Jones Day
- Thread starter jess889
- Start date
- Feb 17, 2018
- 4,695
- 8,577
Hey Jess, I actually just responded to someone on TSR with this question! I'll copy over my thoughts:
"I'll qualify all of the advice I'm about to give by saying things may have changed since!
So first I’ll start with the assessments:
Business Discussion: They sent us the first assessment a couple of weeks before the scheme so there's plenty of time to prepare, but the task was tough; I think I spent most of that first week procrastinating! This assessment is a business discussion with a partner. It requires you to really dig in to how JD works as a business, what market it’s in/what’s hot at the moment. You’ll need to justify your reasons in detail, but there’s not much time (I think only 10 minutes), so you’ll also need to focus on the most important issues. Based on how you answer the question, there's scope when it comes to choosing a sector/industry. For example, I chose private equity and got a private equity partner (who didn’t let me get away with waffle). I note that this first assessment was on the second day of our scheme! I suppose it was nice to get it out the way, but it meant we had to hand in our presentation notes on the first day and we spent the first evening doing more prep.
TC Interview: Thankfully the next assessment wasn’t until the second day of the second week. Not so nice was the fact that this was the TC interview! I think I did well on the motivation/competency questions, but my performance on one of the case studies was pretty lacklustre - I hadn’t heard of the news story they based it on so that one went downhill. The subject matter of these case study questions ranged from business to politics to ethics. When it comes to preparing for this, I'd suggest you go over your work log, be clear about the work you did in week one and what your plans are for the rest of the week i.e. if you've spent most of your week working in litigation, are you going to try out transactional work for your second week?
Negotiation: This exercise was at the end of the scheme: I think it may have been on the penultimate day of the scheme or even the last day. We formed small teams and each team was assigned a partner who’d direct the negotiation and offer hints. A few of the recruitment team sat around the room, each assessing a student. The teams were allowed to leave the room to discuss between themselves. The topic was pretty technical relative to what I’d expect students to know at that stage – we discussed restructuring/insolvency/security. I remember staying quiet when the other party suggested ratchet interest rates as a solution because I had no idea what that was! I don’t know if things have changed but I’d suggest brushing up on financial terminology – no need to go into too much detail but a cursory understanding helped for that exercise. It’s also important to remember that in the negotiation exercise, although it’s important to fight your corner, the partners guide you towards a compromise.
Now speaking more broadly about assessment, here’s my advice for the scheme:
Ok I’ll stop here, but feel free to ask if anything is unclear. I have a feeling I’ve made the scheme sound very scary, so I should clarify that it was enjoyable and pretty fun at the time. Door-knocking/floor-walking (I can’t remember the name for it!) is quite scary at first, but it’ll become second nature after a couple of days and that’s a really good crash-course on facing your fears and approaching people.
To your second and third questions, I can’t recall how many got a TC offer, but if I had to guess I’d say around half. So yes it’s competitive but I wouldn’t focus on statistics, if they think you fit, you’ll get an offer."
"I'll qualify all of the advice I'm about to give by saying things may have changed since!
So first I’ll start with the assessments:
Business Discussion: They sent us the first assessment a couple of weeks before the scheme so there's plenty of time to prepare, but the task was tough; I think I spent most of that first week procrastinating! This assessment is a business discussion with a partner. It requires you to really dig in to how JD works as a business, what market it’s in/what’s hot at the moment. You’ll need to justify your reasons in detail, but there’s not much time (I think only 10 minutes), so you’ll also need to focus on the most important issues. Based on how you answer the question, there's scope when it comes to choosing a sector/industry. For example, I chose private equity and got a private equity partner (who didn’t let me get away with waffle). I note that this first assessment was on the second day of our scheme! I suppose it was nice to get it out the way, but it meant we had to hand in our presentation notes on the first day and we spent the first evening doing more prep.
TC Interview: Thankfully the next assessment wasn’t until the second day of the second week. Not so nice was the fact that this was the TC interview! I think I did well on the motivation/competency questions, but my performance on one of the case studies was pretty lacklustre - I hadn’t heard of the news story they based it on so that one went downhill. The subject matter of these case study questions ranged from business to politics to ethics. When it comes to preparing for this, I'd suggest you go over your work log, be clear about the work you did in week one and what your plans are for the rest of the week i.e. if you've spent most of your week working in litigation, are you going to try out transactional work for your second week?
