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

[rightletsdothis]

I would advise to be patient. It sounds like you’ll get a call on Monday anyway.

Do not expect Graduate Recruitment to respond at the weekend and especially via LinkedIn. This is not appropriate. Only contact GR through email.

Your other firms don’t need a decision this weekend either, and so there is no immediate rush on this.

Ok will do!
But if I get into this firm I’m going to suggest GR come up with some way to tell everyone their results at the same time. It’s been chaos in the group chats for this vacation scheme… honestly a little cruel to leave half of them in the dark.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Ok will do!
But if I get into this firm I’m going to suggest GR come up with some way to tell everyone their results at the same time. It’s been chaos in the group chats for this vacation scheme… honestly a little cruel to leave half of them in the dark.

I wouldn’t do that. You are effectively telling someone how to do their job.

There are a whole load of reasons why a firm can’t tell everyone at the same time. It’s actually very normal and isn’t cruel - you can’t expect things to be standardised like this in all honesty.

Think about it this way. You have 10 spots to invite people to dinner. You don’t want to waste a spot and you have 30 people who would most likely be interested in attending, but might have other plans that day. You don’t invite all 30 in one go in case they can all make it. You also struggle to get hold of some people as they don’t pick up the phone when you call them. You probably have at least one wrong number for one of them too. Even when people do answer, they are non committal and say they will get back to you within a week with confirmation as to whether they can attend or not. So naturally some people get their invite later than others.

 

[rightletsdothis]

I wouldn’t do that. You are effectively telling someone how to do their job.

There are a whole load of reasons why a firm can’t tell everyone at the same time. It’s actually very normal and isn’t cruel - you can’t expect things to be standardised like this in all honesty.

Think about it this way. You have 10 spots to invite people to dinner. You don’t want to waste a spot and you have 30 people who would most likely be interested in attending, but might have other plans that day. You don’t invite all 30 in one go in case they can all make it. You also struggle to get hold of some people as they don’t pick up the phone when you call them. You probably have at least one wrong number for one of them too. Even when people do answer, they are non committal and say they will get back to you within a week with confirmation as to whether they can attend or not. So naturally some people get their invite later than others.

That analogy makes sense for firms that decide on who gets places in different waves, but this firm admits they make the decisions all in one single go and tell all the partners at the same time who they should phone. I just think for that specific firm, it would make sense to then just tell everyone straight away via an email in my opinion. Because then you end up with a bunch of people celebrating and then others curled up in a fetal position because their partner was busy... seems odd to me.

Plus this isn't a dinner party haha, it's a life-changing job opportunity that may never happen again.

 

[Jessica Booker]

That analogy makes sense for firms that decide on who gets places in different waves, but this firm admits they make the decisions all in one single go and tell all the partners at the same time who they should phone. I just think for that specific firm, it would make sense to then just tell everyone straight away via an email in my opinion. Because then you end up with a bunch of people celebrating and then others curled up in a fetal position because their partner was busy... seems odd to me.

Plus this isn't a dinner party haha, it's a life-changing job opportunity that may never happen again.

I used to do this on mass when firms couldn’t make offers until the first of September. We used to send an email out on mass at midnight on 1st September and then organise follow up calls with partners in the following days.

Even then, it didn’t go to plan and not everyone heard back at the same time for a whole host of reasons.

The process will have been determined by a lot of factors you don’t have sight of. Just because you want something, doesn’t mean it is practical for the GR team to implement it. It’s odd to you, but necessary to the team who is having to manage everything.

For all you know, getting the partners to call is deemed important (a lot of people feel this is important to convince VS’ers to join them over other offers), and all it would have taken is a number of partners to now be unable to call when they hoped and some people wouldn’t have heard back. I coordinated such calls, and trying to even get updates as to whether the partner called or not was a logistical nightmare.

 

[rightletsdothis]

I mean they did a mass email for the AC results and so everyone found out at the same time. Some were heartbroken and some euphoric but at least no one had to wait in agony...Seemed to work well also. That set-up of an email and then an eventual call sounds much better to me honestly.

 

[Jessica Booker]

I mean they did a mass email for the AC results and so everyone found out at the same time. Some were heartbroken and some euphoric but at least no one had to wait in agony...Seemed to work well also. That set-up of an email and then an eventual call sounds much better to me honestly.

