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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Andrei Radu" data-source="post: 190486" data-attributes="member: 36777">Hey [USER=36365]@User5678[/USER], [USER=36738]@Ram Sabaratnam[/USER] might be able to tell you more but here's my take on your two questions:1. You have identified the two important points about a good answer here: not having a deal-breaker weakness and showing improvement. My response here (which I actually got to explain in a final successful TC interview) was around networking skills. I would start by explaining how I historically suffered from a level of social anxiety and how an office environment and the City in general was an unfamiliar and slightly daunting environment for me. Then, I told the interviews that I realised that networking skills, like many other skills, are not something you're either born with or without. Of course, personality traits and the environment you lived in can influence how good you can become at networking and of course, some people have it easier than others. But I knew that this was no reason to stop me from doing my best to improve myself in this regard. I then went on to explain the concrete action steps I took to address it. Firstly, I actively stepped out of my comfort zone and put myself 'out there' by signing up and applying for dozens of careers events. By repeated exposure and lots of practice, I got better at it, as you do with any other thing. Secondly, I started observing how people who are good at networking interact with others, and I started learning from them. Finally, I showed the interviewers the concrete results of my efforts, as during my VS at the firm I got to know many people and actually formed valuable connections, something which I would have found a lot more difficult in the past. At the end, I could tell they really liked my answer.2. As to how to conceive of competitors, I think the right answer is both. Try to answer it both in terms of competitors as most similar type of firm and in terms of competitors as strongest other firms in a given practice area/sector (depending if the firm you are applying to is a sector-focused or practice areas-focused one). Once again, when I pointed out this distinction in the interview I got a lot of credit for it. For the second part of the question - how your firm is staying ahead - I would look to see what are the recent big announcements and achievements that the firm has (be it expansions, announcements of new strategic objective, investments into tech or particular practice areas, lateral hires, winning new clients or mandates etc). If possible, I would then connect that with some commentary on the dynamics of the legal market - ie. given this or that trend or event, clients will care more about X, and the firm is better place to advise on it because of Y.</blockquote>

Verification: Our company is called, "The Corporate ___ Academy". What is the missing word here?

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