Ask A Graduate Recruiter Anything!

[NCLaw]

Hi Jessica, there is a full question on a vac scheme application (along with just one other) which asks to list any awards, prizes etc that I have won (not including my degree) and number them 1-5. Do you think this means I have to actually list 5 awards/prizes?

I genuinely don't think I have been awarded this many times, does this mean I just shouldn't apply?! (I may well be overthinking here)

 

[B1806]

Hi @Jessica Booker, thanks for taking the time to answer all of these questions!

I have an assessment centre coming up with Freshfields on the 16th of November and I was just wondering what your general advice would be in terms of preparing for the interview (both the competency/motivation one and the analytical commercial one). Are the questions typically asked in these interviews always the same (i.e. the ones I can find on Glassdoor) or do they often come up with unique "gotcha" questions?

Also, I got fast-tracked to the assessment through their spring scheme and they're asking for a "statement of update" which is formatted in a really similar way as the general cover letter/personal statement they ask for in a regular application. Should I work really hard on it (like I did for the original personal statement) or just focus on talking about everything I've done since I initially applied without going much deeper? I suppose what I'm really asking is whether the statement of update is treated the same as any other cover letter (i.e. they assess whether it's very well written and highlights my skills effectively) or whether it's just to let them know what I've been doing and they'll just sort of use it to ask me about my experiences at the interview.

Thanks!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi @Jessica Booker, thanks for taking the time to answer all of these questions!

I have an assessment centre coming up with Freshfields on the 16th of November and I was just wondering what your general advice would be in terms of preparing for the interview (both the competency/motivation one and the analytical commercial one). Are the questions typically asked in these interviews always the same (i.e. the ones I can find on Glassdoor) or do they often come up with unique "gotcha" questions?

Also, I got fast-tracked to the assessment through their spring scheme and they're asking for a "statement of update" which is formatted in a really similar way as the general cover letter/personal statement they ask for in a regular application. Should I work really hard on it (like I did for the original personal statement) or just focus on talking about everything I've done since I initially applied without going much deeper? I suppose what I'm really asking is whether the statement of update is treated the same as any other cover letter (i.e. they assess whether it's very well written and highlights my skills effectively) or whether it's just to let them know what I've been doing and they'll just sort of use it to ask me about my experiences at the interview.

Thanks!

@Alice G is probably the best person to speak to about this as she has come through the process fairly recently.

From my experience though, questions are unlikely to be the same. When I was there the questions were much more tailored to you and what you had put in your application.

Your statement of update will be given to your assessors - it will be one of their first impressions of you. So you should approach it like a normal application, you are just fortunate it only needs to focus on what has happened/changed/developed since your Spring application.

 

[HCY]

Hi Jessica! Thank you for taking the time to answer all of our questions.

I’m not sure if this has come up before but I just found out I made a silly mistake on the work experience section for one of my applications. I typed in the year 2020 instead of 2017 which is when I had that experience. I’m assuming I’ve lost all chances? This was for the summer vac scheme at A&O, I applied really early, back in mid-September as I thought I had a good chance.

Do you think it’s too late to withdraw and change that small error then reapply? The firm mentioned they haven’t started screening yet so I’m not sure if they would notice this.

I’m really really disappointed in myself and quite frankly embarrassed. I guess I just have to move on now.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica, there is a full question on a vac scheme application (along with just one other) which asks to list any awards, prizes etc that I have won (not including my degree) and number them 1-5. Do you think this means I have to actually list 5 awards/prizes?

I genuinely don't think I have been awarded this many times, does this mean I just shouldn't apply?! (I may well be overthinking here)

No - you don’t have to list five.

It shouldn’t stop you from applying though - it’s just a limit they have put in place, like some firms limit the number of work experience entries. It doesn’t mean you need that many, just that you can only including up to that many.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica! Thank you for taking the time to answer all of our questions.

I’m not sure if this has come up before but I just found out I made a silly mistake on the work experience section for one of my applications. I typed in the year 2020 instead of 2017 which is when I had that experience. I’m assuming I’ve lost all chances? This was for the summer vac scheme at A&O, I applied really early, back in mid-September as I thought I had a good chance.

