TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2023-24

[bella98]

Do they tell you your score?

I didn’t do the actual test, with the practice test you get a report ( I assume it will be the same for the actual one and you’ll know your score) but I don’t understand if 70% is a good score or not

 

[Bee20]

for people who did the RS test what were your scores?

Hiya! What was the virtual interview like?

 

[axelbeugre]

Is it necessary to put "training contract offer holder" on Linkedin anyway? I've seen it a lot recently (even vacation scheme offer holder) and I'm genuinely curious about the reason for putting this online - is it to connect with more people at the firm, or something more?

I do not think there is much explanation for this. I guess that some people just want to showcase the fact that they have done other vacation schemes and have been successful but chose other firms where to qualify to (which I personally do not see anything wrong with), other people are just not comfortable with sharing their offers and so will not include other vacation schemes they have received or training contract offers. It basically comes down to the individual and whether they want to showcase their successes or not. Law firms usually do not request that you put it on LinkedIn so I doubt that it comes from the firms. I personally believe it is genuinely to showcase their experiences and to make it known that they have been successful but ultimately chose another firm.

 

[axelbeugre]

I talked about Taylor Swift and Barbie but I think I was too conceptual with it 😭😭😭

I think it works so I would not worry about it. I am sure that you conveyed a genuine interest in the topic and it will be interesting to read answers which differ from the typical corporate and professional standard, even for graduate recruitment, and you never know they might relate heavily with this answer and that might work in your favour!

Good luck with the application!

 

[bella98]

I didn’t do the actual test, with the practice test you get a report ( I assume it will be the same for the actual one and you’ll know your score) but I don’t understand if 70% is a good score or not

Oh, I found something. I guess if we get anything above 70 we should be okay

A	Well above average	90-100
B	Above average	70-89
C	Average	30-69
D	Below average	10-29
E	Well below average	0-9

 

[axelbeugre]

Hi all! When an application asks you to talk about work that the firm has 'done recently,' what counts as recent? I was thinking the last 6 months is fair game, though I'm not completely sure on this. For reference, the deal I am keen to reference was announced in January 2023 but was completed in mid July 2023. I'm slightly scared it's too old! If anyone has any guidance it would be much appreciated!

6 months is definitely valid. I would say that everything that happened from 2022 onwards is fairly recent. It would be more ideal if it is from 2023 onwards but only if you can find something that still works for you and what you want to highlight. I think Jessica confirmed that 1/2 years prior still works as fairly recent. I hope this helps.

 

[axelbeugre]

@Jessica Booker Hi Jessica! Appreciate some tips about the question "Choose one of our clients and explain a challenge they are currently facing. What could the organisation do to overcome this challenge and how could we assist? "

Hey @Cynthia14,

I gave some tips and considerations I would potentially follow when writing the answer for this same question in this post: https://www.thecorporatelawacademy....ns-discussion-thread-2023-24.8037/post-154642
I hope these are helpful!

Good luck with the application!

 

[hmarsden]

Hey, long shot but has anyone heard from 2Birds, Dentons or Linklaters? Radio silence is killing me!

 

[77777law]

It’s 2 questions on the same paragraph - I recommend taking a practice test! You can find the link to practice in the same email they sent you for the test

I’m wondering what’s a good score.. does anyone know? (Osborne Clarke verbal reasoning test)

Thank you so much

 

[19.mfjones]

I'm presuming if I've not heard back from reed Smith about whether Im progressed onto test stage it's a pfo?

 

[axelbeugre]

I'm trying to understand the reasoning for it. Is it to prove your loyalty? I can't help but think that if a trainee's development and commercial training was as important as firms make it out to be, then attending additional VSs would be encouraged. I'm very keen to apply to Goodwin, so this isn't to criticise their policy, but I do find it a little odd.

I personally am no aware of the reasons why but what I can think of is that law firms invest an insane amount of money in our training and I did not think it was a crazy request from my perspective. I had the choice to reject it and do my summer scheme at another US firm, but I genuinely enjoyed the firm so much that I decided to accept. Additionally, everyone on my scheme who got offered the training contract (and also had other law firms' schemes to do in the summer) rejected their other schemes to accept Goodwin, which I personally goes to show you how we all enjoyed our scheme. I just want also preface that this was the case for my scheme, which was the Spring Scheme. The summer scheme was able to do their other vacation schemes as they were allowed since they did not receive their training contract offers later. The spring scheme candidates received their offers in May, so that was the only down side of doing the spring scheme. However, the spring scheme was the one that received the most training contract offers so I personally did not complain and was happy with my decision, but I do understand that it is an interesting approach. Many law firms do take this approach tho and I guess it is only fair to a certain degree.

