TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2022-23
- Thread starter Jessica Booker
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Imo AC prep can be sorted into two chunks:
1) things that are labour intensive to the specific AC - understanding the specifics of this firm’s AC, doing mock tests or interviews, researching about the firm
2) things developed best over time - these are things like commercial awareness/trying to integrate a client mindset into thinking about issues, or getting good at answering motivation or competency questions.
For 1, I’d suggest treating them like a uni assignment and splitting it into chunks e.g. Spending 2 days understanding the firm, with time spent researching practice areas in depth or compiling info on 2-3 of the company’s deals you can talk about in depth. These vary from firm to firm but you’d want to be able to answer questions like ”What sets us apart from our competitions” reasonably well, or apply case studies example to the specific firm you’re working for. These tasks aren’t likely to crowd out all of your assignments, and even if there’s a trade off prioritising the ACs for 2-3 days doesn’t sound too bad
For 2, these are things that perhaps benefit the most from a bit of time every day within the TC process as every bit of work on them makes you a stronger candidate, if not for this AC then the next one/the next application phase. Spending 5 mins a day trying to answer 3- 4 competency questions, recording your answers and listening back before bed with notes for improvement or writing short justifications for how a news story could be relevant to a client/how it could create opportunities for different departments of a law firm has massive compounding benefits over time. This benefits a lot from being a habit thing, and seems unlikely to trade off against uni productivity in a massive way.
Hope this helps!
Does anyone know if taking notes/your own notebook in for an assessment center is ok/an accepted practice or likely to be an issue? Thanks 
Does any international student have experience completing a 2-week vacation scheme, where the first week is during term time (limited 20 hours per week of working), but the second week is during the easter holiday (so full time hours of work is allowable).
Interviewing at a few firms that have scheme dates in late March/early April for spring. Looking for advice on how to navigate this with grad rec should an offer come through.
Interviewing at a few firms that have scheme dates in late March/early April for spring. Looking for advice on how to navigate this with grad rec should an offer come through.
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Jessica Booker
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Yes you can - you just might not be able to take it into case studies/written exercises/group exercises.Does anyone know if taking notes/your own notebook in for an assessment center is ok/an accepted practice or likely to be an issue? Thanks
Jessica Booker
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You should speak to your uni first and see whether they can effectively write you a letter that agrees you are on holidays for the first week - that is by far your easiest option in solving the problem, although many universities will not entertain the idea at all.
If not, then you’ll either need to speak to the firm about only attending two and a half days in the first week. Unfortunately only being paid for 20 hours is not a solution - both you and the firm could get into serious trouble if you are found to be attending the scheme full time.
Many firms will say that not attending 2 and a half days is not suitable and will either suggest they move you to a later scheme, that you move to a direct TC process instead, or the worst outcome is that you have to decline the offer as you cannot meet the terms of the offer.
Grad rec told me that outcomes for summer will be sent next week as they have had some timing issues with organising some ACs
i struggled with this myself but there's literally no way around it like you either do not accept the offers, or you ask them to be considered for a direct Tc (i know some people have done it successfully) or you postpone it to the following year but the student visa does not allow us to work during term time. I had a similar issue but for the summer vac scheme since i have a summer term with no classes just dissertation writing and i asked my university to write a letter to the visa compliance team saying that for the 2/3 weeks of the vac scheme i'll be on vacation and so ready to work full time but this can only be done up to 4 weeks. But if you have class and stuff.. it's going to be hard to obtain that.
To add to this - uni work is a priority that shouldn't be traded off with, so calendar block your time and treat them seminars and the ACs as meetings.
Naturally treat the AC as a very important meeting but the seminars as meetings that if you fall behind on it would be loonnnnggg to catch up on.
So I would calendar block the length of time your prep work for seminars takes - add fifteen minute buffer and then add AC prep work in between that.
Know yourself so I am a morning person and know unless something is really urgent I won't have the motivation to work past 8pm so I would get into uni at 9am and do most my work in the day - I prefer the social pressure of working in a library so would do that and then closer to the AC where I want to minimise as much disruption I would work from.
Have SMART goals / An Achievable to do list - (I am impatient sometimes) so my to do list is very granular (i.e. instead of Tort Seminar prep - I would write Seminar Qu 1) reading Seminar Qu 1) Answer Seminar Qu 2) reading etc / Draft written answer for why law / Read firm diversity stats (if important to you)) which helps me stay focused.
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