Ask A Graduate Recruiter Anything!

[Jessica Booker]

Hello @Jessica Booker hope you are doing well. Could you please tell me if it's okay to copy work experiences from one app to another or is there some rule that even the work experience has to be tailored to the firm or the competencies that it looks for in its trainees?

Thank you.

You can copy and paste. But I’d think about tailoring to the firm.

For instance, if you did a vac scheme and sat across two departments, you may play up one department than the other depending on if it aligns with the firm you are applying to.

With a firm that looks for leaders rather than collaborators, you’d probably dial up leadership experience for one but not the other.

This isn’t always necessary as obviously a lot of things transfer across firms, but I would at least invest the time in thinking about whether it should be more tailored, alongside the importance of the application to you and the time you have.

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

You can copy and paste. But I’d think about tailoring to the firm.

For instance, if you did a vac scheme and sat across two departments, you may play up one department than the other depending on if it aligns with the firm you are applying to.

With a firm that looks for leaders rather than collaborators, you’d probably dial up leadership experience for one but not the other.

This isn’t always necessary as obviously a lot of things transfer across firms, but I would at least invest the time in thinking about whether it should be more tailored, alongside the importance of the application to you and the time you have.

Thank you so much for your answer Ma'am.

 

[Staples]

Hi @Jessica Booker sorry if this has been answered before, but I’ve already accepted a VS offer from firm X, and I’m applying for direct TC at firm Y, which is fairly similar to X (similar size, practice areas etc).
Can/should I mention my future VS at X in the ‘work experience’ section on the application form for firm Y? Or is this unacceptable because the VS hasn’t actually taken place yet?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi @Jessica Booker sorry if this has been answered before, but I’ve already accepted a VS offer from firm X, and I’m applying for direct TC at firm Y, which is fairly similar to X (similar size, practice areas etc).
Can/should I mention my future VS at X in the ‘work experience’ section on the application form for firm Y? Or is this unacceptable because the VS hasn’t actually taken place yet?

Yes, you should mention it. You just can’t really describe it beyond the dates, and if you have been already allocated to a department

 

[liverpoollawyer]

Hi @Jessica Booker hope you’re well!

I am prepping for a strengths-based interview and am not sure how to approach the following question: Describe a successful day. What made it successful?
I feel like my mind has gone completely blank and I’m not too sure what it is they’d be looking for with this one?

Any advice/pointers would be really appreciated

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi @Jessica Booker hope you’re well!

I am prepping for a strengths-based interview and am not sure how to approach the following question: Describe a successful day. What made it successful?
I feel like my mind has gone completely blank and I’m not too sure what it is they’d be looking for with this one?

Any advice/pointers would be really appreciated

People have different opinions on what success means, and this question is just trying to get to grips with how you define success.

For one person, it might be ensuring their to do list is complete.

For the next person, it might be getting positive feedback on a piece of work.

For the next person, it might be winning an award.

For the next person it could be achieving a specific goal or target

For the next person it could be your own self development or learning

For the next, it could be working in a team to successfully complete something.

For the next it could be independently delivering work to a high standard.

So think about how you define success first. Then think of the best example of how you have shown that success. Then talk about how that process made you feel.

 

[liverpoollawyer]

People have different opinions on what success means, and this question is just trying to get to grips with how you define success.

For one person, it might be ensuring their to do list is complete.

For the next person, it might be getting positive feedback on a piece of work.

For the next person, it might be winning an award.

For the next person it could be achieving a specific goal or target

For the next person it could be your own self development or learning

For the next, it could be working in a team to successfully complete something.

For the next it could be independently delivering work to a high standard.

So think about how you define success first. Then think of the best example of how you have shown that success. Then talk about how that process made you feel.

This is really interesting thank you! I think I was definitely over complicating it

 

[j2134]

Hi Jessica,

Do law firms tend to care which year (our of the two before your TC starts) you do the LPC?

I would prefer to do the LPC straight away and then go travelling before the TC as I think the Covid situation will be better then. Im sure this will be a pretty common situation for people.

Thanks

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica,

Do law firms tend to care which year (our of the two before your TC starts) you do the LPC?

I would prefer to do the LPC straight away and then go travelling before the TC as I think the Covid situation will be better then. Im sure this will be a pretty common situation for people.

