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<blockquote data-quote="James Carrabino" data-source="post: 89321" data-attributes="member: 16764"><p>Thank you [USER=4098]@futuretraineesolicitor[/USER] (and apologies for the delay in my reply); I am sure I will be congratulating you on your TC very soon!</p><p></p><p>To answer your first question, I may have inadvertently made it sound much easier than it was. First of all, I applied to a large number of firms across varying stages of the VS and TC cycle and so it certainly does not feel like it took me just a year! I plan to give a long (and boring but hopefully insightful and encouraging) breakdown of my apps when everyone is struggling to motivate themselves in the thick of applications, outlining the specific details of my cycle (including firms I interviewed with, feedback I received etc) and the toll it naturally took on me and many fellow applicants that I was in communication with. So, to answer what worked best for me in terms of progressing apps...the answer is to do as many as you can and to constantly re-assess your answers to your application questions and consider how you can write them better until you start getting progressed with firms. This statistically gives you the best shot at a positive outcome at the end of the cycle. In terms of getting ready for interviews, ACs and vac schemes, ultimately preparing well is the only way to feel confident and relaxed going in. I found TCLA to be the most incredible resource (which is why I was so excited to get involved) and I particularly loved using the Monday article series by past Community Manager [USER=5063]@Jacob Miller[/USER]. </p><p></p><p>Regarding your second question, it took a lot of trial and improvement with the applications I wrote! I think in some earlier (unsuccessful) apps I naively assumed firms would simply be interested in the fact that I had varied experiences. Whilst I still think that firms do value such things, I found quickly that I could not just leave it at that...at the same time, I didn't want to make excuses for my musical background either. So I would say that it was not about trying to avoid firms being 'distracted' by the music, but rather conveying how the skills and personal qualities I developed through music would suit my work as a solicitor. I had a genuine story about why I wanted to be a lawyer that was unrelated to music (from a personal experience with the law during secondary school to another area of my academic studies that piqued my interest) and then I fleshed it out with some of the attributes I had acquired through music. These included time management, perseverance and self-motivation (practising piano 4+ hours a day alongside an academic course load), resilience (the music world is ruthlessly competitive), attention to detail (musical scores are incredibly exacting), teamwork (when collaborating with other musicians), creativity (music is about artistry after all) and finally, the ability to deal with <em>really </em>tedious work at times. I think that it is possible to sell every experience if it is something you have put a large amount of time, effort and passion into. As I mentioned in my initial post, however, some firms were definitely distracted by the music. I learnt as I wrote my applications how to convey my interest in law and explain that music was an excellent outlet for me from my other work and eventually I think that this began to resonate with graduate recruitment teams and lawyers who discussed with me in interviews their own experiences with music, however small. </p><p></p><p>The main takeaway here is that not all firms are going to value your experiences equally, but with the right approach you will undoubtedly find the ones that do!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="James Carrabino, post: 89321, member: 16764"] Thank you [USER=4098]@futuretraineesolicitor[/USER] (and apologies for the delay in my reply); I am sure I will be congratulating you on your TC very soon! To answer your first question, I may have inadvertently made it sound much easier than it was. First of all, I applied to a large number of firms across varying stages of the VS and TC cycle and so it certainly does not feel like it took me just a year! I plan to give a long (and boring but hopefully insightful and encouraging) breakdown of my apps when everyone is struggling to motivate themselves in the thick of applications, outlining the specific details of my cycle (including firms I interviewed with, feedback I received etc) and the toll it naturally took on me and many fellow applicants that I was in communication with. So, to answer what worked best for me in terms of progressing apps...the answer is to do as many as you can and to constantly re-assess your answers to your application questions and consider how you can write them better until you start getting progressed with firms. This statistically gives you the best shot at a positive outcome at the end of the cycle. In terms of getting ready for interviews, ACs and vac schemes, ultimately preparing well is the only way to feel confident and relaxed going in. I found TCLA to be the most incredible resource (which is why I was so excited to get involved) and I particularly loved using the Monday article series by past Community Manager [USER=5063]@Jacob Miller[/USER]. Regarding your second question, it took a lot of trial and improvement with the applications I wrote! I think in some earlier (unsuccessful) apps I naively assumed firms would simply be interested in the fact that I had varied experiences. Whilst I still think that firms do value such things, I found quickly that I could not just leave it at that...at the same time, I didn't want to make excuses for my musical background either. So I would say that it was not about trying to avoid firms being 'distracted' by the music, but rather conveying how the skills and personal qualities I developed through music would suit my work as a solicitor. I had a genuine story about why I wanted to be a lawyer that was unrelated to music (from a personal experience with the law during secondary school to another area of my academic studies that piqued my interest) and then I fleshed it out with some of the attributes I had acquired through music. These included time management, perseverance and self-motivation (practising piano 4+ hours a day alongside an academic course load), resilience (the music world is ruthlessly competitive), attention to detail (musical scores are incredibly exacting), teamwork (when collaborating with other musicians), creativity (music is about artistry after all) and finally, the ability to deal with [I]really [/I]tedious work at times. I think that it is possible to sell every experience if it is something you have put a large amount of time, effort and passion into. As I mentioned in my initial post, however, some firms were definitely distracted by the music. I learnt as I wrote my applications how to convey my interest in law and explain that music was an excellent outlet for me from my other work and eventually I think that this began to resonate with graduate recruitment teams and lawyers who discussed with me in interviews their own experiences with music, however small. The main takeaway here is that not all firms are going to value your experiences equally, but with the right approach you will undoubtedly find the ones that do! [/QUOTE]
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