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TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

dannyp123

Distinguished Member
Premium Member
Oct 20, 2024
60
41
Most of the grad teams don't like seeing them in any of the applications; hence, it is always better to avoid them.
I'm sorry, but for example here an em dash would be quite useful:

'Most of the grad teams don't like seeing them in any of the applications — hence, it is always better to avoid them.'

Firms really reject applications based on AI when it is very obvious (i.e., extremely generic and overly flowery, convoluted language).
 
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Abbie Whitlock

Administrator
Staff member
Gold Member
Premium Member
Sep 11, 2025
840
903
Is it fine not to use the full time given in video interviews or is it a bad look lmao
Hello!

As others have mentioned, it's completely fine to finish a video interview answer before the allotted time, as long as your response is clear and well-structured. If you've fully addressed the question and concluded confidently, wrapping up a little early is absolutely fine.

If you do notice that you are consistently finishing quite a bit early, it might be worth checking whether you can add a bit more depth or expand on your examples. Make sure that you've covered all the aspects of the question and explained your reasoning clearly.

If you've done that, leaving some time at the end isn't an issue - quality always matters more than duration! :)
 

WillKitchen

Valued Member
  • Aug 28, 2025
    101
    313
    Me, a literature graduate, slamming the table because I can't use emdashes and "honed" anymore after AI because it'll be ruled out as one (I've always loved using them😭)
    Agreed. I've published four books, and I use dashes all the time!

    Thanks to law firm applications, I have started to use semicolons more often.
     

    abc124

    Legendary Member
    Aug 9, 2025
    209
    190
    I'm slightly confused, in the Mayer Brown practice test it says we've got unlimited prep time for the VI questions but the invitation email says the vi questions 'are the only part of the assessment where there is a set preparation time'. Is the email some outdated template? Amberjack usually doesn't have limits on prep time
     
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    lawstudent2

    Legendary Member
    Gold Member
    Premium Member
    Dec 9, 2024
    213
    240
    I'm slightly confused, in the Mayer Brown practice test it says we've got unlimited prep time for the VI questions but the invitation email says the vi questions 'are the only part of the assessment where there is a set preparation time'. Is the email some outdated template? Amberjack usually doesn't have limits on prep time
    There are four VI questions, two have unlimited prep time, two have limited prep time
     

    sjm251102

    Active Member
    Oct 12, 2023
    19
    31
    Scary! Do they give you the materials beforehand to read atleast? Or are you expected to read materials & come up with an answer all in 1 minute?
    Yesss you get the reading materials first, however once you have read them over, you start the question and there’s another paragraph with 3 questions to read through in 1 min😭😭 it’s just the short timing that makes it hard!! :)
     

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