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Interview Experiences 2019 - 2020 Cycle
Slaughter and May Interview 2019 - 2020
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<blockquote data-quote="Jaysen" data-source="post: 26537" data-attributes="member: 1"><p><strong>Please state the month/year you interviewed at the firm.</strong></p><p></p><p>December 2019</p><p></p><p><strong>Please specify what the interview was for.</strong></p><p></p><p>Training Contract</p><p></p><p><strong>Please give an overview of the day with approximate timings.</strong></p><p></p><p>12.20pm Arrival, 12.30pm Written Exercise, 1.45pm Interview with Two Partners, 2.50pm Tour, 3.00pm Interview with HR</p><p></p><p><strong>Please provide a summary of each assessment on the day with approximate timings.</strong></p><p></p><p>Written Exercise - You are taken to a room with a computer and a stack of documents in. You have one hour to read through the brief and the documents and complete the exercise on the computer. It was 1-2 pages typed. My scenario was based on different business growth strategies. I didn't think there was that much to read through and having some kind of SWOT analysis when you go through the documents will help to structure your brief. You are asked to advise a fictitious client and have to pick one option out of three and use the information to justify why. This element is testing commercial awareness so brushing up on business growth strategies and why businesses do R&D, follow certain strategies and the advantages of each will help, along with knowledge of the current economic climate and events that may affect business decisions. I did not struggle to complete the exercise within an hour, but I had done written exercises before so I think this may have helped with my ability to quickly read through everything and structure my brief. </p><p></p><p>Interview with Two Partners - This was the hardest element of the day and it lasted around 45 minutes to an hour. After the written exercise, I was given a short opinion piece on the collapse of WeWork from the FT and a set of questions which I had to go through and jot answers down to. I had around 15-20 minutes to do this. After this, I was taken to the room with the two Partners. They had my CV and cover letter in front of them and took notes throughout the interview. Having interviewed at three firms by this point, this was by far my strangest and least structured interview, which I had been warned would be the case by others that had interviewed at the firm. The interview is split into two sections: questions about you and the article. It started off with standard motivational questions, asking about my motivations for applying. I was not asked the standard 'why law' or 'why Slaughter and May' but a vague opener along the the lines of 'why are you here today' which I found hard to answer succinctly. I was asked to justify two bad grades from university (I have mostly firsts and I had two low 2.1s in second year) as well as the university I went to and why I hadn't applied for Oxbridge. I was also asked why I chose the course I did and they questioned my suitability for commercial law, as I had a lot of charity work on my CV, saying I would make a better public lawyer. I wasn't asked any competency questions at all, or really much that required me to talk about work experience. Every time I gave an answer, it would be questioned, or they would try to follow up on it and ask you further questions. This meant we spent around 15-20 minutes discussing morals in politics. About 2/3 of the way into the interview, we turned to the opinion piece I had made notes on. I was asked to summarise the article and my opinion on what the author was arguing. They then asked relatively straightforward questions based on the article, such as parties involved and who would be affected by it. I found it hard to answer the questions, as I was fairly flustered by the interviewing style by this point.</p><p></p><p>Tour - This was a short tour with a current trainee in which you could ask questions.</p><p></p><p>Interview with HR - This only lasted around 10 minutes. I sat down with a member of HR and asked questions about the day and my motivations for applying. </p><p></p><p><strong>Please list any interview questions you were asked.</strong></p><p></p><p>- Tell us about yourself and how you have ended up here today</p><p>- What attracted you to Slaughter and May in particular?</p><p>- What would a trainee solicitor be doing day to day?</p><p>- What skills do you think trainee solicitors need?</p><p>- I see you have an excellent academic record. What happened in second year?</p><p>- Why commercial law? Your CV would make you seem more suited to public law</p><p>- Why did you choose your university? Why not Oxbridge?</p><p>- Why did you choose your course and not law?</p><p>- Which stakeholders would be affected? (Article)</p><p>- Summarise the article and do you agree with the opinion of the author? (Article)</p><p></p><p><strong>What is your best advice for each aspect of the assessment on the day? Please break this down for each assessment. This can include advice for preparation, as well as tips for the day.</strong></p><p></p><p>Written Exercise - Brush up on your commercial awareness, especially in relation to business growth strategies. Type quickly, take time to proofread and have a good structure.</p><p></p><p>Interview with Two Partners - I didn't find that much of my firm research could be used to answer the questions. I have heard from trainees at the firm that the Partners sometimes adopt a good cop/bad cop role, even though I'm not sure if this was the case for my interview. Expect them to question every single answer you give. They are doing this to see how you cope under pressure, but it didn't give me a very positive impression of the firm. However, this may suit different people. The main thing to do before the interview is to brush up on your CV and cover letter, as they will ask you questions mainly from this. Also prepare questions to ask at the end.</p><p></p><p>Tour - Nothing to prepare. A short informal tour and chat with a current trainee.