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Who are our competitors?
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<blockquote data-quote="Abstruser" data-source="post: 16266" data-attributes="member: 260"><p>Hi, I'm really sorry to hear about your rejection. I understand it must be incredibly frustrating to fall down at this hurdle, and I hope you manage to get some meaningful feedback from the firm. I just have a few thoughts on how to answer these kinds of questions moving forward:</p><p></p><p><strong>On identifying a firm's competitors,</strong> I think this question is really so that your interviewers know that you have researched the firm. I don't think there is a 'right' answer here but its more about having an awareness of the legal market generally and where the firm is situated in that spectrum.</p><p></p><p>I messed up this question at an interview once and it also cost me the VS, and at the time I was quite bitter about it thinking that surely if I had researched the firm enough to produce a decent application, it was unreasonable to have to know much more about the firm. However, in hindsight I think it is because the application process is really extremely competitive. When choosing between two equally capable candidates (and there are an abundance of capable candidates in this competitive process) I think a firm would 100% prefer to hire the candidate that has considered other firms and can clearly explain why they want to work for that firm specifically.</p><p></p><p>A few points that might help when answering this question:</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>International strategy. </strong>Global firms that compete for large international transactions are less likely to compete with firms that focus more on domestic or national work.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Practice area.</strong> Does the firm have any particular strengths in a certain practice area? If so they are more likely to compete with other firms sharing similar strengths in that area (eg private equity) than firms that specialise more in, say, international arbitration.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Geographical</strong> <strong>strengths</strong>. Is the firm known for its strength in a particular geographical region? Similar to the point above.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Transaction value / market segment.</strong> Have a look at the firm's recent deals page. Does the firm exclusively carry out high-value, upper market work (over £500m value) or is it more mid market (around £50m to £500m), or is it a mix of both? Based on that profile, you can get a sense of which other firms would also be competing for work of a similar value.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Innovation</strong>. Does the firm provide any ancillary legal services like project management, legal resourcing etc? If so, it probably competes with other firms providing a similar service.</li> </ul><p><strong>On answering "who else have you applied to",</strong> I don't think its about saying you haven't applied anywhere else. I think they absolutely do expect you to have applied to other firms and it would probably be quite concerning if you said you hadn't applied anywhere else. However, I think this question is more about demonstrating that you have been applying to/targeting firms based on a coherent strategy or objective, rather than just sending out an application to any and every firm.</p><p></p><p>Those objectives might include:</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Practice area</strong> (having strong interest in finance, so targeting firms with top-tier finance practices)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Training structure </strong>(wanting to try a lot of things, so targeting firms with training structures that allow that)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Smaller groups </strong>(wanting to work in smaller teams, so targeting firms with smaller trainee intakes)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Internationality</strong> (desire to work either abroad or have an international element to work, so targeting firms accordingly)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Culture</strong> (wanting to work in a culture of inclusivity/diversity/innovation etc, so targeting firms accordingly)</li> </ul><p>I know exactly how frustrated you feel and I am sorry if my answers may not really be what you need to hear right now. However, I hope this is helpful nonetheless and all the very best for your other applications. If you have any other questions feel free to PM me.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Abstruser, post: 16266, member: 260"] Hi, I'm really sorry to hear about your rejection. I understand it must be incredibly frustrating to fall down at this hurdle, and I hope you manage to get some meaningful feedback from the firm. I just have a few thoughts on how to answer these kinds of questions moving forward: [B]On identifying a firm's competitors,[/B] I think this question is really so that your interviewers know that you have researched the firm. I don't think there is a 'right' answer here but its more about having an awareness of the legal market generally and where the firm is situated in that spectrum. I messed up this question at an interview once and it also cost me the VS, and at the time I was quite bitter about it thinking that surely if I had researched the firm enough to produce a decent application, it was unreasonable to have to know much more about the firm. However, in hindsight I think it is because the application process is really extremely competitive. When choosing between two equally capable candidates (and there are an abundance of capable candidates in this competitive process) I think a firm would 100% prefer to hire the candidate that has considered other firms and can clearly explain why they want to work for that firm specifically. A few points that might help when answering this question: [LIST] [*][B]International strategy. [/B]Global firms that compete for large international transactions are less likely to compete with firms that focus more on domestic or national work. [*][B]Practice area.[/B] Does the firm have any particular strengths in a certain practice area? If so they are more likely to compete with other firms sharing similar strengths in that area (eg private equity) than firms that specialise more in, say, international arbitration. [*][B]Geographical[/B] [B]strengths[/B]. Is the firm known for its strength in a particular geographical region? Similar to the point above. [*][B]Transaction value / market segment.[/B] Have a look at the firm's recent deals page. Does the firm exclusively carry out high-value, upper market work (over £500m value) or is it more mid market (around £50m to £500m), or is it a mix of both? Based on that profile, you can get a sense of which other firms would also be competing for work of a similar value. [*][B]Innovation[/B]. Does the firm provide any ancillary legal services like project management, legal resourcing etc? If so, it probably competes with other firms providing a similar service. [/LIST] [B]On answering "who else have you applied to",[/B] I don't think its about saying you haven't applied anywhere else. I think they absolutely do expect you to have applied to other firms and it would probably be quite concerning if you said you hadn't applied anywhere else. However, I think this question is more about demonstrating that you have been applying to/targeting firms based on a coherent strategy or objective, rather than just sending out an application to any and every firm. Those objectives might include: [LIST] [*][B]Practice area[/B] (having strong interest in finance, so targeting firms with top-tier finance practices) [*][B]Training structure [/B](wanting to try a lot of things, so targeting firms with training structures that allow that) [*][B]Smaller groups [/B](wanting to work in smaller teams, so targeting firms with smaller trainee intakes) [*][B]Internationality[/B] (desire to work either abroad or have an international element to work, so targeting firms accordingly) [*][B]Culture[/B] (wanting to work in a culture of inclusivity/diversity/innovation etc, so targeting firms accordingly) [/LIST] I know exactly how frustrated you feel and I am sorry if my answers may not really be what you need to hear right now. However, I hope this is helpful nonetheless and all the very best for your other applications. If you have any other questions feel free to PM me. [/QUOTE]
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