Clifford Chance single essay question

[TakeAChanceOnMe]

Morning all

A question for you regarding CC's direct Training Contract application question.

The question reads: In no more than 500 words, please tell us about your extra-curricular activities, positions of responsibility and an achievement of importance which you are most proud of. How will these experiences help you excel as a Clifford Chance lawyer? Please note your interviewers will have access to this answer only at interview should you be invited to an assessment day. The rest of the assessment process is entirely CV blind.

Whilst this should seem entirely self-explanatory, it leaves some questions.

1) Does this mean to say - only include positions of responsibility and importance in extra-curricular activities - i.e. not from a workplace or volunteer work setting? and do not talk about the items we've listed in our work experience? That is very limiting!

2) It states the interviewers will not see our CV. If this is the case, that means most of our achievements (as noted in the work experience section) will not be visible to them, correct? That makes me WANT to mention workplace accomplishments in this essay.

The accomplishments that most demonstrate my adherence to CC's core competencies all took place within professional or volunteer settings. (Those competencies are business awareness, leading and managing, problem solving with commercial insight, relationship building and networking, strong oral and written communication skills, and the ability to identify legal and business issues.) I hate to be limited to just my hobbies!

Perhaps I have crossed wires, but would you push the boat out and risk talk about workplace accomplishments? Any steer here would be most appreciated.

 

[Jessica Booker]

1) if your positions of responsibility in the work place were beyond your day job you can include them here (eg you were part of an employee network group of did fundraising in the work place). Volunteer roles could also be included here as long as they are not listed in your work experience section. Your proudest achievement can be work related if you want it to be.

2) at the interview stage it isn’t necessarily important for them to have this information about you as they are assessing your abilities now, not what you have done in the past. If you want to include work details then do so as long as they are 1) not included in your work experience section 2) are extra curriculars to your job (eg you are not contracted to do it, but are taking on the additional responsibilities out of your own choice).

You are not limited to your hobbies. The rest of your application is going to be reviewed, it js just your interviewers (should you get through to interview) will only have this 500 word section.

One thing to stress, this is not for you to list all your accomplishments though. You have to pick one achievement that you are most proud of. Everything else should be things you have done out of choice rather than because you had to (meaning of extra curriculars)

 

[TakeAChanceOnMe]

1) if your positions of responsibility in the work place were beyond your day job you can include them here (eg you were part of an employee network group of did fundraising in the work place). Volunteer roles could also be included here as long as they are not listed in your work experience section. Your proudest achievement can be work related if you want it to be.

2) at the interview stage it isn’t necessarily important for them to have this information about you as they are assessing your abilities now, not what you have done in the past. If you want to include work details then do so as long as they are 1) not included in your work experience section 2) are extra curriculars to your job (eg you are not contracted to do it, but are taking on the additional responsibilities out of your own choice).

You are not limited to your hobbies. The rest of your application is going to be reviewed, it js just your interviewers (should you get through to interview) will only have this 500 word section.

One thing to stress, this is not for you to list all your accomplishments though. You have to pick one achievement that you are most proud of. Everything else should be things you have done out of choice rather than because you had to (meaning of extra curriculars)

Thank you, Jessica 🙏

 

[BM99]

Hi @Jessica Booker , just wanna ask in this question, are we expected to talk about the daily responsibilities of a CC lawyer, and link to the competencies, and further to our extracurriculars/positions of responsibility?

 

[axelbeugre]

Hi @Jessica Booker , just wanna ask in this question, are we expected to talk about the daily responsibilities of a CC lawyer, and link to the competencies, and further to our extracurriculars/positions of responsibility?

Yes, this is the best approach in my opinion! When I was applying to CC last year, this was the advice I got from many future trainees I knew and I got through the first stage!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi @Jessica Booker , just wanna ask in this question, are we expected to talk about the daily responsibilities of a CC lawyer, and link to the competencies, and further to our extracurriculars/positions of responsibility?

I personally don’t think there is no need to talk about CC lawyers’ responsibilities into this question as this is what the firm knows but clearly the firm has a different view on this as per @axelbeugre ’s post above.

 

[bibss]

Yes, this is the best approach in my opinion! When I was applying to CC last year, this was the advice I got from many future trainees I knew and I got through the first stage!

I personally don’t think there is no need to talk about CC lawyers’ responsibilities into this question as this is what the firm knows but clearly the firm has a different view on this as per @axelbeugre ’s post above.

I feel like there is not enough space to talk about CC lawyers' responsibilities? I believe the focus should be on you (and add 1 or 2 sentences for each experience to explain how this will help you excel at CC). That's how I have approached it, but might be wrong!

 

[TakeAChanceOnMe]

I feel like there is not enough space to talk about CC lawyers' responsibilities? I believe the focus should be on you (and add 1 or 2 sentences for each experience to explain how this will help you excel at CC). That's how I have approached it, but might be wrong!