Negotiation: This exercise was at the end of the scheme: I think it may have been on the penultimate day of the scheme or even the last day. We formed small teams and each team was assigned a partner who’d direct the negotiation and offer hints. A few of the recruitment team sat around the room, each assessing a student. The teams were allowed to leave the room to discuss between themselves. The topic was pretty technical relative to what I’d expect students to know at that stage – we discussed restructuring/insolvency/security. I remember staying quiet when the other party suggested ratchet interest rates as a solution because I had no idea what that was! I don’t know if things have changed but I’d suggest brushing up on financial terminology – no need to go into too much detail but a cursory understanding helped for that exercise. It’s also important to remember that in the negotiation exercise, although it’s important to fight your corner, the partners guide you towards a compromise.
Now speaking more broadly about assessment, here’s my advice for the scheme:
- The first couple of days are a bit scary, it takes a while to get used to door-knocking. This was amplified by the fact that we shared tables with a number of vac schemers with laptops next to each other rather than an office. That made it a little competitive for some because you get to see who was floor-walking (and who was sitting there pretending to do work) and what time everyone arrived/left. Either way, on the first day, I’d suggest you introduce yourself to people on the same floor (especially if your supervisor is in a different department). It takes a bit of courage but people are generally welcoming and used to the training style. Likewise remember that everyone you speak to could provide feedback.
- The question of who to approach is a bit of a tricky one. Some of the guys on the scheme went after particular seniors from the start. One girl did well to get work from one of JD's star partners, which was great, but it also meant that she worked harder than any of us (and only for him for a good week). She got a TC offer after that.
- In my view, it’s better to work with a couple of senior associates/partners as opposed to many juniors. They have more influence. It really helps to have a partner rooting for you. At interview, they also ask you to pick a person that would have my back (in more formal terms!).
- At the start you're given IT training to complete at your desks. Make sure you finish this – you’ll see why at the end of the scheme.
- A good way to get work is to respond quickly to emails. Fee earners will often send an email to all the vac schemers and the first to respond gets the piece of work (again, this made it feel competitive, especially when you're sitting with students and the email sound goes off!)
- I'd recommend asking your trainee-buddy for advice early on. You can do this over coffee/lunch. A good relationship can really help - mine gave me very honest advice and ended up pulling a few strings to get me to work with senior partners. But despite this, don’t do what I did and forget to check missed calls from senior people looking to work with you!
- Floor-walking is scary when you start, but there’s a few things you can do to ease you into it. In addition to the people on your floor, go speak to the people you know. That includes your trainee buddy and supervisor who can arrange work for you, but also the people who interviewed you for a vac scheme – immediately you could get work from one or two partners.
- When floor-walking, avoid people with their doors closed. Don't do what a vac schemer (albeit on a different scheme to mine) and burst into the room during a client call!
- It can be difficult to build a rapport with fee-earners whilst floor-walking when it’s a one-off task, so I’d recommend trying to get repeat work. If he/she isn't too busy, informed questions go down well and give you the opportunity to build a relationship.
- Keep your work-log up to date as you go along. You’ll submit this at the end – that helps recruiters know who to speak to for feedback. I was also under the impression that they collect a lot of feedback whilst you’re there.
- If you struggle in one of the assessments, it’s possible to make up for it in another (or by your performance during the scheme) – so don’t let one poor assessment bring you down for the rest of the week, especially the first one!
- I’d qualify the above by saying they may place a greater weighting on a particular assessment. For example, if they’re not convinced of your motivation to be at JD, they might focus on your answers in the TC interview. Or if you’re shy during the scheme, they might see how you perform in the negotiatio exercise.
- The recruitment head comes to say hi a lot. Be personable, but prepare for a couple of (gentle) interview-like questions at social events!
- It's important to be seen as sociable at JD; make sure you don’t skip their events. If you have too much work on, show your face and then you can go back to the work.
Ok I’ll stop here, but feel free to ask if anything is unclear. I have a feeling I’ve made the scheme sound very scary, so I should clarify that it was enjoyable and pretty fun at the time. Door-knocking/floor-walking (I can’t remember the name for it!) is quite scary at first, but it’ll become second nature after a couple of days and that’s a really good crash-course on facing your fears and approaching people.
To your second and third questions, I can’t recall how many got a TC offer, but if I had to guess I’d say around half. So yes it’s competitive but I wouldn’t focus on statistics, if they think you fit, you’ll get an offer."
My god this is incredible - thank you so much! I have to say that's both scared and reassured me hehe
