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The Pupillage Interview/Acceptance/Rejection Thread 2012

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Hi all, I applied to 18SJS and FTB this week, just wondering whether anyone applied last year and knows what their timetable for getting back to you is like? Thanks!

Reply 101

sanf

South Sq. 1st round interviews out by e-mail.

Reply 102

Barnickle

Dear Sanf, do you know when the South Sq. interview notifications were released and / or would they all be released at the same time?

Reply 103

nearmiss

anyone received a rejection from Pump Court Tax Chambers? Still not heard either way...

Reply 104

Barnickle

Nearmiss - I didn't apply to Pump Court, but in reference to your earlier post, have you heard either way from South Square?

Reply 105

nearmiss

I'm afraid so; rejection email today from South Sq. Best of luck

Reply 106

Barnickle

Oh I am sorry to hear that nearmiss; what a shame. I haven't hear either way as yet so assume they are communicating piecemeal. Very best of luck with your other applications.

Reply 107

Barnickle

Doh! I spoke too soon! Just rejected from S. Sq! One more iron in the fire.

Reply 108

sanf

Original post by Barnickle

Dear Sanf, do you know when the South Sq. interview notifications were released and / or would they all be released at the same time?

Mine came at mid-day yesterday.

Reply 109

younglawyer

Original post by livetowork

Anyone got a scholarship interview at their inn of court? I'm rather nervous about mine! Also wondering about my pupillage chances. Done 6 mini-pupillages, been to a law summer school in 2010 and an autumn law school in 2008, been in a city county court, done some mooting at uni and sec of debating society but am from a very low down uni in the league tables. on track for a first and applying for mainly public/family pupillages. Might try some chancery just to see if luck is on my side. Anyone here to help me out and tell me if i'm doing this for no reason?

Nobody could advise you on that, it's so hard. Barristers look for different thing in different people. Obviously the big City chambers would be hard to get into as would the commercial/chancery sets. But if you manage to get a good grade (high 2.1/1st), scholarship, some relevant work experience as a paralegal/advocate etc you would have a chance. But just be honest by having a look at the recent CVs of BOTH City barristers and the provincial, do you think you can outcompete the likes of them?

n.b. by chance I mean you have a 20% chance like everyone else, whether you increase or decrease that depends on you. But recent CVs is a good marker for you.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 110

yellowhannah33

Original post by livetowork

Whether you get a scholarship (for the BPTC) is, in my opinion, a pretty good indicator of whether you'll get pupillage. Inns will look to invest in people who have a good chance of going the distance (although, in this game, nothing is guaranteed).

My interview at Middle was pretty generic - why the bar, what area of law and why, what did you learn from your minis and a few questions on current legal hot topics.

Reply 111

FMQ

Original post by yellowhannah33

I would go further than this from experience, I would say scolarships are not that great an indicator, there are a lot of people who get scolarships who don't get pupillage (I know one or two who barely scraped through the bvc) so this is not an always an indicator. If however you interview for a scolarship and dont get one, and there is no reason (ie they dont give money to average candidates (2.1, VC, all boxes ticked) who has their own money) i would say it is more of an indicator then you are probably flogging a dead horse. (although of course even then there are the odd few who get through who didnt get scolarships such as the poster LuverlyLawyer on this forum)

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 112

akinuke

Original post by sanf

Mine came at mid-day yesterday.

Dear sanf,

Congratulations on the first round interviews. Your cover letters must have the right balance (i assume your credentials are also top rate). This may be a rather intrusive request but would you be comfortable emailing my a redacted version of either your SS or PCTC cover letter?

This is my first go of it and I wonder if my CL has found the right balance of gleaning interest in a short concise fashion.

Thanks.

Reply 113

sanf

Original post by akinuke

Sent. But I'm not sure if it's a particularly good cover letter or not. I'm currently doing the BCL which seems to effectively guarantee first round interviews (none of my colleagues has received a straight rejection yet). I've used a very similar cover letter in previous years to no avail, so I suspect its the BCL that makes the difference.

Reply 114

nearmiss

Good luck! Out of interest, did you apply to PCTC, and if so, have you heard from them? I applied, and it appears likely it has resulted in an uncommunicated rejection, as I'm not sure if they have actually sent out any rejections, and interviews were sent out on Thursday (congratulations again sanf!).

Best of luck with your applications.

Original post by akinuke

Reply 115

mysterytome

Original post by FMQ

Don't get too downhearted if you don't get a scholarship. ( Apart from the money aspect, of course!) Seems as random as many aspects of this caper. I didn't get one but did get Outstanding on BPTC and a Pupillage.

Reply 116

FMQ

Original post by mysterytome

See really not a great indicator in some cases!

Reply 117

Kessler`

I disagree.

FMQ and Chilbaldi might point to the exceptions (and there are some), but this is not a situation in which you want to find yourself. The vast majority of successful (major) scholars at my Inn have achieved pupillage. It is a very good indicator of pupillage chances since, essentially, you are assessed on your chances of getting pupillage. The Benchers are often very good at picking out people who have aptitude and drive; I was told in preparation for my own interview that I should treat it as I would a pupillage interview, advice which I would wholeheartedly endorse for future candidates.

I don't believe that failure to achieve scholarship should, in all cases, lead to abandonment of the career path. It should inspire a candidate to reconsider, however. Failure to obtain a scholarship has, firstly, a financial impact. Are you now prepared to spend significantly more money on the BPTC than you had hoped? If the Inns of Court are not prepared to invest in your career, are you? Remember that this investment could be up to £16000 or so. That's a lot of money.

The second stage is to assess what went wrong, and where you can improve your candidacy. You are unlikely to get substantive feedback, I suspect, from the Benchers. Now's the time to get others to look at your CV and ask them what you can do? Are you missing extra-currics? Are you academics not up to scratch? You may require a review of your interview technique. With regard to the exceptions above, I very much suspect that they used the scholarship process as a spur to improve their applications. In the case of Chilbaldi's example, I would NEVER suggest using that on a comparative basis for your own applications. It can work (more often in the case of female candidates - and before I get my head bitten off by the feminists of TSR, no I have actually seen this with my own eyes and have a friend who, more or less, got a pupillage on the back of it!), but you should not operate on the basis that "it can happen to them so it can happen to me". If nothing else, that type of attitude would come across transparently at interview.

Reply 118

akinuke

Original post by nearmiss

Dear nearmiss,

I did in fact apply for PCTC and have yet to receive a response. However, I may have made an error on my cover letter so hoping for the best but preparing for the worse.

Goodluck to you too!

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 119

Isherwood100

Wow, we've hit the bad-tempered phase a lot earlier this year than last...