Hi all - yes I am struggling with this too.

Is it enough to say: This was my Situation, Task, Action, Result. And of course, display a link to the core competencies within the task, action or results.

But importantly - without actually linking it back every time to say 'this will help me as a lawyer because... ?' There are just not enough words.

I feel like whether we make that link is pretty key given the questions says 'How will these experiences help you excel as a Clifford Chance lawyer?'

I would so be grateful for some guidance here.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi all - yes I am struggling with this too.

Is it enough to say: This was my Situation, Task, Action, Result. And of course, display a link to the core competencies within the task, action or results.

But importantly - without actually linking it back every time to say 'this will help me as a lawyer because... ?' There are just not enough words.

I feel like whether we make that link is pretty key given the questions says 'How will these experiences help you excel as a Clifford Chance lawyer?'

I would so be grateful for some guidance here.

I personally don’t think you need the STAR format in this type of question as it is not a competency question. I think you can focus just on your impact and skills developed from your experiences and make sure those are aligned to the skills needed to excel at the firm.

 

[TakeAChanceOnMe]

I personally don’t think you need the STAR format in this type of question as it is not a competency question. I think you can focus just on your impact and skills developed from your experiences and make sure those are aligned to the skills needed to excel at the firm.

Ah, I thought it was a competency question. Ok I getcha. A more concise situation, Action/Result approach, then!

Hoorah for words saved. Thank you.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Ah, I thought it was a competency question. Ok I getcha. A more concise situation, Action/Result approach, then!

Hoorah for words saved. Thank you.

A competency question is asking you a specific question to evidence one particular skill/competency - eg “tell me about a time you have developed your team working skills”. STAR really only works for these type of questions in my opinion.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Ah, I thought it was a competency question. Ok I getcha. A more concise situation, Action/Result approach, then!

Hoorah for words saved. Thank you.

You don’t even need to much of the action really - just the result both in terms of what you achieved and what you personally gained from the situation.

An example:

As Law Society President, I managed a team of ten and implemented a new, flexible approach to membership, resulting in a 75% increase in the number of members and which in turn increased our revenue by 40%.

 

[axelbeugre]

Hi all - yes I am struggling with this too.

Is it enough to say: This was my Situation, Task, Action, Result. And of course, display a link to the core competencies within the task, action or results.

But importantly - without actually linking it back every time to say 'this will help me as a lawyer because... ?' There are just not enough words.

I feel like whether we make that link is pretty key given the questions says 'How will these experiences help you excel as a Clifford Chance lawyer?'

I would so be grateful for some guidance here.

I agree with @Jessica Booker on this one, the STAR method is generally useful but necessarily with this question. I would follow what Jessica suggested, I think it is the best way to successfully answer the question.

 

[TakeAChanceOnMe]

I recently finished my CC application and was ready to submit it. However, feedback from friends suggests (and I agree) that it now reads quite densely, abruptly, and heavily from the start. I am (of course) absolutely maxed out at 500 words and have tightened the wording so much that it is pretty intense reading. It lacks connection and beauty now, perhaps.

A friend suggests that while she doesn't know about this law firm application stuff, a human being reading about another human would like it softer and less abrupt. Would you recommend using an introductory sentence like 'my experiences have ranged from...ABC to XYZ... and have equipped me to be a CC lawyer because... ' ??

Or is this too generic and unnecessary; therefore, I should just jump straight to the experience and results?

 

[Jessica Booker]

I recently finished my CC application and was ready to submit it. However, feedback from friends suggests (and I agree) that it now reads quite densely, abruptly, and heavily from the start. I am (of course) absolutely maxed out at 500 words and have tightened the wording so much that it is pretty intense reading. It lacks connection and beauty now, perhaps.

A friend suggests that while she doesn't know about this law firm application stuff, a human being reading about another human would like it softer and less abrupt. Would you recommend using an introductory sentence like 'my experiences have ranged from...ABC to XYZ... and have equipped me to be a CC lawyer because... ' ??

Or is this too generic and unnecessary; therefore, I should just jump straight to the experience and results?

Application questions like this can afford to be a little more to the point than how you might write a more personal piece or prose.

You have 500 words to get in several aspects, and so in most instances I think you can’t really afford too much fluff into it. It’s important to make sure you come across as interesting and personable at the same time though, so there is balance.

If you are looking to cut words to keep some of the more personable bits in, this thread might help to cut out unnecessary words/phrasing:

How to get your applications within their word limits

After reviewing applications over the last 7-8 months, one of the most common issues for candidates is getting their answer within word limits. Often people find it difficult to cut their answers down, and in doing so usually cut out interesting content or points to ensure the answer meets any...

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