General Discussion Thread 2020-21

[bzheng]

Great news is the interview scheduled for August cause I read somewhere that they typically wait till then

its actually end of april. it's for the summer vac scheme! maybe the august ones are for tc?

 

[Charles]

Video interview 3

Video interview 2

Video interview 1

Thanks Jessica

 

[Charles]

I must apologise on this as I started writing a document on tips for VIs and I have just been a little bit busy this past week so have not had time to develop it much further. I will try and get this turned around as soon as possible. When is the interview?

Also, just a quick tip for everyone - if you '@' and then type a person's username you can be sure they will get a notification and can respond to your question etc just a friendly tip to note so that nothing gets missed!

Thanks @ Alice G (is this what you meant in your last paragraph). I also look forward to your writing - you are doing an incredible job

 

[Miki3999]

Do you think it's a good idea to discuss,in an interview, Coronavirus as a "commercial story" which "affects law firms"? This topic is ubiquitous nowadays and I feel like it's hard to avoid it, but it's not a commercial story per se.

 

[Alice G]

Thanks @ Alice G (is this what you meant in your last paragraph). I also look forward to your writing - you are doing an incredible job

thank you so much, that is really kind of you and has made my morning Will have it with you all shortly

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Do you think it's a good idea to discuss,in an interview, Coronavirus as a "commercial story" which "affects law firms"? This topic is ubiquitous nowadays and I feel like it's hard to avoid it, but it's not a commercial story per se.

It is too big a story on its own. Bit like Brexit or the 2008 financial crisis.

Fine to pick a certain story within it though - could be a certain market/industry, a certain product/service, a certain change in law, a certain country etc.

 

[Asmee DC]

Hi guys,

did anyone pass pinsent’s app stage? Could you give me some advice?

PM me! Would be happy to help

 

[W]

someone on the Student Room said they were sending out emails this week but idk?

Oh really, still haven’t any heard anything, not sure if it’s just me or if others are in same boat?

 

[KerC14]

Hi guys,

I know everything is a little up in the air with Covid but has anyone heard back from BLM for direct TC? not sure if they assess apps on a rolling basis or once the deadline has passed.

 

[Popal]

Hey, I’m in the same boat and so I totally sympathise. If it’s any consolation it was obviously a generic email, and the part about applying earlier was phrased a bit weirdly and almost implied it was our fault (not the corona virus lol) that meant we were in this situation? Please be so proud of yourself for getting this far, and remember it’s OK to be incredibly frustrated at the situation!!! It really is just rubbish luck and you’re clearly a great candidate! Their intake is small so that’s probably a factor, and in my case, they actually invited me to the feb AC lol but messed it up so had to move me to the March on so I totallyyyyy understand the feeling of ‘really?! Is this happening!!!?’ I also feel like the part about applying earlier made it seem quite a negative email, and you obviously did apply early so don’t let that bother you and honestly just take it forwards and use the confidence that you were good enough to get to AC in future apps!!

Hey, I'm glad I'm not the only one going through this! Thank you for your kind response - and wow, you have even more right to be frustrated. Everything happens for a reason too, so it just wasn't meant to be for us! I felt the email was rather negative in tone as well, which made the situation feel even worse at the time. The solidarity on this site is phenomenal. Our time will come, and when it does it will feel even better!!

One last reflection from me (then I promise I'll be quiet!!!). Both of my parents are frontline NHS workers and I rang them yesterday. It put all of this into perspective - words cannot describe what they are going through. They didn't sign up for this,and it will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Our experiences trying to get a training contract are challenging at times, yes, but when we succeed (we will all succeed!), our application trials and tribulations will fade into distant memory. Shout out to the fabulous NHS! We will get through this.

 

[Alice G]

Hey, I'm glad I'm not the only one going through this! Thank you for your kind response - and wow, you have even more right to be frustrated. Everything happens for a reason too, so it just wasn't meant to be for us! I felt the email was rather negative in tone as well, which made the situation feel even worse at the time. The solidarity on this site is phenomenal. Our time will come, and when it does it will feel even better!!

One last reflection from me (then I promise I'll be quiet!!!). Both of my parents are frontline NHS workers and I rang them yesterday. It put all of this into perspective - words cannot describe what they are going through. They didn't sign up for this,and it will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Our experiences trying to get a training contract are challenging at times, yes, but when we succeed (we will all succeed!), our application trials and tribulations will fade into distant memory. Shout out to the fabulous NHS! We will get through this.

