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

[John Doe]

Hi guys,

I am applying to Reed Smith and there is only one question "Please provide us with any additional information that you would like to share about yourself, including your main activities or interests outside of study or work-life and for example any awards or personal achievements"

I was wondering if you would include also your qualities and skills for example "My entrepreneurial attitude and social activism have been instrumental to create commercial awareness workshops for my BAME colleagues and start working on my music/legal start-up etc.."

Thank you for your help.

Hello, not sure if someone else has replied to you? I'm by no means a professional but I have the impression that this Q as with many other strengths-based Qs tends to focus more on you as a person, i.e. your character which is demonstrable through your non-academic commitments. So workshops and start-ups are a great place to start, though I'd make sure to emphasise that these are not just a one-off. I'd also make sure that I'm presenting myself as widely as possible, not just dwelling on one specific quality.

You can think about other long-term commitments like language learning, sports, ECAs, and positions of responsibility if applicable.

Personally, I'm still learning to do strengths-based Qs/personal interests Qs because there is probably no one definite way to answering them and they are all quite personal. I'd also like to invite others to comment as well if there are resources/guides on these types of questions or if you have ideas about how to approach etc.!

 

[S87]

Hello, not sure if someone else has replied to you? I'm by no means a professional but I have the impression that this Q as with many other strengths-based Qs tends to focus more on you as a person, i.e. your character which is demonstrable through your non-academic commitments. So workshops and start-ups are a great place to start, though I'd make sure to emphasise that these are not just a one-off. I'd also make sure that I'm presenting myself as widely as possible, not just dwelling on one specific quality.

You can think about other long-term commitments like language learning, sports, ECAs, and positions of responsibility if applicable.

Personally, I'm still learning to do strengths-based Qs/personal interests Qs because there is probably no one definite way of answering them and they are all quite personal. I'd also like to invite others to comment as well if there are resources/guides on these types of questions or if you have ideas about how to approach etc.!

Thank you very much for your help.

I actually changed my whole approach to this question and included as much as possible to show my full personality through my achievements and interests.

 

[James Carrabino]

Does anyone have any success stories of people with poor A levels securing TCs? I got ABC and all my other academics are strong (gcses, undergrad and postgrad) but I still feel like they hold me back - advice????

I've heard stories of people with A Levels lower than that securing TCs at great firms. With some firms it may well hold you back, but many recruit holistically and mitigating circumstances will be taken into account, along with the fact that candidates will make up for lower grades with strong experiences elsewhere. Firms are increasingly considering applications as a whole and it is much less common nowadays that an application will be immediately rejected due to grades.

Also, I would think that academic performance at university is significantly more important than A Levels. A Levels are a long time ago for most candidates and they come at a difficult time developmentally for many people - in the US where I did my undergrad, a candidate will never be asked about their school performance in any application (except their initial university application). This is partly because there are no standardised exams such as A Levels in the US but there is also a sense that by that point it has become irrelevant.

Obviously a lot of law firms in the UK do ask for A Levels but you are not way off the AAB/ABB guidelines set by many firms so I think that if you can show how you are able to make up for your grades with other experiences, you should have as good a chance as anyone.

I would also make the comment that it is hard to know whether your A Levels are really holding you back - I received many a post-app rejection despite having high A Level grades. Definitely don't give up just because you receive some rejections and assume its down to A Levels! You can't change your A Levels now so instead take the approach that you are going to constantly re-assess how to improve every other aspect of your application. I am sure that with perseverance (it's not easy for anyone) you will start finding success

 

[James Carrabino]

I've read that Simmons & Simmons' AC includes an inbox exercise, case study exercise and competency interview. Am I correct in thinking this suggests there won't be the typical why Simmons, why law, etc. questions?

I think the 'why law', 'why commercial law' and 'why this firm' questions are fair game in absolutely any interview. What you won't expect to find here is a commercial interview, a case study interview, an article interview, a presentation, or an interview that really digs in really deep to your motivations (eg why solicitor not barrister or banker etc). I hope that helps

 

[James Carrabino]

Hi guys,

I am applying to Reed Smith and there is only one question "Please provide us with any additional information that you would like to share about yourself, including your main activities or interests outside of study or work-life and for example any awards or personal achievements"

I was wondering if you would include also your qualities and skills for example "My entrepreneurial attitude and social activism have been instrumental to create commercial awareness workshops for my BAME colleagues and start working on my music/legal start-up etc.."