Do you think it’s too late to withdraw and change that small error then reapply? The firm mentioned they haven’t started screening yet so I’m not sure if they would notice this.

I’m really really disappointed in myself and quite frankly embarrassed. I guess I just have to move on now.

It’s unlikely the firm will allow you to withdraw and reapply, that just messes up their system.

The firm is unlikely to realise it is an error - they won’t know the dates you worked, so will just take it as 2020 (unless you put it as 2017-2020).

If you are invited to interview, you should explain the error when you revive the invitation.

 

[HCY]

It’s unlikely the firm will allow you to withdraw and reapply, that just messes up their system.

The firm is unlikely to realise it is an error - they won’t know the dates you worked, so will just take it as 2020 (unless you put it as 2017-2020).

If you are invited to interview, you should explain the error when you revive the invitation.

Thank you so much for getting back to me Jessica. I was very tempted to withdraw, so I definitely won’t now! Thank you very much again for the advice.

My only worry is I placed the experience in the right chronological order but just put the wrong year, I think they might notice it then?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Thank you so much for getting back to me Jessica. I was very tempted to withdraw, so I definitely won’t now! Thank you very much again for the advice.

My only worry is I placed the experience in the right chronological order but just put the wrong year, I think they might notice it then?

They might - but withdrawing and reapplying isn’t really solving the problem. They are far more likely to notice to duplicate application.

 

[HCY]

They might - but withdrawing and reapplying isn’t really solving the problem. They are far more likely to notice to duplicate application.

Yes, that makes sense. Thank you very much!

 

[Dwight]

Please give details of your extra-curricular activities, and any prizes, scholarships, positions of responsibility, or noteworthy achievements that will support your application. (max. 250 words)

This is one of the questions for the Latham & Watkins Vacation Scheme. Am I allowed to use bullet points?

 

[Manifesting]

Please give details of your extra-curricular activities, and any prizes, scholarships, positions of responsibility, or noteworthy achievements that will support your application. (max. 250 words)

This is one of the questions for the Latham & Watkins Vacation Scheme. Am I allowed to use bullet points?

Back in Legal Check’s October virtual law fair, a member of Latham’s graduate recruitment mentioned that applicants were allowed to use bullet points in that question of the application. They also suggested that when generally formatting answers (whether using bullet points or not), applicants make the logic and structure of our writing as easy to see through as possible.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Please give details of your extra-curricular activities, and any prizes, scholarships, positions of responsibility, or noteworthy achievements that will support your application. (max. 250 words)

This is one of the questions for the Latham & Watkins Vacation Scheme. Am I allowed to use bullet points?

Sounds like it based on the response above. I would wonder whether all bullet points is appropriate though. It might be for the prizes/scholarships parts, but that you use sentences/paragraphs to describe the PoR and achievements.

 

[AS858]

Hi Jessica,

I'm answering a question on a "recent" commercial event/story that attracted my attention.

How far back would be appropriate? I would like to write about a regulatory change in m&a from June this year

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica,

I'm answering a question on a "recent" commercial event/story that attracted my attention.

How far back would be appropriate? I would like to write about a regulatory change in m&a from June this year

That’s recent - typically I say anything that’s happened in the last 12 months or so is fine. Sometimes certain things in law/business don’t happen at speed and so can take time to happen.

 

[33c]

Hi Jessica,

I received an email from graduate recruitment team at a firm I applied for a vac scheme at. She let me know that they were collecting a reference before reviewing my application for interview and that ASAP was best as they recruit rolling. The referee I provided is on research leave (I didn't know that at the time of applying) and said he will be slow to get back. I contacted grad rec and they said its fine to provide a new one. However, I'm not sure I have another academic reference. Can I select someone from my Masters programme which I am doing currently (they have no insight into my previous grades) or try and find someone else at the central office at my undergrad university?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica,

I received an email from graduate recruitment team at a firm I applied for a vac scheme at. She let me know that they were collecting a reference before reviewing my application for interview and that ASAP was best as they recruit rolling. The referee I provided is on research leave (I didn't know that at the time of applying) and said he will be slow to get back. I contacted grad rec and they said its fine to provide a new one. However, I'm not sure I have another academic reference. Can I select someone from my Masters programme which I am doing currently (they have no insight into my previous grades) or try and find someone else at the central office at my undergrad university?

just get someone from the central office at your undergrad university. They will just need to confirm your grades more than anything. I would contact your undergrad office though and ensure you have the best email address/contact number for them.

