General Discussion Thread 2020-21

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Hi guys, I applied for Sidley last year for a VS but then discovered I'd applied a year early but in their email informing me of this they said they were 'impressed with my application and we hope you will consider making an application in the next academic year', I am wondering if a) this is a generic response sent to anyone who makes the same error as me and b) since their application questions are the same is it fair enough to just submit the same responses? Any thoughts from anyone would be super helpful

yes - reapply. It may be generic in the sense they send it to anyone in your situation, but they are actively encouraging you to reapply.

I would always update and refine an application - when you are only in your late teens/early twenties, a lot comparatively can happen in a year. You are likely to have refined your career motivation, and experienced more relevant/important things since your last application.

 

[futuretraineecity]

Hi, has anyone who was on the SEO Corporate Law programme last year heard back regarding their application for this year’s programme?

 

[M1999]

Why do you say so?

Just looking at stats they seem to have a lot of applications for not a lot of places and there is no psychosometric or video interview to filter out. So the 300 word cover letter really needs to impress to reach the interview!

 

[M1999]

I went on a Jones Day vac scheme in the past. For the cover letter, I would say, going to their open day really helped and mentioning it in your application that you spoke to X and Y trainee helped. So try attend a virtual event or gain exposure to the firm in some way [e.g. reach out to someone that works there] and mention you did this in your app. Also mention why their non-rotation TC appeals to you specifically [check if it's still non-rotational TC]. Also talk about their strong practice areas and why that interest you. So the structure I used for the cover letter was a paragraph on why Jones Day and another paragraph on why me. Hope this helps!

Thank you so much! I will have a look into this

 

[Legal_rawn]

Thank you so much! I will have a look into this

You can register for their question time sessions at the moment, I went to one last year and would recommend it: https://www.jonesdaycareers.com/en/...postgraduates/events-opportunities-to-meet-us

 

[M777]

Anyone heard from A&O for the winter vac scheme yet? I applied on 5th August, passed the SJT and haven't heard since, but I've seen examples here of people who applied long after me and getting outcomes. Not sure if anyone has been invited to the assessment centre yet. Please can anyone offer insight?

 

[Gracie]

Anyone heard from A&O for the winter vac scheme yet? I applied on 5th August, passed the SJT and haven't heard since, but I've seen examples here of people who applied long after me and getting outcomes. Not sure if anyone has been invited to the assessment centre yet. Please can anyone offer insight?

I applied on the 19th of August, passed the SJT and also haven't heard if that helps! Apparently they aren't always sending emails and sometimes just updating portal, but mine still says "under review".

 

[syw]

Has anyone heard back from DWF and Baker McKenzie re. Open Days? (BM - Social mobility Open Day)

 

[Jennifer85]

Anyone heard from A&O for the winter vac scheme yet? I applied on 5th August, passed the SJT and haven't heard since, but I've seen examples here of people who applied long after me and getting outcomes. Not sure if anyone has been invited to the assessment centre yet. Please can anyone offer insight?

I would recommend looking on the application site as I was notified I’d been rejected on that long before I got the email. Good luck x

 

[frow3n]

Anyone heard from A&O for the winter vac scheme yet? I applied on 5th August, passed the SJT and haven't heard since, but I've seen examples here of people who applied long after me and getting outcomes. Not sure if anyone has been invited to the assessment centre yet. Please can anyone offer insight?

Similar to you, applied on the 7th and nothing yet. Check your portal, mine still says under review

 

[DrowninginSQE]

Hello, I'm applying to White & Case but they haven't gotten back to me regarding my previous application for the direct 2022 TC. Should I wait for them to reject me or should I just send off an application for the winter VS? I am one of those strange people who got all of my applications ready and proof-read for when applications open so now my itchy fingers wants to submit a new application!

 

[champ591]

Hello, I'm applying to White & Case but they haven't gotten back to me regarding my previous application for the direct 2022 TC. Should I wait for them to reject me or should I just send off an application for the winter VS? I am one of those strange people who got all of my applications ready and proof-read for when applications open so now my itchy fingers wants to submit a new application!

I think it would be best to get in touch with GR to check if you can proceed to apply for the winter VS whilst your TC application is still under review. Especially so given that W&C are taking much longer than usual with the direct TC apps this year.. (I'm still waiting too lol)

 

[DrowninginSQE]

I think it would be best to get in touch with GR to check if you can proceed to apply for the winter VS whilst your TC application is still under review. Especially so given that W&C are taking much longer than usual with the direct TC apps this year.. (I'm still waiting too lol)

That's a good shout, I'll drop them an email.

 

[0603]

Similar to you, applied on the 7th and nothing yet. Check your portal, mine still says under review

Similar to you, applied on the 7th and nothing yet. Check your portal, mine still says under review

honestly, id say thats a good thing. I applied on 10th September and received a rejection today. So no news is good news.

 

[Velikilawyer123]

yes - reapply. It may be generic in the sense they send it to anyone in your situation, but they are actively encouraging you to reapply.

I would always update and refine an application - when you are only in your late teens/early twenties, a lot comparatively can happen in a year. You are likely to have refined your career motivation, and experienced more relevant/important things since your last application.

Jessica, how often do recruiters go back to check if a candidate has applied previously and if they're reusing the same application?

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Jessica, how often do recruiters go back to check if a candidate has applied previously and if they're reusing the same application?

Rarely.

GDPR means that for many firms that application won’t sit on the system any more.

For those it does, its too much work t read two forms when in most cases a decision can be made from reading the latest.

It’s sometimes pretty obvious if things haven’t changed in the last year though even when reading an application.

Maybe a borderline candidate that you are sitting on the fence about. Or someone who is flagged as a candidate to keep an eye out possibly, but even then in 9 times out of 10 a decision can be made from the latest application

 

[Evelina]

Hi guys, I applied for Sidley last year for a VS but then discovered I'd applied a year early but in their email informing me of this they said they were 'impressed with my application and we hope you will consider making an application in the next academic year', I am wondering if a) this is a generic response sent to anyone who makes the same error as me and b) since their application questions are the same is it fair enough to just submit the same responses? Any thoughts from anyone would be super helpful

omg i got the same thing! i got invited to one of their open days instead last year! I was considering sending the same app too. I am currently changing the commercial awareness answer to something more relevant to this year but the other two answers im just tweaking cos tbh i dont know how much i can really change ut

 

[J123]

Does anyone know what Latham's partner remuneration is like? It's an LLP so I'm assuming it might be a global partnership, but I can't find any information to corroborate this online.

 

[Amrik Bains]

Has anyone heard back from TLT direct TC 2022 London Office?

 

[M1999]

How do people get application reviews? I have asked my friends and family to review however I don’t know anyone in the legal industry or another applicant so would like to get my cover letters reviewed by another. Would anyone be able to direct me to where they do this, thanks so much.