Thank you for your help.

Those sound to me like great examples for the question at hand!

Now let's reconsider how you would frame them in your answer to make them as impactful as possible First of all, what is a music/legal start-up or do you have two start-ups? This needs an explanation as it sounds awesome (especially to me given my own musical background) but I have no idea what it entails at the moment! Your commercial awareness workshops for BAME colleagues also sound excellent, but the reader of your application won't know what exactly you did, what the workshops were about, whether anyone attended etc.

Furthermore, your start-ups and the workshops seem to be completely unrelated topics so I would not try and mention them in the same sentence. You won't be able to anyway once you elaborate on each one to really highlight how you were involved and why they are so impressive.

I know you were just giving an example here and that you will spend ample time polishing your answer before submitting, but having read a range of TCLA members' applications myself as a member of the application review team, I have seen many applications that try to cram too much information into the word count and end up not explaining the relevant points adequately.

I hope that this is a useful insight into how to approach application answers!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Does anyone have any success stories of people with poor A levels securing TCs? I got ABC and all my other academics are strong (gcses, undergrad and postgrad) but I still feel like they hold me back - advice????

I have recruited enough people with lower A-level grades across multiple firms who even had a stricter policy on A-level grades back then than they do now to know it happens more than you probably think it does.

Did you have any mitigating circumstances or do you feel you would be flagged in a contextualised recruitment system?

 

[RS31]

@Jessica Booker - I could really use your advice on this!
My email from Cleary says: "Ahead of the assessment day, we would ask you to complete the following Watson Glaser test. The deadline to complete the test is November 16, 2021."

Does this mean that the deadline is 11:59 tonight (15th) or tomorrow (16th)? Does it make me look stupid if I write them back to clarify?

 

[RS31]

The deadline will be 23.59 tomorrow - it’s a badly worded description.

Call the firm first thing in the morning to see if the deadline can be extended. Also try to contact the video interview platform provider to see if they can provide tech support. They are usually available 24/7.

Thank you Jessica! Tech support was able to help out.

 

[Jessica Booker]

@Jessica Booker - I could really use your advice on this!
My email from Cleary says: "Ahead of the assessment day, we would ask you to complete the following Watson Glaser test. The deadline to complete the test is November 16, 2021."

Does this mean that the deadline is 11:59 tonight (15th) or tomorrow (16th)? Does it make me look stupid if I write them back to clarify?

23.59 on 16th - no need to email them

 

[refy]

I just met the benchmark for their test for the spring VS, I would say be extremely quick and accurate. Ideally, you need to complete all 40-50 questions in around 25-30 mins

Thank you for this! Are there any practice tests you feel would help? I've done a few verbal reasoning ones

 

[Tcapplicant]

How long does it usually take for A&O to let you know you passed the SJT?

 

[ltt_12]

Does anyone know if you need to submit your app & complete the WG test for NRF before the deadline or is it ok to submit the initial app just before the deadline (since its non-rolling) and you are then still able to do the wg after the deadline?

 

[Veep9]

Does anyone know if you need to submit your app & complete the WG test for NRF before the deadline or is it ok to submit the initial app just before the deadline (since its non-rolling) and you are then still able to do the wg after the deadline?

Just the application. I think GR screens your application before they send the WG link.

 

[JM1998]

Does anyone know if you need to submit your app & complete the WG test for NRF before the deadline or is it ok to submit the initial app just before the deadline (since its non-rolling) and you are then still able to do the wg after the deadline?

You just need to submit the application form before the deadline. The WG is sent out after initial screening.

 

[JM1998]

Hey I have an AC with Clyde this week. The confirmation email said we should have access to the TopScore system 72h in advance but I still haven't received the login...wonder if you have received a TopScore login yet?

I haven’t yet but my AC is on Thursday

 

[lila122]

Do law firms tend to send rejections after interviews if they’re certain they don’t want you, or do they just focus on sending out offers to those they do want and then deal with/ send rejections after all those they want are spoken to?

 

[KBLAW]

Anyone know how long Dechert take to respond after the written exercise? Thankssss

 

[Phoenix for all]

I haven’t yet but my AC is on Thursday

Thanks for letting me know -
I finally received my login this morning!

 

[M777]

Anyone know how long Dechert take to respond after the written exercise? Thankssss

This for spring/summer vs?

 

[KBLAW]

This for spring/summer vs?

Spring