It may be better for you, but it might not be what other people want (including the firm’s partners). A lot of people would find that very impersonal.

As I said, even when we did send mass emails, not everyone heard at the same time for a range of reasons, so it may not solve your concerns.

 

[rightletsdothis]

It may be better for you, but it might not be what other people want (including the firm’s partners). A lot of people would find that very impersonal.

As I said, even when we did send mass emails, not everyone heard at the same time for a range of reasons, so it may not solve your concerns.

We agree to disagree on this one I think 🤝

 

[TCApp2021]

Siuuuu.. got a TC offer this week! Thanks to everyone in this community for your advice throughout. Also in terms advice, i would say be strategic with your firm choices (I didn’t just apply to my preferred firms but also looked at the application process - e.g where firms had similar application questions/just cover letters I didn’t really need to draft answers from scratch so applied anyway).

I also have a summer VS offer elsewhere - they said they’d consider re-interviewing me for a direct TC if I got a TC elsewhere. Not sure if I should do this before actually deciding which firm I prefer first - does anyone have any advice on how to pick best firm?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Siuuuu.. got a TC offer this week! Thanks to everyone in this community for your advice throughout. Also in terms advice, i would say be strategic with your firm choices (I didn’t just apply to my preferred firms but also looked at the application process - e.g where firms had similar application questions/just cover letters I didn’t really need to draft answers from scratch so applied anyway).

I also have a summer VS offer elsewhere - they said they’d consider re-interviewing me for a direct TC if I got a TC elsewhere. Not sure if I should do this before actually deciding which firm I prefer first - does anyone have any advice on how to pick best firm?

Could you still go ahead with the VS and then decide which offer to accept? That could be an option, especially if you want to find out more about the firm to inform your decision on which firm to accept.

 

[TCApp2021]

Could you still go ahead with the VS and then decide which offer to accept? That could be an option, especially if you want to find out more about the firm to inform your decision on which firm to accept.

I’m not sure how long I have to accept the offer as I haven’t been sent any paperwork yet. If it does end up being the case that I have enough time to do the VS before accepting, does it look bad if I don’t accept the direct TC offer straight away/tell them I need time because of the VS?
Just to add withe the direct TC offer they’ve offered me an earlier start date (2023) - could this be changed to 2024 if I say I want to do the VS first?

 

[LawfulRust00]

Does anyone with experience doing the McQuaig Test have any tips? Would appreciate it, thanks

 

[Jessica Booker]

I’m not sure how long I have to accept the offer as I haven’t been sent any paperwork yet. If it does end up being the case that I have enough time to do the VS before accepting, does it look bad if I don’t accept the direct TC offer straight away/tell them I need time because of the VS?
Just to add withe the direct TC offer they’ve offered me an earlier start date (2023) - could this be changed to 2024 if I say I want to do the VS first?

I’d wait until you have the paperwork then before working out what to do next.

It sounds like the VS offer would potentially convert to a 2024 TC anyway and that they were just willing to offer you an earlier 2023 direct TC process. If you are sticking to the VS offer, I don’t think you need to ask to be changed unless you have already accepted the direct TC interview process.

 

[TCApp2021]

I’d wait until you have the paperwork then before working out what to do next.

It sounds like the VS offer would potentially convert to a 2024 TC anyway and that they were just willing to offer you an earlier 2023 direct TC process. If you are sticking to the VS offer, I don’t think you need to ask to be changed unless you have already accepted the direct TC interview process.

Thank you

 

[James Carrabino]

That analogy makes sense for firms that decide on who gets places in different waves, but this firm admits they make the decisions all in one single go and tell all the partners at the same time who they should phone. I just think for that specific firm, it would make sense to then just tell everyone straight away via an email in my opinion. Because then you end up with a bunch of people celebrating and then others curled up in a fetal position because their partner was busy... seems odd to me.

Plus this isn't a dinner party haha, it's a life-changing job opportunity that may never happen again.

When deciding between firms candidates will often ask themselves, 'Who showed that they really wanted me more?' A personalised call from a partner would absolutely convince them more than a blanket e-mail!

