Btw, just wanted to give my 3 cents on vac scheme applications. The recruitment process for HK Vac schemes operate similarly, so hopefully it will be of some help.
I applied for 15 firms last year, and guess what? I got PFOs for all of them. I was really doubting my personal ability back then, but the idea that I had 15 PFOs and all my other friends who got vac scheme offers just fuelled me even more to find out what I was lacking.
1. Cover Letter: Show yourself!
Looking back, one of the first things I noticed was how bad my cover letters were. I couldn’t showcase myself in any of them. I was basically repeating what I had on my CV, and I couldn’t link it back to the firm. So this time around, I focused on my personal experiences. I drew my experiences abroad and where I lived, and connected to why I wanted a career in commercial law. Similarly, I drew upon my volunteering experiences, my experience as an athlete in high school etc and linked them back to the firm, saying how its training style or work culture would benefit me/be a good fit for them. This way, I can weave in my personal qualities and talk about the firm, without needing a separate paragraph talking about myself.
Oh btw, never, ever use ChatGPT or any AI bot to write your cover letters.
2. Quality of Quantity
People think that more applications = more chances of success. Well you can look at me and basically tell it’s not the case. Last year, I didn’t attend open days or any career events, thinking my grades alone were sufficient. Boy was I wrong. As part of researching the firm, these carer events are super important if you want to learn more about the firm, so always try to go to them, even though you personally aren’t really interested in the firm. You probably won’t get the Managing Partner or GR to remember you, but the info you get out of it is extremely valuable. I think partially why I got an offer was that I drew upon what they talked about in the career talk, especially their work and why I was interested in pursuing a career in this line of work (private equity, regulatory etc). If you’re doing this already, you’re halfway there so don’t worry.
3. Review, Review, Review
Always review sections of your application that requires you to type it out. Always try to have a word document dedicated for this since you can check your grammar and spelling beforehand. My CC application was littered with grammar and spelling mistakes in my 1st cycle, so that’s probably the main reason why I got PFOed. If you want to, you can definitely have someone proof read for you, just in case you miss anything. This rule of thumb also goes to your cover letter. Read it out loud, or have someone read it for you. Always nice to get a 2nd opinion.
4. Read the news
This is often the most overlooked aspect of vac scheme applications, but this is how you truly build commercial awareness. If you’re finding it very difficult to understand some of the more technical terms, that’s fine. Here’s how you can dice it up into smaller, more consumable chunks. I found it way easier to understand market info than just reading through the whole thing without understanding what was going on half the time.
First, I created a word doc just for commercial news. I then looked at the firm’s business and clients and go onto the news to see if any deals/ practices coincided with market developments. In my case, I chose to read up on private equity and IPOs in Japan. Whenever I came up with a term I didn’t know on the news, I highlighted it, and searched it up. I then had a section dedicated to explaining this term, like a glossary. My explanation for the term would be easy for me to understand, and slowly, I understood what was going on. It doesn’t even need to be a technical commercial term: it can be any term you don’t understand!
This system really helped me expand my commercial awareness, at least in a sense why businesses were making those decisions. I credit this worksheet that I made to being able to successfully get through the interview process, since the partner and I got on a very nice chat about the Japanese market by the end of the interview.
5. Don’t be arrogant - Reflect on yourself
It’s always tempting to think that because I go to law school, and I got a 70 something in a module, or an A for that assignment, I must be the best. Well actually, no you’re not. I used to be that kind of guy, but the 1st cycle of my application process really humbled me and made me reflect on my weaknesses. It made me work harder and focus on myself, rather than comparing myself to others. Getting good grades only gets you so far. I know this guy from law school who is by far the most hard working person I’ve known, but he was super arrogant and aggressive to everyone. He loves talking about himself on the law group chat, and it was not a surprise when he complained that he didn’t get any offers for vac schemes. A hardworking and positive attitude is something firms want to see, and the application process goes beyond who gets better grades.
If you don’t get any offers this cycle, that’s totally fine as well! A rejection is another opportunity to reflect and learn. You don’t always get it right at first, just like law firms don’t expect trainees to get it right at first too! 15 PFOs certainly was not fun, but here I am now! After reflecting on my mistakes and on things I didn’t do well, I certainly grew a lot as a law student and as a person. The lessons you learnt will be reflected in your next cycle, and you’ll definitely improve if you keep reflecting on yourself!
Hope this helps! And like my contract law professor says all the time to us: Per Ardua Ad Astra!