 

[33c]

just get someone from the central office at your undergrad university. They will just need to confirm your grades more than anything. I would contact your undergrad office though and ensure you have the best email address/contact number for them.

Thank you Jessica!

 

[Alice G]

Hi @Jessica Booker, thanks for taking the time to answer all of these questions!

I have an assessment centre coming up with Freshfields on the 16th of November and I was just wondering what your general advice would be in terms of preparing for the interview (both the competency/motivation one and the analytical commercial one). Are the questions typically asked in these interviews always the same (i.e. the ones I can find on Glassdoor) or do they often come up with unique "gotcha" questions?

Also, I got fast-tracked to the assessment through their spring scheme and they're asking for a "statement of update" which is formatted in a really similar way as the general cover letter/personal statement they ask for in a regular application. Should I work really hard on it (like I did for the original personal statement) or just focus on talking about everything I've done since I initially applied without going much deeper? I suppose what I'm really asking is whether the statement of update is treated the same as any other cover letter (i.e. they assess whether it's very well written and highlights my skills effectively) or whether it's just to let them know what I've been doing and they'll just sort of use it to ask me about my experiences at the interview.

Thanks!

Hi there,

The first thing I will say is Freshfields are not seeking to catch you out in their process, the personal interview really is a chance to just get to know you better as a person. The people who interviewed me were absolutely lovely and they were asking questions which were quite competency based but I found they might pick up on something I had said and just ask me about it a little further, purely out of curiosity - not to catch me off guard. It is a really pleasant experience so just focus on preparing competencies, having your examples to hand with the STAR technique and you will be well prepared.

Commercial interview wise, it is hard to prepare for really. The best thing I did was printing a few articles a day, annotating them, and considering the commercial challenges, issues, opportunities and implications I could think of and researching around this to bolster my general commercial knowledge. Also, always prepare a summary of the article you get (two sentences approximately) and have an idea of what the journalist is arguing or what their point of view is. Try to form your own opinions and arguments too where you can. I found the time given was actually quite lenient so just take your time and really do your best. You can always ask to have a moment in the interview too if you need to re-read a section or give something a bit more thought. I also really enjoyed this interview - it felt very conversational and it was a great opportunity to discuss some really interesting commercial points.

I have no experience with the fast-track system so sadly I cannot comment on the statement of update but I imagine they will just want to know of any grades you have received in the interim period and any work experiences/virtual opportunities etc you have been able to do.

 

[Giles]

Hi @Jessica Booker I am hoping to get some further guidance regarding reapplying.

I appreciate that the guidance is to not submit the same application, however I am wondering to what extent the new application needs to be different from the original? I have just been rejected from a winter scheme, however the firm has recommended that I reapply for their Spring/Summer schemes, which applications are currently open for.

Could answers be of the same substance but just worded/structured differently? Or should answers be rewritten entirely and the substance changed so that I am talking about something fundamentally different?

I understand that this decision would have to take into account whether the original answer was a relevant/"good" answer in the first place and should be fundamentally changed anyway. But in general what would the advice be?

Hope this is clear. Any guidance would be appreciated

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi @Jessica Booker I am hoping to get some further guidance regarding reapplying.

I appreciate that the guidance is to not submit the same application, however I am wondering to what extent the new application needs to be different from the original? I have just been rejected from a winter scheme, however the firm has recommended that I reapply for their Spring/Summer schemes, which applications are currently open for.

Could answers be of the same substance but just worded/structured differently? Or should answers be rewritten entirely and the substance changed so that I am talking about something fundamentally different?

I understand that this decision would have to take into account whether the original answer was a relevant/"good" answer in the first place and should be fundamentally changed anyway. But in general what would the advice be?

Hope this is clear. Any guidance would be appreciated

That is slightly different - you are applying basically within a very short time and within the same cycle.

Development of applications is really if you are applying in a different recruitment cycle (eg different academic year) or many months apart.

I’d still critically evaluate your application though. I bet with a fresh pair of eyes you may realise you could word something better or that you have learnt something from recent events/reading etc.