Receiving a TC offer is a special moment and it makes no difference whether you experience that moment a few days later than others (except in your very specific instance in which you have two other TC offers to get back to) but it does make a difference how you learn about it

 

[James Carrabino]

Love this! extremely helpful, thank you

I'm always happy to be of help 😊

 

[rightletsdothis]

When deciding between firms candidates will often ask themselves, 'Who showed that they really wanted me more?' A personalised call from a partner would absolutely convince them more than a blanket e-mail!

Receiving a TC offer is a special moment and it makes no difference whether you experience that moment a few days later than others (except in your very specific instance in which you have two other TC offers to get back to) but it does make a difference how you learn about it

I agree with that 100%. It is super special! I just think if you asked the other 11 of my vacation scheme students right now who haven’t heard back, would they rather wait for an unspecified time slot to hear the response from a partner, or just get a text right now saying you have a TC, I know from speaking to them that every single one would pick the latter haha. It just gets so uncomfortable waiting honestly that any joy I’d get from being phoned from a partner doesn’t out weigh just hearing back already!!! Haha

 

[James Carrabino]

I agree with that 100%. It is super special! I just think if you asked the other 11 of my vacation scheme students right now who haven’t heard back, would they rather wait for an unspecified time slot to hear the response from a partner, or just get a text right now saying you have a TC, I know from speaking to them that every single one would pick the latter haha. It just gets so uncomfortable waiting honestly that any joy I’d get from being phoned from a partner doesn’t out weigh just hearing back already!!! Haha

I get that - I am assuming the problem is that everyone on your vac scheme has been discussing offers with one another so that gets people thinking about it!

Isn't the issue more one of waiting for a response in general though? I know for me that it was agonising to wait for a response post vac-scheme (one firm where I did a spring scheme made us wait until after they finished both their summer schemes!) but it would not have made a difference to me whether or not others had heard back as it would have been equally agonising either way!

 

[rightletsdothis]

I get that - I am assuming the problem is that everyone on your vac scheme has been discussing offers with one another so that gets people thinking about it!

Isn't the issue more one of waiting for a response in general though? I know for me that it was agonising to wait for a response post vac-scheme (one firm where I did a spring scheme made us wait until after they finished both their summer schemes!) but it would not have made a difference to me whether or not others had heard back as it would have been equally agonising either way!

Very true. Our vac scheme group is very close so we have been very open about offers etc. partly because this firm promises a space for every VS participant so there is no dog eat dog mentality.

I think it’s a bit of both here. It was hard waiting for responses but it’s harder when you see half the group gain a positive response. Because the mind games go from “I can’t wait” to “I wonder if I haven’t heard because I’m not getting in?” Or “why was I not as good as them?” Etc etc… so it’s this double whammy of waiting but also seeing others be so happy while you’re sitting here wondering if you lost your chance … at least when none of us knew, there was this connection we all had haha. All in pain, together!

 

[Jessica Booker]

I get that - I am assuming the problem is that everyone on your vac scheme has been discussing offers with one another so that gets people thinking about it!

Isn't the issue more one of waiting for a response in general though? I know for me that it was agonising to wait for a response post vac-scheme (one firm where I did a spring scheme made us wait until after they finished both their summer schemes!) but it would not have made a difference to me whether or not others had heard back as it would have been equally agonising either way!

I have known some employers (outside of law) to explicitly ask people not to talk about their offers/outcomes for this and other reasons.

 

[James Carrabino]

Very true. Our vac scheme group is very close so we have been very open about offers etc. partly because this firm promises a space for every VS participant so there is no dog eat dog mentality.

I think it’s a bit of both here. It was hard waiting for responses but it’s harder when you see half the group gain a positive response. Because the mind games go from “I can’t wait” to “I wonder if I haven’t heard because I’m not getting in?” Or “why was I not as good as them?” Etc etc… so it’s this double whammy of waiting but also seeing others be so happy while you’re sitting here wondering if you lost your chance … at least when none of us knew, there was this connection we all had haha. All in pain, together!

I feel for you! It sounds like they were fairly up front with you about the fact that they released all news (positive or negative) together and so I would not let your mind wander and start inferring anything from the delay! Hopefully the delay lasts no longer than Monday anyway

Regardless, you have done exceptionally well to receive 2 TC offers and so the agony could be worse 😊 I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you!