a
- Thread starter matpart
- Start date
- May 4, 2020
- 98
- 172
So first up, bad luck. It's got to feel so gutting having come all this way, and I can only imagine the pain you're feeling. Take the time to come to terms with that.
Next up, don't worry (yes, I know it's easy for me to say this) about not converting. Firms really won't hold it against you for not converting a vac scheme. It might be different if you had done 8 or 10 vac schemes and failed to convert a single one, but that isn't the case here, I suspect. It's a good sign that you got this far anyway, but do be prepared of course for the question in a future interview of why you didn't convert this one As long as it isn't for a horrendous reason (cheating, stealing, etc) you should be fine. Firms understand that it is a highly competitive process. Plenty of firms, even on a vac scheme, have too many vac schemers for the available places. Being able to demonstrate what you have learned from these schemes and how you have improved is what matters here.
In terms of success stories - lots and lots of people do not convert the first scheme that they get. It's actually rarer to find someone who nailed their first one first time than it is to find people who had several schemes before converting. Just in terms of people I know, thinking off the top of my head:
Next up, don't worry (yes, I know it's easy for me to say this) about not converting. Firms really won't hold it against you for not converting a vac scheme. It might be different if you had done 8 or 10 vac schemes and failed to convert a single one, but that isn't the case here, I suspect. It's a good sign that you got this far anyway, but do be prepared of course for the question in a future interview of why you didn't convert this one As long as it isn't for a horrendous reason (cheating, stealing, etc) you should be fine. Firms understand that it is a highly competitive process. Plenty of firms, even on a vac scheme, have too many vac schemers for the available places. Being able to demonstrate what you have learned from these schemes and how you have improved is what matters here.
In terms of success stories - lots and lots of people do not convert the first scheme that they get. It's actually rarer to find someone who nailed their first one first time than it is to find people who had several schemes before converting. Just in terms of people I know, thinking off the top of my head:
- 1 failed Linklaters & then got Latham & Watkins
- 1 failed Linklaters & then got Kirkland & Ellis.
- 1 failed Cooley & then got Allen & Overy
- 1 failed Hogan Lovells & then got HSF
- 1 failed Jones Day & then got White & Case
Dheepa
Legendary Member
Staff member
Future Trainee
TCLA Moderator
Premium Member
Forum Team
M&A Bootcamp
Junior Lawyer 43
- Jan 20, 2019
- 853
- 2,163
Hiya,
I was in the exact same position last year. Did a vac at a MC firm, didn't get the TC and felt like an absolute and total failure for the rest of the summer. Fast forward to this year - I secured three vac schemes, received TC offers from two of them and am currently waiting on the last one. Trust me when I say you are not doomed at all.
Some vaguely motivational nonsense you didn't ask for:
Not being able to convert a vac sometimes has more to do with things that were out of your control i.e. whether your feedback providers liked you or whether your feedback providers/interviewers thought you were the "right fit" for the firm. It took a lot of self-reflection and down days for me to realise this stuff. If you've made it to a vacation scheme you are 100% TC material - maybe this wasn't the firm for you and no matter how convinced you were that they were the one, there probably is better out there for you. Trust the process. Your vac scheme is undeniable proof you have the skills so try not to doubt yourself too much.
Will firms view me negatively:
The four ACs I made it to this year, I was only asked the "Why did you fail to get the TC?" question once. It is worthwhile mentioning the feedback you received + the steps you've taken to improve. Personally, I knew the MC firm was not the right fit for me and I was brutally honest about this. I made sure to explain + spun it into a "this is why I've applied to your firm - you are different from the X things I didn't like". I think the partners loved the fact that I was genuine about it and they even said they were relieved by my answer because they couldn't think of a firm more different to theirs than that particular MC firm. So weirdly enough, your interviewers may actually see it as a semi-positive thing that a particular firm turned out not to be the place for you (and you'll probably end up having a good laugh about it with them like I did).
Tangible things to do to prep for the next cycle:
1. Make a list of the firms you want to apply to. For firms whose apps haven't changed in years go ahead and start drafting answers, especially if they're rolling apps - gives you more time to produce a quality app.
2. Join the SEO London Corporate Law Programme and the Aspire Programme with AS. Both were invaluable to me this year. The trainees I met were so incredibly helpful when it came to giving me AC advice and the application reviews offered were phenomenal. SEO London also run a particularly fantastic convert your VS into a TC workshop with a future trainee at K&E who gives some of the most helpful advice ever.
Sorry for the excessively long post - hope I helped!
I was in the exact same position last year. Did a vac at a MC firm, didn't get the TC and felt like an absolute and total failure for the rest of the summer. Fast forward to this year - I secured three vac schemes, received TC offers from two of them and am currently waiting on the last one. Trust me when I say you are not doomed at all.
Some vaguely motivational nonsense you didn't ask for:
Not being able to convert a vac sometimes has more to do with things that were out of your control i.e. whether your feedback providers liked you or whether your feedback providers/interviewers thought you were the "right fit" for the firm. It took a lot of self-reflection and down days for me to realise this stuff. If you've made it to a vacation scheme you are 100% TC material - maybe this wasn't the firm for you and no matter how convinced you were that they were the one, there probably is better out there for you. Trust the process. Your vac scheme is undeniable proof you have the skills so try not to doubt yourself too much.
Will firms view me negatively:
The four ACs I made it to this year, I was only asked the "Why did you fail to get the TC?" question once. It is worthwhile mentioning the feedback you received + the steps you've taken to improve. Personally, I knew the MC firm was not the right fit for me and I was brutally honest about this. I made sure to explain + spun it into a "this is why I've applied to your firm - you are different from the X things I didn't like". I think the partners loved the fact that I was genuine about it and they even said they were relieved by my answer because they couldn't think of a firm more different to theirs than that particular MC firm. So weirdly enough, your interviewers may actually see it as a semi-positive thing that a particular firm turned out not to be the place for you (and you'll probably end up having a good laugh about it with them like I did).
Tangible things to do to prep for the next cycle:
1. Make a list of the firms you want to apply to. For firms whose apps haven't changed in years go ahead and start drafting answers, especially if they're rolling apps - gives you more time to produce a quality app.
2. Join the SEO London Corporate Law Programme and the Aspire Programme with AS. Both were invaluable to me this year. The trainees I met were so incredibly helpful when it came to giving me AC advice and the application reviews offered were phenomenal. SEO London also run a particularly fantastic convert your VS into a TC workshop with a future trainee at K&E who gives some of the most helpful advice ever.
Sorry for the excessively long post - hope I helped!
Similar threads