I am so admiring of your positivity and perspective on all of this and I hope my story goes some way to reinforce to you all that things honestly do happen for a reason and just as they are meant to I will be clapping and cheering for all of those working for the NHS tonight and for those contracted to work for the NHS too.

 

[Changes]

Any general advice for the Watson Glaser? Is it the same format for all firms? How long does it take typically?

I'm doing one for Baker M. and have done some practice tests, not finding them too bad. Have just done the Clifford Chance one and found that although it gives 50 minutes, I was done in less than 15 minutes...was it just a lot easier than the real deal or do they take account of the time taken in your score?

Thanks.

 

[Alice G]

Any general advice for the Watson Glaser? Is it the same format for all firms? How long does it take typically?

I'm doing one for Baker M. and have done some practice tests, not finding them too bad. Have just done the Clifford Chance one and found that although it gives 50 minutes, I was done in less than 15 minutes...was it just a lot easier than the real deal or do they take account of the time taken in your score?

Thanks.

the standard time given I believe is half an hour The WG tends to be quite consistent across firms but I think that most emails inviting you to take the test will detail the 'need to knows'

 

[Changes]

the standard time given I believe is half an hour The WG tends to be quite consistent across firms but I think that most emails inviting you to take the test will detail the 'need to knows'

Thanks - the email is surprisingly vague, as is their website. The email from the test provider even spells the firm's name wrong ha.

 

[Charles]

thank you so much, that is really kind of you and has made my morning Will have it with you all shortly

Yayyy. You're welcome

 

[Alice G]

Thanks - the email is surprisingly vague, as is their website. The email from the test provider even spells the firm's name wrong ha.

Ah I see, I wonder if it might be worth asking? Though I would be fairly confident that you will have the standard time allowed for the WG which I do believe is 30 mins

 

[D]

Do you think it's a good idea to discuss,in an interview, Coronavirus as a "commercial story" which "affects law firms"? This topic is ubiquitous nowadays and I feel like it's hard to avoid it, but it's not a commercial story per se.

My own personal take on these questions is to avoid anything cliche or overly current. I start this by saying that by doing either of what I mentioned to avoid, you are not doing the 'wrong' thing. They are absolutely fine to do. And, if those are what you are comfortable dealing with, then stick to it

However, I feel that in the sea of applicants you want to stand out. Thus, at a time like this, can bet that almost all applicants are talking about the same 3/4 issues. So, in order to stand out, I chose to take on a lesser-known topic. Also, it was great to learn about an upskill my commercial knowledge as I had no clue about it before. I can assure you, in interview, when it came to discussing this topic, the interviewer's eyes lit up and they were immediately engaged. I could tell they were probably fed up of hearing about AI and FinTech!

Just my 2p.

Any general advice for the Watson Glaser? Is it the same format for all firms? How long does it take typically?

I'm doing one for Baker M. and have done some practice tests, not finding them too bad. Have just done the Clifford Chance one and found that although it gives 50 minutes, I was done in less than 15 minutes...was it just a lot easier than the real deal or do they take account of the time taken in your score?

Thanks.

As mentioned above, they are fairly consistent. Do lots of practise tests with the same provider and you'll come across the same questions!

 

[Alice G]

My own personal take on these questions is to avoid anything cliche or overly current. I start this by saying that by doing either of what I mentioned to avoid, you are not doing the 'wrong' thing. They are absolutely fine to do. And, if those are what you are comfortable dealing with, then stick to it

However, I feel that in the sea of applicants you want to stand out. Thus, at a time like this, can bet that almost all applicants are talking about the same 3/4 issues. So, in order to stand out, I chose to take on a lesser-known topic. Also, it was great to learn about an upskill my commercial knowledge as I had no clue about it before. I can assure you, in interview, when it came to discussing this topic, the interviewer's eyes lit up and they were immediately engaged. I could tell they were probably fed up of hearing about AI and FinTech!

Just my 2p.



As mentioned above, they are fairly consistent. Do lots of practise tests with the same provider and you'll come across the same questions!

I do agree with this and think going for more niche topics can be good and probably interesting for an interviewer, but you absolutely need to make sure you know about it inside and out. I say this only because it could be that the interviewer is an authority on this and can therefore really challenge you or, indeed, they may not know as much and so might drill down into the topic in seeking you to explain your understanding more fully. I also find it is good to pick something you genuinely find interesting as opposed to discussing something that you do not. You are far more likely to be motivated to research a topic of genuine interest to the level you will need to do to go into an interview and be able to answer anything on it.

 

[Tess72]

Anyone had an interview with Greenberg Traurig in the past and can give any insight?

 

[tcseeker]

anyone heard from katten after their vac scheme interview?