Simmons and Simmons Vac scheme question

Army

Standard Member
Nov 7, 2019
5
0
Please give details of your interests and activities, positions of responsibility, skills and achievements. Please also include any other information relevant to your application. (250 words max)*

This is my third year trying to apply and I believe what truly lets me down is answering training contact/vacation scheme questions. I just want to know how I can go about answering this question. Do I focus on only 1 significant achievement or can mention other achievements?

What is the correct way to approach this question? How can I stand out?

Extremely Thankful for any contribution!
 

Jaysen

Founder, TCLA
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TCLA Moderator
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  • Feb 17, 2018
    4,692
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    Please give details of your interests and activities, positions of responsibility, skills and achievements. Please also include any other information relevant to your application. (250 words max)*

    This is my third year trying to apply and I believe what truly lets me down is answering training contact/vacation scheme questions. I just want to know how I can go about answering this question. Do I focus on only 1 significant achievement or can mention other achievements?

    What is the correct way to approach this question? How can I stand out?

    Extremely Thankful for any contribution!

    I suggest mentioning more than one example to offer a bit of insight into the range of activities you do/achievements you have.

    As Simmons is just one question, it's really important you maximise the word count. You can think of this question as your opportunity to pitch yourself: the examples don't need to be that impressive, but you want to try to focus on the highlights and be as specific as possible when discussing your examples.
     

    Army

    Standard Member
    Nov 7, 2019
    5
    0
    I suggest mentioning more than one example to offer a bit of insight into the range of activities you do/achievements you have.

    As Simmons is just one question, it's really important you maximise the word count. You can think of this question as your opportunity to pitch yourself: the examples don't need to be that impressive, but you want to try to focus on the highlights and be as specific as possible when discussing your examples.

    Thank you for your help!
     

    nina_123

    Distinguished Member
    Jul 15, 2019
    54
    20
    Hi, with regards to this question:

    Please give details of your interests and activities, positions of responsibility, skills and achievements. Please also include any other information relevant to your application. (250 words max)*

    Does anyone know if Simmons want your skills highlighted explicitly through your positions of responsibilities/activities/interests? e.g. through x activity, I developed my attention to detail.

    Thanks :)
     

    Zsaurcaks1

    Distinguished Member
    Future Trainee
    Sep 4, 2018
    63
    54
    Hey! I got to video interview this year and my answer had a range of examples (I.e. positions of responsibility at university, volunteering, other roles). I did include a couple of lines about what skills the activities helped me develop, but led mostly with the examples. Hope this helps!
     
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    nina_123

    Distinguished Member
    Jul 15, 2019
    54
    20
    Hey! I got to video interview this year and my answer had a range of examples (I.e. positions of responsibility at university, volunteering, other roles). I did include a couple of lines about what skills the activities helped me develop, but led mostly with the examples. Hope this helps!


    Thanks so much!! That’s really helpful :)

    Could I just ask, did you incorporate the skills into the narrative of your activities? Or did you mention them separately at the end?
     

    Zsaurcaks1

    Distinguished Member
    Future Trainee
    Sep 4, 2018
    63
    54
    I incorporated them into the narrative. So I’d talk about what my role entailed and what skill that helped me develop. I find that grouping your experiences together and then drawing out the key skills across them is quite effective (at least this has worked for me in the past!)
     

    nina_123

    Distinguished Member
    Jul 15, 2019
    54
    20
    I incorporated them into the narrative. So I’d talk about what my role entailed and what skill that helped me develop. I find that grouping your experiences together and then drawing out the key skills across them is quite effective (at least this has worked for me in the past!)


    Ohh okay, thanks so much - that's very helpful!! :)

    Did you do this for the work experience section as well (talking about your skills + what you did)? Or did you just talk about what you did? :)
     

    Zsaurcaks1

    Distinguished Member
    Future Trainee
    Sep 4, 2018
    63
    54
    No worries!

    For the work experience section I spoke about what I did- from the advice on TCLA it seems that graduate recruitment can infer what skills you developed. Good luck with your app!
     
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    Reactions: nina_123

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