</p><p></p><p>Interview with HR - I was unsure what this interview was for, as they asked me questions I had already been asked in my Partner interview. Fairly short and surrounds your motivation for the Firm, what your start dates would be etc. This bit is nothing to worry about.</p><p></p><p><strong>Were you successful?</strong></p><p></p><p>No</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jaysen, post: 26537, member: 1"] [B]Please state the month/year you interviewed at the firm.[/B] December 2019 [B]Please specify what the interview was for.[/B] Training Contract [B]Please give an overview of the day with approximate timings.[/B] 12.20pm Arrival, 12.30pm Written Exercise, 1.45pm Interview with Two Partners, 2.50pm Tour, 3.00pm Interview with HR [B]Please provide a summary of each assessment on the day with approximate timings.[/B] Written Exercise - You are taken to a room with a computer and a stack of documents in. You have one hour to read through the brief and the documents and complete the exercise on the computer. It was 1-2 pages typed. My scenario was based on different business growth strategies. I didn't think there was that much to read through and having some kind of SWOT analysis when you go through the documents will help to structure your brief. You are asked to advise a fictitious client and have to pick one option out of three and use the information to justify why. This element is testing commercial awareness so brushing up on business growth strategies and why businesses do R&D, follow certain strategies and the advantages of each will help, along with knowledge of the current economic climate and events that may affect business decisions. I did not struggle to complete the exercise within an hour, but I had done written exercises before so I think this may have helped with my ability to quickly read through everything and structure my brief. Interview with Two Partners - This was the hardest element of the day and it lasted around 45 minutes to an hour. After the written exercise, I was given a short opinion piece on the collapse of WeWork from the FT and a set of questions which I had to go through and jot answers down to. I had around 15-20 minutes to do this. After this, I was taken to the room with the two Partners. They had my CV and cover letter in front of them and took notes throughout the interview. Having interviewed at three firms by this point, this was by far my strangest and least structured interview, which I had been warned would be the case by others that had interviewed at the firm. The interview is split into two sections: questions about you and the article. It started off with standard motivational questions, asking about my motivations for applying. I was not asked the standard 'why law' or 'why Slaughter and May' but a vague opener along the the lines of 'why are you here today' which I found hard to answer succinctly. I was asked to justify two bad grades from university (I have mostly firsts and I had two low 2.1s in second year) as well as the university I went to and why I hadn't applied for Oxbridge. I was also asked why I chose the course I did and they questioned my suitability for commercial law, as I had a lot of charity work on my CV, saying I would make a better public lawyer. I wasn't asked any competency questions at all, or really much that required me to talk about work experience. Every time I gave an answer, it would be questioned, or they would try to follow up on it and ask you further questions. This meant we spent around 15-20 minutes discussing morals in politics. About 2/3 of the way into the interview, we turned to the opinion piece I had made notes on. I was asked to summarise the article and my opinion on what the author was arguing. They then asked relatively straightforward questions based on the article, such as parties involved and who would be affected by it. I found it hard to answer the questions, as I was fairly flustered by the interviewing style by this point. Tour - This was a short tour with a current trainee in which you could ask questions. Interview with HR - This only lasted around 10 minutes. I sat down with a member of HR and asked questions about the day and my motivations for applying. [B]Please list any interview questions you were asked.[/B] - Tell us about yourself and how you have ended up here today - What attracted you to Slaughter and May in particular? - What would a trainee solicitor be doing day to day? - What skills do you think trainee solicitors need? - I see you have an excellent academic record. What happened in second year? - Why commercial law? Your CV would make you seem more suited to public law - Why did you choose your university? Why not Oxbridge? - Why did you choose your course and not law? - Which stakeholders would be affected? (Article) - Summarise the article and do you agree with the opinion of the author? (Article) [B]What is your best advice for each aspect of the assessment on the day? Please break this down for each assessment. This can include advice for preparation, as well as tips for the day.[/B] Written Exercise - Brush up on your commercial awareness, especially in relation to business growth strategies. Type quickly, take time to proofread and have a good structure. Interview with Two Partners - I didn't find that much of my firm research could be used to answer the questions. I have heard from trainees at the firm that the Partners sometimes adopt a good cop/bad cop role, even though I'm not sure if this was the case for my interview. Expect them to question every single answer you give. They are doing this to see how you cope under pressure, but it didn't give me a very positive impression of the firm. However, this may suit different people. The main thing to do before the interview is to brush up on your CV and cover letter, as they will ask you questions mainly from this. Also prepare questions to ask at the end. Tour - Nothing to prepare. A short informal tour and chat with a current trainee. Interview with HR - I was unsure what this interview was for, as they asked me questions I had already been asked in my Partner interview. Fairly short and surrounds your motivation for the Firm, what your start dates would be etc. This bit is nothing to worry about. [B]Were you successful?[/B] No [/QUOTE]
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