leading anything really but my smaller examples of how I demonstrated certain skills always went down well anyway!
I hope that helps! If you want to bounce some ideas around for any competency in particular let me know!
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Not too bad! There are around 9 levels and each one you do a different task, some require more thinking and others are just fast reaction times
I found it really nice and easy on my laptop because the screen was a lot bigger, which I personally thought made it easier for me to focus. With the tasks requiring a faster reaction speed, the game instructs you to press certain keys, which I found easier than pressing on my phone because I could physically feel the keys (I'm not sure if this makes sense, it just meant that I could rest my fingers on them instead of being less steady with my fingers in the air and pre-empting certain answers). I had to actually switch from my phone to my computer after the first task because it kept registering that I had pressed the wrong thing, which meant I scored near zero.How did you find them?
Dechert VI invitation! Does anyone have any tips they could share please?
I’ve done a similar test for another firm and they had a non-verbal reasoning section, do TW have this section too?
Ok everyone now that *almost* all apps are in, I am very interested in which application system is everyone's favourite... I have listed my (strong) preferences below, but am interested in hearing other people's thoughts! React to the post using the symbols next to each to show your preference - they should simply be in order of which symbol comes up first when you hover over the 'Like' button.
👍 1. Direct E-mail (Cover Letter/Application Form and CV by e-mail, used by firms like S&C and Winston & Strawn - This was the easiest by far but I'm not sure how they are able to get away without asking you to approve all the privacy statements and give diversity information??)
👎2. Apply4Law (probably the most common?- This is my favourite other than the direct e-mail apps. When I first filled in all my details on Apply4Law it took me like three hours and I thought it was a massive nightmare, and a huge negative about the system is that it does not automatically fill your details and work experience on subsequent applications. It does provide a drop-down list of what you have filled in before though, so that is a positive, and I got a rhythm down where I would copy and paste from a previous app and I could complete everything but for the written answers within 15-20 mins. The reason I like it is that it is very clear and there are no weird formatting issues)
😍3. cvMail (close second for how common it is?- Probably also my next favourite. There is something I don't like about cvMail, however, including the fact it has crashed on me many times. I like the fact that it automatically fills your details in, but does anyone else find that strangely deletes spaces in your written answers? Plus there is nowhere really to get a sense of whether your app has been updated, or even to look at your app online after you have submitted it? I find firms have different number of slots for work experience each time which also bothers me - at least with Apply4Law you can choose how many slots you need)
🤣4. Linklaters - They had their own system which I thought was fairly accessible, but a slightly unusual process.
😲5. Slaughter and May - Am I right in thinking they had their own system? I though it was fine.
🙁6. Taleo (CC, DLA Piper, Freshfields, probably others I have forgotten - also fine, seemed a bit outdated though).
😡7. Rare CRS (Willkie - I think it is great, but for the fact that only one firm uses it. It means I had to fill in everything from scratch just for one firm, which is not great. Also its strangely re-orders what you have previously filled in if you go back to it)
✅8. Brassring (A&O, HSF, probably others - pretty bad. What kind of application system doesn't allow you to go back and review what you have filled in previously? It would save my applications and allow me to continue them later, which made me think I could leave my education details to fill in at the end... but no, I had to start a new app from scratch! The worst was when A&O Middle East told me the projected time for filling in the application was '10 - 15 minutes' and I saw on the first page that they asked for a Cover Letter and CV, I assumed that these were the only requirement. I may have left my application until close to the deadline after labouring over my cover letter and CV, only to find that once I uploaded them, there were seven further short-answer (250 words) questions that I had to rush off).
❌9. viDesktop (used by firms like Cleary Gottlieb and Vinson & Elkins - it doesn't even remember you if your browser times out! For Vinson & Elkins, where there were written-answer questions that required you to put a '//' to separate paragraphs and where non-letter symbols mysteriously transfigured into code, I thought that there were absolutely no redeeming qualities)
Let me know if I have forgotten any!
👍 1. Direct E-mail (Cover Letter/Application Form and CV by e-mail, used by firms like S&C and Winston & Strawn - This was the easiest by far but I'm not sure how they are able to get away without asking you to approve all the privacy statements and give diversity information??)
👎2. Apply4Law (probably the most common?- This is my favourite other than the direct e-mail apps. When I first filled in all my details on Apply4Law it took me like three hours and I thought it was a massive nightmare, and a huge negative about the system is that it does not automatically fill your details and work experience on subsequent applications. It does provide a drop-down list of what you have filled in before though, so that is a positive, and I got a rhythm down where I would copy and paste from a previous app and I could complete everything but for the written answers within 15-20 mins. The reason I like it is that it is very clear and there are no weird formatting issues)
😍3. cvMail (close second for how common it is?- Probably also my next favourite. There is something I don't like about cvMail, however, including the fact it has crashed on me many times. I like the fact that it automatically fills your details in, but does anyone else find that strangely deletes spaces in your written answers? Plus there is nowhere really to get a sense of whether your app has been updated, or even to look at your app online after you have submitted it? I find firms have different number of slots for work experience each time which also bothers me - at least with Apply4Law you can choose how many slots you need)
🤣4. Linklaters - They had their own system which I thought was fairly accessible, but a slightly unusual process.
😲5. Slaughter and May - Am I right in thinking they had their own system? I though it was fine.
🙁6. Taleo (CC, DLA Piper, Freshfields, probably others I have forgotten - also fine, seemed a bit outdated though).
😡7. Rare CRS (Willkie - I think it is great, but for the fact that only one firm uses it. It means I had to fill in everything from scratch just for one firm, which is not great. Also its strangely re-orders what you have previously filled in if you go back to it)
✅8. Brassring (A&O, HSF, probably others - pretty bad. What kind of application system doesn't allow you to go back and review what you have filled in previously? It would save my applications and allow me to continue them later, which made me think I could leave my education details to fill in at the end... but no, I had to start a new app from scratch! The worst was when A&O Middle East told me the projected time for filling in the application was '10 - 15 minutes' and I saw on the first page that they asked for a Cover Letter and CV, I assumed that these were the only requirement. I may have left my application until close to the deadline after labouring over my cover letter and CV, only to find that once I uploaded them, there were seven further short-answer (250 words) questions that I had to rush off).
❌9. viDesktop (used by firms like Cleary Gottlieb and Vinson & Elkins - it doesn't even remember you if your browser times out! For Vinson & Elkins, where there were written-answer questions that required you to put a '//' to separate paragraphs and where non-letter symbols mysteriously transfigured into code, I thought that there were absolutely no redeeming qualities)
Let me know if I have forgotten any!
Dheepa
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Junior Lawyer 43
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The time and effort that has gone into this review, love it!
I did the PwC test and TW both two weeks ago and TW did not have the numerical reasoning with the shapes etc but PwC did. The last level for TW is that stupid safe unlocking game haha
I feel lost for what to do now that applications are over...
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