General Discussion Thread 2020-21

[Ayo Babatunde]

For those who have been accepted onto Aspire, have you heard back re the next steps? Thank you

Apart from the mentoring opportunities available depending on what you are eligible for, I have heard nothing back as of yet!

 

[Lumree]

Rejection from Addleshaw Goddard, with a side of 5 mins of tears and wondering whether I'll ever crack this TC thing I had to log into their portal and check the correspondence for an update, as I haven't been getting their emails directly (I know others on here have had the same issue).

Thank you for sharing this, though I am very sorry to hear it!

Resilience is half the battle with applications. Was this at application stage?

Perhaps you could ask someone to review it and see where you could improve. With any rejection I get I try to come back to it and read it with a fresh pair of eyes. I find it helps to try read it from the recruiter’s point of view. Ask yourself:

•Is it convincing? Have you sold yourself as best you can? I.e. active verbs, confidence in your skills
•Is there a clear motivation for a career in commercial law?
•Do your values/aspirations align with the firm?

You might find your answer to all of the above is ‘yes’, in which case, there could be a 101 other reasons for the rejection, and none are a reflection of your character! You only have to look at this forum to see that firms have a funny way of recruiting sometimes and it’s tricky for us applicants to know what’s going on behind the scenes.

Stay motivated and stay resilient! Those are strengths you can use in your next application and beyond.

 

[CL-BD]

Has anyone heard back from HFW?

 

[LegalNim]

Has anyone heard back from HFW?

Not yet.

 

[ZA]

Been invited to do a McQuaig Mental Agility Test for Trowers & Hamlin direct TC; has anyone had any experience of doing one of these?

Yes I do - I just googled it and found a few practice questions (first page google results) on various websites and did those. Also I think It's 15 minutes and 50 questions- so the questions are very short! Go through the ones you know immediately and come back to any you aren't sure of at the end

 

[D]

Rejection from Addleshaw Goddard, with a side of 5 mins of tears and wondering whether I'll ever crack this TC thing I had to log into their portal and check the correspondence for an update, as I haven't been getting their emails directly (I know others on here have had the same issue).

Sorry to hear this. I know how you feel, I wonder if my day will ever come as well. Please don’t get too upset and just remember you will achieve your goals!! Good luck with all your other applications

The only way to fail for sure is to give up!

Earlier on this cycle I offered to review apps of those who have not had any success this year. While I don't want to take away from Jaysen's excellent application review service (I highly recommend this btw!), drop me a DM if you want me to have a run through an app with you. Honestly - of the 20/30 I reviewed, the same mistakes were being made each time so hopefully we can try and put that right in time for this cycle

 

[Zoë Stainton]

Rejection from Addleshaw Goddard, with a side of 5 mins of tears and wondering whether I'll ever crack this TC thing I had to log into their portal and check the correspondence for an update, as I haven't been getting their emails directly (I know others on here have had the same issue).

I am so sorry to hear this! Honestly do not give up! At times I never thought that a career in commercial law was possible for me! But perseverance and resilience is key to this application period and stage in our lives. Keep going! Look at your application and see what you could of done better or what parts you performed well!

 

[Zoë Stainton]

Waiting to hear from Macfarlanes and Travers for direct TCs but worried grades mean I'm at a disadvantage more generally.

GCSEs: 1 A, 4 Bs, 3 Cs
A-Levels: 3 As
Degree: 62.5% (Distinction in first year)

Basically, do I need more experience to compensate for poor grades?

These are not bad grades! Please don’t be discouraged, I had similar grades to you and did get so many rejections but I kept preserving. It is not all dependent on your grades. It’s also how well you write in your application and perform in interviews/AC. You will grow and learn each time you do an application and you will know how best to perform the more practice you do! So it’s not just dependent on your results!

 

[2019grad31]

Has anyone heard back from HFW?

Haven’t heard anything!

 

[Jenna]

Hello, has anyone heard from Pinsent Masons post AC

I am still waiting to hear back. Have you heard anything since?

 

[Deleted member 5185]

Rejection from Hogan Lovells post WG, a bit disheartened but here’s hoping for some nicer news in my inbox soon!

On a side note, I hope everyone is doing well and getting the chance to enjoy the sunshine whilst we wait!

 

[Abgaal]

Received a rejection from Hogan Lovells post WG

 

[D]

Rejection from Hogan Lovells post WG, a bit disheartened but here’s hoping for some nicer news in my inbox soon!

On a side note, I hope everyone is doing well and getting the chance to enjoy the sunshine whilst we wait!

Received a rejection from Hogan Lovells post WG

Don't be disheartened by this. I did a first-year scheme with them last year and had to sit the WG in person again at their office. They told us the pass mark was 90%, so they I would assume that they place quite a bit of significance on the WG! Most firms are not this strict.

 

[Deleted member 5185]

Don't be disheartened by this. I did a first-year scheme with them last year and had to sit the WG in person again at their office. They told us the pass mark was 90%, so they I would assume that they place quite a bit of significance on the WG! Most firms are not this strict.

Thank you so much for this!

 

[Camilla]

Don't be disheartened by this. I did a first-year scheme with them last year and had to sit the WG in person again at their office. They told us the pass mark was 90%, so they I would assume that they place quite a bit of significance on the WG! Most firms are not this strict.

That is strange. My candidate percentile for Hogan Lovells was 88, but they told me I was unsuccessful based on my application rather than the WG test when I pressed them...

 

[D]

That is strange. My candidate percentile for Hogan Lovells was 88, but they told me I was unsuccessful based on my application rather than the WG test when I pressed them...

Maybe it's a two-part test in that respect. Mmmm.

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

That is strange. My candidate percentile for Hogan Lovells was 88, but they told me I was unsuccessful based on my application rather than the WG test when I pressed them...

Percentage and Percentile are likely to be different things... they could also choose to change the percentile based on different cycles/vacancies though.

Even 88 percentile is exceptionally high though - I wonder if they have done any diversity analysis on that....

 

[nymi]

If anybody has had a Stephenson Harwood AC recently, how long did it take them to get back to you post-AC?

Hi, did you apply for direct TC? And when did you hear back from them? Thanks !

 

[Jooooopp7]

Rejection from Addleshaw Goddard, with a side of 5 mins of tears and wondering whether I'll ever crack this TC thing I had to log into their portal and check the correspondence for an update, as I haven't been getting their emails directly (I know others on here have had the same issue).

So sorry to hear this, may I ask what office this was for?

It's incredibly disheartening to get rejections and we just have to remember not to take it personally, I remember being so angry and upset at myself when I get rejected for a TC this summer after a vac scheme but I had to remind myself that I just wasn't as good as other applicants and there will be loads of opportunities in the future, and the post interview feedback was incredibly helpful in understanding my weaknesses. Applying for TCs are such a draining process but you've gotta stick at it! Good luck with the rest of your applications!

 

[Andrewp]

Anyone heard from Goodwin or Dentons?