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<blockquote data-quote="Hazal" data-source="post: 2877" data-attributes="member: 694"><p>In response to: "<strong>What is your best piece of advice for students about writing a successful vacation scheme or training contract application?</strong>"</p><p></p><p>The simple answer is:</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 22px"><strong>Do your research!</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px">The longer answer is:</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px">After applying to vac schemes and TCs for around 6 months and attending multiple events/open days, I have seen success in my applications most consistently when I've truly conducted an in-depth research into a law firm. Law firms all talk about non-specific applications and applications that show that they've gone a step forward. The steps I take to show this include:</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px"></span></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 15px">Start with insight articles into your chosen firm. So, look at Chambers Student's "True Picture" and Legal Cheek's "The Firms Most List". From these insights pick out things such as what kind of work the firm does, the culture of the firm (directly communicated to these sites by the firm's trainees who are at the heart of that culture), the social life of the firm (i.e. can you expect a social life according to their work/life balance expectations), what the training is like there and what the reputation of the firm is. This step will help you to get to grips with a firm and flesh out what kind of place it is to work in. You will gradually see what is said here, corroborated elsewhere in your research, such as in a firm's awards.</span></li> </ul> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 15px">After collating such a list, move on to the firm's rankings. Look at ChambersUK and Legal500. Both websites rank the departments/services of most firms and give a little insight into their departments and what kind of work they have done for their clients. Knowing what a firm is good at places you in good stead, particularly if you can identify which ones you're particularly interested in. What I usually do is find their tier 1 and 2 rankings (3 if you're keen) and note down the ones I am drawn to. Whenever a question comes up about "why us/this law firm" I <em>always </em>cite rankings when I talk about which sector/service I am interested in gaining experience in. </span></li> </ul> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 15px">Next, find the firm's graduate website and graduate brochure. Pick out any words that they keep repeating. It is likely that they might score you on such a skill/strength as "innovative" or "straight-talking". It wouldn't do any harm to cater towards buzzwords when answering competency-based questions. This could also add to your previous picture of the culture of the place.</span></li> </ul> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 15px">Supplement the previous stage with their official website. Find their awards and look at their news page. You can get a taste for their future business aspirations (are they opening up a legal tech hub?). Awards also show where they assign value in terms of where they are putting in the effort. Firms such as Reed Smith and Simmons & Simmons receive diversity/LGBT awards whereas Jones Day are known for their M&A and Client Service awards. Do these matter to you? If so, mention them in your application (or, in the interest of word count, keep them in mind for a possible future interview)</span></li> </ul><p><span style="font-size: 15px">BONUS: Some firms have "hints and tips" pages for what <em>exactly </em>they are looking for in your application. E.g. something as small as "use bullet points/don't use bullet points". Don't hinder your chances by not looking for this before you start.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px">After conducting such in-depth research, you'll feel more confident about who a firm is, beyond what they say they are. Almost always you'll start perking up at specific pieces of information you'll find and this will be the bare-bones of your answer to "why us". In terms of other questions you'll need to answer for firms, make sure specific competency questions are answered using the STAR method (see <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/careers/careers-blog/star-technique-competency-based-interview" target="_blank">here</a>) and try and relate the skills/strengths you've touched upon to the firm itself (e.g. if HSF like teamwork, say why your specific experience lends itself to that). For commercial based questions, on the other hand, the same depth of research applies as above. Treat it like a mini academic essay.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px">TL/DR: The BEST, shortest piece of advice I achieved was from Reed Smith. If you don't have at least 2 specific facts/statistics relating to the firm, in EACH question, you haven't made it specific enough.</span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Hazal, post: 2877, member: 694"] In response to: "[B]What is your best piece of advice for students about writing a successful vacation scheme or training contract application?[/B]" The simple answer is: [CENTER][SIZE=6][B]Do your research![/B][/SIZE][/CENTER] [SIZE=4] The longer answer is: After applying to vac schemes and TCs for around 6 months and attending multiple events/open days, I have seen success in my applications most consistently when I've truly conducted an in-depth research into a law firm. Law firms all talk about non-specific applications and applications that show that they've gone a step forward. The steps I take to show this include: [/SIZE] [LIST] [*][SIZE=4]Start with insight articles into your chosen firm. So, look at Chambers Student's "True Picture" and Legal Cheek's "The Firms Most List". From these insights pick out things such as what kind of work the firm does, the culture of the firm (directly communicated to these sites by the firm's trainees who are at the heart of that culture), the social life of the firm (i.e. can you expect a social life according to their work/life balance expectations), what the training is like there and what the reputation of the firm is. This step will help you to get to grips with a firm and flesh out what kind of place it is to work in. You will gradually see what is said here, corroborated elsewhere in your research, such as in a firm's awards.[/SIZE] [/LIST] [LIST] [*][SIZE=4]After collating such a list, move on to the firm's rankings. Look at ChambersUK and Legal500. Both websites rank the departments/services of most firms and give a little insight into their departments and what kind of work they have done for their clients. Knowing what a firm is good at places you in good stead, particularly if you can identify which ones you're particularly interested in. What I usually do is find their tier 1 and 2 rankings (3 if you're keen) and note down the ones I am drawn to. Whenever a question comes up about "why us/this law firm" I [I]always [/I]cite rankings when I talk about which sector/service I am interested in gaining experience in. [/SIZE] [/LIST] [LIST] [*][SIZE=4]Next, find the firm's graduate website and graduate brochure. Pick out any words that they keep repeating. It is likely that they might score you on such a skill/strength as "innovative" or "straight-talking". It wouldn't do any harm to cater towards buzzwords when answering competency-based questions. This could also add to your previous picture of the culture of the place.[/SIZE] [/LIST] [LIST] [*][SIZE=4]Supplement the previous stage with their official website. Find their awards and look at their news page. You can get a taste for their future business aspirations (are they opening up a legal tech hub?). Awards also show where they assign value in terms of where they are putting in the effort. Firms such as Reed Smith and Simmons & Simmons receive diversity/LGBT awards whereas Jones Day are known for their M&A and Client Service awards. Do these matter to you? If so, mention them in your application (or, in the interest of word count, keep them in mind for a possible future interview)[/SIZE] [/LIST] [SIZE=4]BONUS: Some firms have "hints and tips" pages for what [I]exactly [/I]they are looking for in your application. E.g. something as small as "use bullet points/don't use bullet points". Don't hinder your chances by not looking for this before you start. After conducting such in-depth research, you'll feel more confident about who a firm is, beyond what they say they are. Almost always you'll start perking up at specific pieces of information you'll find and this will be the bare-bones of your answer to "why us". In terms of other questions you'll need to answer for firms, make sure specific competency questions are answered using the STAR method (see [URL='https://www.theguardian.com/careers/careers-blog/star-technique-competency-based-interview']here[/URL]) and try and relate the skills/strengths you've touched upon to the firm itself (e.g. if HSF like teamwork, say why your specific experience lends itself to that). For commercial based questions, on the other hand, the same depth of research applies as above. Treat it like a mini academic essay. TL/DR: The BEST, shortest piece of advice I achieved was from Reed Smith. If you don't have at least 2 specific facts/statistics relating to the firm, in EACH question, you haven't made it specific enough.[/SIZE] [/QUOTE]
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