TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2021-22 (#1)

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Jessica Booker

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One of Sidley's questions is 'In your view which personal qualities make a successful lawyer?'

I've written up my own list, but revisiting their website just now they have a quite neat little 'what we look for' list of personal attributes.

While I'm pleased to find that there's significant conceptual overlap between their list and mine, I'm now wondering if I should shift gears/rewrite to focus more on what they obviously think are key qualities.

Are firms generally looking for their own material to be reflected back at them on these sorts of questions, or do they prefer something a little different? And if using their listed qualities, is it better to use the specific language they use or does it not matter? (ex. they list 'perserverance,' I had already written on 'resilience')
Perseverance and resilience although similar and often connected to me are different qualities. Resilience is often about being unfazed by challenging matters, while perseverance is more of a dogged determination that ensure success. One is more about how you feel and the other is more about what you do.

I would personally use your own strengths and your own language but try to find alignments or similarities where you can. The firm knows it’s own marketing/values/attributes and there is just a risk that anyone can repeat that, and therefore you haven’t got the opportunity to stand out from the crowd nor show you as a unique applicant.
 
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AvniD

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One of Sidley's questions is 'In your view which personal qualities make a successful lawyer?'

I've written up my own list, but revisiting their website just now they have a quite neat little 'what we look for' list of personal attributes.

While I'm pleased to find that there's significant conceptual overlap between their list and mine, I'm now wondering if I should shift gears/rewrite to focus more on what they obviously think are key qualities.

Are firms generally looking for their own material to be reflected back at them on these sorts of questions, or do they prefer something a little different? And if using their listed qualities, is it better to use the specific language they use or does it not matter? (ex. they list 'perserverance,' I had already written on 'resilience')
I'd suggest finding links between your own strengths as you would word them and the firm's values/ethos/vision. That way, it doesn't seem like you're simply telling them things you think they'd like to hear and it also demonstrates that you've thought deeply about why you're a good fit for the firm and vice versa.
 
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S87

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Morning everyone,

I am planning to apply to A&O and there are two questions to answer?

Please describe the key learnings/skills you’ve gained through work experience, positions of responsibility, personal experience or extracurricular activities. (250 words)

Outline how you would apply these skills to the trainee role at A&O, in order to be successful. (250 words).

For what concerns the first question: do you think i should use STAR and can I mention the AS commercial awareness competition even if it is an achievement? Plus what do we mean by "learnings"
The second questions: is the general trainee role or specifically A&O?
 
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