- Feb 17, 2018
- 4,695
- 8,576
Many thanks to this contribution from @Zsaurcaks1.
"I did complete a vacation scheme at MH (I think they organised the schemes in batches, with three-four people on each scheme across July. Mine was one week long).
I did the scheme with two other candidates. On our first day, we had an introductory session with the training principal and a trainee, who also took us on a tour of the building. We were given access to IT systems. We were then each asked to sit with either a senior associate or partner specialising in the firm’s different departments (if I remember correctly, they pick your department for you- I sat in Corporate and the candidates with me sat in Employment and Dispute Resolution, respectively).
Work came to us via an Outlook account (we were all given the login details on our first day). I would log in to this account at the beginning of each day and any of the firm’s trainees/lawyers could send work to it for the vac. schemers to pick up).
My tips:
Respond to any requests for work quickly
As mentioned earlier, any lawyer/trainee could email a task to the group inbox. If you didn’t respond within the first thirty seconds of their email being sent (not kidding!), the task would end up with someone who was quicker to respond. At points, I waited a minute (maximum two) to respond to the email, by which time someone had already offered to help and looked more enthusiastic than me.
Take the time to speak to people on your floor
My vacation scheme with MH was my first ever vacation scheme and I was generally guarded/ treading cautiously. I was too nervous to ‘knock on doors’ or introduce myself to people on my floor. In my experience, you appear much more personable/ friendly if you do and it can set you apart from other candidates (I think ultimately this helped the firm decide who they would shortlist for a TC interview- FYI, I was not shortlisted).
Don’t leave your written task to the last minute
In addition to my day-to-day work, I was given a folder, which contained a longer writing task (a problem-based task which covered multiple areas of law). This had to be submitted by the end of the week. My advice would be to dedicate some time to this daily, so that you can write a comprehensive and detailed answer, rather than rushing through it at the very end. In my feedback from MH, they flagged the fact that my response was not as detailed as other candidates’.
Be prepared to be assessed at any point
The partner who I sat with wasn’t very talkative, but one day decided to ask me about my future plans and why I hadn’t done the LPC. I’m not sure of the extent to which these sorts of conversations are planned, but it definitely caught me off guard and I found myself on the defensive (without intending to be). Be prepared for partners/ senior associates to strike seemingly casual conversations with you, which could throw up challenging/personal questions. Also be prepared to answer these sorts of questions honestly, but confidently. I think the way in which you communicate is fed back to HR.
Practice public speaking
This may have changed since my scheme, but I had to give a ten-minute presentation on a subject of my choice. Have an idea of what you’d like to talk about and be prepared to answer some (tough!) questions on your subject. I think they’re trying to gauge how you respond to unexpected questions under pressure.
Lastly, remember that if this one doesn’t work out, something else will."
"I did complete a vacation scheme at MH (I think they organised the schemes in batches, with three-four people on each scheme across July. Mine was one week long).
I did the scheme with two other candidates. On our first day, we had an introductory session with the training principal and a trainee, who also took us on a tour of the building. We were given access to IT systems. We were then each asked to sit with either a senior associate or partner specialising in the firm’s different departments (if I remember correctly, they pick your department for you- I sat in Corporate and the candidates with me sat in Employment and Dispute Resolution, respectively).
Work came to us via an Outlook account (we were all given the login details on our first day). I would log in to this account at the beginning of each day and any of the firm’s trainees/lawyers could send work to it for the vac. schemers to pick up).
My tips:
Respond to any requests for work quickly
As mentioned earlier, any lawyer/trainee could email a task to the group inbox. If you didn’t respond within the first thirty seconds of their email being sent (not kidding!), the task would end up with someone who was quicker to respond. At points, I waited a minute (maximum two) to respond to the email, by which time someone had already offered to help and looked more enthusiastic than me.
Take the time to speak to people on your floor
My vacation scheme with MH was my first ever vacation scheme and I was generally guarded/ treading cautiously. I was too nervous to ‘knock on doors’ or introduce myself to people on my floor. In my experience, you appear much more personable/ friendly if you do and it can set you apart from other candidates (I think ultimately this helped the firm decide who they would shortlist for a TC interview- FYI, I was not shortlisted).
Don’t leave your written task to the last minute
In addition to my day-to-day work, I was given a folder, which contained a longer writing task (a problem-based task which covered multiple areas of law). This had to be submitted by the end of the week. My advice would be to dedicate some time to this daily, so that you can write a comprehensive and detailed answer, rather than rushing through it at the very end. In my feedback from MH, they flagged the fact that my response was not as detailed as other candidates’.
Be prepared to be assessed at any point
The partner who I sat with wasn’t very talkative, but one day decided to ask me about my future plans and why I hadn’t done the LPC. I’m not sure of the extent to which these sorts of conversations are planned, but it definitely caught me off guard and I found myself on the defensive (without intending to be). Be prepared for partners/ senior associates to strike seemingly casual conversations with you, which could throw up challenging/personal questions. Also be prepared to answer these sorts of questions honestly, but confidently. I think the way in which you communicate is fed back to HR.
Practice public speaking
This may have changed since my scheme, but I had to give a ten-minute presentation on a subject of my choice. Have an idea of what you’d like to talk about and be prepared to answer some (tough!) questions on your subject. I think they’re trying to gauge how you respond to unexpected questions under pressure.
Lastly, remember that if this one doesn’t work out, something else will."