Thanks

If they have a preference (some won’t), it is usually be to do the LPC just before your TC so it is fresh in your memory. But you should speak to the firm in question about it when you have an offer and before accepting.

 

[j2134]

If they have a preference (some won’t), it is usually be to do the LPC just before your TC so it is fresh in your memory. But you should speak to the firm in question about it when you have an offer and before accepting.

Great thanks

 

[NA9]

Hi Jessica,

I have an AC for a VS in 2 days from now, and they have just told us the date of the 2 week scheme. Unfortunately, the first week of it clashes with a VS which I have already accepted. What would you suggest that I do? I am not sure if I should do the AC anyway and then if I am successful, inform them and see if I could be interviewed for the TC.

Thanks

 

[Jessica Booker]

Would you prefer a VS with the firm you have accepted or the one you have a AC coming up with?

 

[NA9]

I really don't know... I had a really good experience with the firm I have accepted at the AC.

 

[Jessica Booker]

I really don't know... I had a really good experience with the firm I have accepted at the AC.

Then it’s ultimately up to you. You could decline the AC, or you could choose to do the AC and then work out which VS to go ahead with if you secured the second VS.

 

[NA9]

Then it’s ultimately up to you. You could decline the AC, or you could choose to do the AC and then work out which VS to go ahead with if you secured the second VS.

Okay thanks for your advice!

 

[eviem]

Hi Jessica,

I have signed for a VS but I just received another offer from a firm and they clash. Is it possible to withdraw my application from the original firm I accepted?

Thanks!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica,

I have signed for a VS but I just received another offer from a firm and they clash. Is it possible to withdraw my application from the original firm I accepted?

Thanks!

Yes, you can renege on your offer.

Before I would do that, I would see if there is flexibility of alternative dates with either firm though.

Just don’t expect the firm you renege to do you any favours. You can ask to be converted to a TC recruitment process, but they will know they are not your first choice and so you will be deemed at low chance of accepting an offer if it ever got to that stage.

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

Hello @Jessica Booker . Hope you are doing well. It would be great if you could please answer two questions regarding Freshfields.

1: They say that the more administrative style tasks are done by their Manchester office. How is someone perceived if he/she mentions this as one of the reasons and says that he/she would like responsibility from the start.

2: You've mentioned that even though they have an eight-seat TC, most trainees will never do eight seats. So is it fine to still mention their eight seat TC in the personal statement or should we rather call it the firm with the most seat options?

Thank you.

 

[Legalregal]

Hi @Jessica Booker

I graduated in 2020 and since then have made several applications to commercial law firms- with none leading to a VS.

I am wondering how best to fill my time. I start a job at what is essentially a high street solicitors as a paralegal working on debt recovery and in 2 months banking and financial litigation against banks etc. It doesn't pay particularly well. Is this the best use of my time? How will firms view this experience?

Thanks

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hello @Jessica Booker . Hope you are doing well. It would be great if you could please answer two questions regarding Freshfields.

1: They say that the more administrative style tasks are done by their Manchester office. How is someone perceived if he/she mentions this as one of the reasons and says that he/she would like responsibility from the start.

2: You've mentioned that even though they have an eight-seat TC, most trainees will never do eight seats. So is it fine to still mention their eight seat TC in the personal statement or should we rather call it the firm with the most seat options?

Thank you.

1) Yes - that is fine. You don’t have to explicitly mention Manchester, you can just focus on how the firm ensure less administrative tasks are given to trainees

2) Yes it is fine to still mention the 8 potential rotations, but it’s important to explain what this specifically means to you and why it is important. For one person it may mean they can get more advisory seats, and yet still sit in core practice areas, for the next person it could be that the flexibility (eg extending some seats) allows them to be flexible with their choices as their TC progresses, for the next person it could mean that doing a international secondment and a client secondment is feasible. You need to explain why it specifically appeals to you beyond the system itself. I wouldn’t be bold enough the claim it is the firm with the most seats - I wouldn’t say that is true for most FBD trainees.

(reality is your first seat is more than likely to be 6 months in a core practice area, if you did an international secondment, this is most likely to be 6 months too, so even if your remaining seats are all 3 months - again unlikely though - you’d only do 6 seats. There are many firms that offer 6 seat TCs).