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

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AvniD

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Hi guys,

I was looking at HL application and I was wondering how to approach a question where I need to give an example of something that shows my innovation and entrepreneurial spirit. Do you have any suggestions?

Haha I ditched the app on the basis of this question alone.

I think broadly though if you've ever done anything in a work context where you improved a process in some way, or helped kick off a new initiative with a student society or something, that should be fair play

imo the question framing is a bit janky because it reads like it's about starting a business or coding an app or something but obviously most people haven't done that, so I imagine that can't be exclusively what they're getting at - though for some people of course it will apply.

I feel like the question cuts off a wide range of candidates, my job does not allow me to really move things around and show how innovative I am.
I think that I need to make a decision by the end of the day...I cannot be stressed anymore. Covington sucked the life out of me lol!

I'd take a leaf out of a conversation I once had with a partner for inspiration to answer this question. For him, innovation meant finding new ways of doing an established task/process. It didn't need to include technological or business-minded innovation at all (and this came from a person whose firm won many awards consecutively for their innovation, btw).

With this in mind, the trick to answering this question lies in thinking deeply about instances where you have had to find a way to do something differently, where you have had to adapt to your circumstances to efficiently produce a result, complete a task or undertake a process.

Once you understand this, trust me, the examples will start flowing out. A time when you've had to work within a tight budget to produce a high-quality piece of work, how you finished a task in the event of a technological failure, how you delegated tasks within a team to get them done quickly, when you instituted a new process at work/uni/society to bring efficiency to the way things were being done- the list really is endless.

Once you've picked an example, the focus must shift towards demonstrating your innovative thought process and the impact of your actions. The structure could look something like this-

state the example ➡️ state why you needed to be innovative ➡️ walk through the choices you made to make to bring about innovation in said example ➡️ what was the impact of your actions on the task/result/process/.
 

Jessica Booker

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Has anyone ever had success applying to direct TCs with NO legal work experience?

Ive only been applying to summer VACs and was thinking of switching things up a bit but I don’t know whether there’s any point?
I’ve recruited enough to know this is very possible.
 

S87

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I'd take a leaf out of a conversation I once had with a partner for inspiration to answer this question. For him, innovation meant finding new ways of doing an established task/process. It didn't need to include technological or business-minded innovation at all (and this came from a person whose firm won many awards consecutively for their innovation, btw).

With this in mind, the trick to answering this question lies in thinking deeply about instances where you have had to find a way to do something differently, where you have had to adapt to your circumstances to efficiently produce a result, complete a task or undertake a process.

Once you understand this, trust me, the examples will start flowing out. A time when you've had to work within a tight budget to produce a high-quality piece of work, how you finished a task in the event of a technological failure, how you delegated tasks within a team to get them done quickly, when you instituted a new process at work/uni/society to bring efficiency to the way things were being done- the list really is endless.

Once you've picked an example, the focus must shift towards demonstrating your innovative thought process and the impact of your actions. The structure could look something like this-

state the example ➡️ state why you needed to be innovative ➡️ walk through the choices you made to make to bring about innovation in said example ➡️ what was the impact of your actions on the task/result/process/.
That’s a good point
 
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