 

[axelbeugre]

There is surely no way of enforcing this?

I do not know this, however I did not want to take the risk in finding that out and I genuinely liked the firm. If I was considering other firms I would have rejected the offer so that it could have gone to someone else.

 

[MrHubertLouis]

Just realised Osborne Clarke’s application doesn’t have anywhere to explain mitigating circumstances for university education, only school/college? I’m a bit confused as to where to put my MC or if i should include it at all.

 

[axelbeugre]

@Jessica Booker im preparing for a HSF Ac and I attended the Linklaters Ac master class and they said one of the most important things you need to display is a solid reason of “why that firm”. How do I go about making my answer seem highly specialised and my motivations genuine? I’m afraid if I talk about a Practice area or their innovative practices then it is not personable enough.

I think that choosing the reasons as to why a specific firm is quite personal to a certain degree. You might be attracted to a firm for a specific reason and I might be drawn to that firm but for a completely different reason. What I would highlight in your answers to this motivation question is simply what, through your research about the firm, you have been inspired by or excited about. A practice area is certainly a good reason to wanting to join a specific firm. For instance, since you are applying to HSF, highlighting your interest in disputes and emphasising how HSF's disputes practice distinguishes itself from its competitors for its excellence and prestige is already a very good answer. To make it more personal though, what I would do is link this back to you and your personal experiences. In practice, whilst mentioning my interest in HSF's disputes practice, I would highlight how I have always been interested in the advocacy skills and problem solving skills involved working on compelling contentious cases. This is already a nice way to bring a personal touch to the answer.

I hope this helps and good luck with your application!

 

[futuretrainee2024]

Completely bombed some online tests. Panicked with the timer and lost focus. It's a shame as I worked hard on the app and spent all morning practicing these tests. Has anyone ever felt like they bombed the tests and still gotten to the next stage? I'm just annoyed with myself

 

[axelbeugre]

Just realised Osborne Clarke’s application doesn’t have anywhere to explain mitigating circumstances for university education, only school/college? I’m a bit confused as to where to put my MC or if i should include it at all.

If there is no space I would either include in the college section. If you are not sure of this, I would email them and ask them where it would be best to write your mitigating circumstances in the application. You should include your mitigating circumstances, it is a very important part especially if they impacted massively and all firms will appreciate that.

 

[axelbeugre]

Completely bombed some online tests. Panicked with the timer and lost focus. It's a shame as I worked hard on the app and spent all morning practicing these tests. Has anyone ever felt like they bombed the tests and still gotten to the next stage? I'm just annoyed with myself

I am so sorry you feel this way but these tests are extremely difficult to crack sometimes so I would not lose hope. I felt like I bombed all of them last year when I was applying and sometimes I did pass them so I would not worry too much, as hard as it might seem now. After you do these tests, it is just best to move on and focus on other applications or on other things because you do not want to overthink it, especially because there is nothing you can do to change what you have done.

 

[MrHubertLouis]

If there is no space I would either include in the college section. If you are not sure of this, I would email them and ask them where it would be best to write your mitigating circumstances in the application. You should include your mitigating circumstances, it is a very important part especially if they impacted massively and all firms will appreciate that.

Thank you so much, Axel. The college section is under Contextual Recruitment, would that be alright?

 

[axelbeugre]

If I passed the app stage 6 months ago, would I need to rewrite my application answer for the question "Tell us about something – anything- that excites you and inspires you"?
Would it be smarter to rephrase things at least or add a few examples? or would it be advised that I write it on something new? I am not sure about this one cause it sounds a bit superficial that my source of inspiration is supposed to change within 6 months.

I think it would be smarter to rephrase the answer as you want to show progress in your application and you can also always improve or ameliorate an answer. I am sure they will probably not remember your answer from last year but if I was you I would either change my answer completely or tackle the same topic of my previous answer but from a slightly different angle if that makes sense. You always want to put your best foot forward so if that means rewriting an answer, following the example of the previous one you have made and which was successful, I personally would do that.

 

[axelbeugre]

In virtual interviews do firms use questions from the application form and if they do can you provide the same or similar answer as the one in the application form?

I personally think that there is nothing wrong in using the same answer in a video interview, especially because saying an answer out loud may sound completely different from reading it. The questions are not the exact same as the applications most of the time but they do have common undertones so I would take that in mind, but they are different in nature for the most part. It depends on the firm to be honest.