a confused law student's TC journey :)

[confusedlawstudent]

Over 2 years later and I'm back!! I had a nice 2 years just settling into London, building my life here outside of my career, and now I'm ready to continue my journey towards a TC

 

[confusedlawstudent]

I've been working as a paralegal for the past 2 years, although not in a commercial law firm, so my current plan is to get a paralegal job in a commercial law firm, and when TC applications open, I will focus on that

 

[Abbie Whitlock]

Over 2 years later and I'm back!! I had a nice 2 years just settling into London, building my life here outside of my career, and now I'm ready to continue my journey towards a TC

Welcome back!!

It sounds like you have had a really productive couple of years! two years of paralegal experience is a great foundation, even if it hasn't been at a commercial firm, and I'm sure you'll have developed plenty of transferable skills that will strengthen your applications.

I also think your plan makes a lot of sense - if you can secure a commercial paralegal role before applications open, that is great, but I wouldn't feel like it is a prerequisite for applying. Plenty of people secure TCs from non-commercial legal backgrounds - the key part is being able to articulate the skills you have developed and demonstrate a genuine understanding and interest in commercial law.

Best of luck with both the job search and the upcoming application cycle. Wishing you every success this time around, and I look forward to following along!

 

[confusedlawstudent]

Welcome back!!

It sounds like you have had a really productive couple of years! two years of paralegal experience is a great foundation, even if it hasn't been at a commercial firm, and I'm sure you'll have developed plenty of transferable skills that will strengthen your applications.

I also think your plan makes a lot of sense - if you can secure a commercial paralegal role before applications open, that is great, but I wouldn't feel like it is a prerequisite for applying. Plenty of people secure TCs from non-commercial legal backgrounds - the key part is being able to articulate the skills you have developed and demonstrate a genuine understanding and interest in commercial law.

Best of luck with both the job search and the upcoming application cycle. Wishing you every success this time around, and I look forward to following along!

Thank you Abbie!

 

[confusedlawstudent]

Got past the Hogan Lovells Cadwalader initial assessment, and now preparing for their Job Simulation Assessment which I need to do tomorrow

Initial assessment was fine, involved critical thinking tests and personality questions.

 

[confusedlawstudent]

Just did the HLC Job Simulation Assessment...the video interview part was really rough for me. Was not expecting the questions. For the last question I froze for 30 seconds before being able to speak lol. Expecting a quick PFO onto the next

 

[Minhee]

Just did the HLC Job Simulation Assessment...the video interview part was really rough for me. Was not expecting the questions. For the last question I froze for 30 seconds before being able to speak lol. Expecting a quick PFO onto the next

I'm sorry to hear that! I found VIs quite nerve-wracking and uncomfortable too, so completely understandable I also had a moment where I froze midway through one, but I found that taking a breath, pausing, and saying sorry about that or to re-phrase / re-visit what I was saying earlier helped me get through them (I actually still managed to progress through that one, even though it felt like a trainwreck at the time).

If you have to do a VI again, it may be worth practicing on one of those Prep Hubs or even just on PhotoBooth - you can use any generic competency / motivational / situation-based etc. practice question. Just familiarising with the format can be helpful!

I also found it useful to have a clear structure going in.

If the Q was situational, I would start with summarising my understanding of the situation / problem (also to remind myself of what I am answering), then my first step... (with justification / explanation of why I would do this)... my second step...

For competency Qs, I would use STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) and for motivational, there are 2 - 3 main reasons why I want to go into commercial law / why I am applying to this firm. Firstly... secondly...

You probably are already well aware and experienced with all of this, but thought I would put it out there anyway And worst comes to worst, you can always just go for firms that don't do VIs! You have the right attitude anyways - best of luck with your other apps!