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The Official Vacation Scheme Thread 2016

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They will aim off more for vac schemes than TCs on this. But if you have no work experience at all, don't apply.

If you have a good mix of commercial and general then give it a go. But if you lack legal and commercial, try to build that up first before applying to give your application the best chance. Open days will count towards legal "experiences" even if they are not actual work.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Hi J-SP, just thought I'd ask you as you seem quite knowledgeable about these things - I'm applying for several different firms, and the only legal 'work experience' I have is two access open days at Hogan Lovells and Clifford Chance respectively; one included a negotiation exercise which I've elaborated on in my CV. Would it be advisable to contact small local solicitor firms to get some work shadowing experience? Does it matter that the firms are tiny and not national/regional for work experience purposes?

Reply 81

ItsJustMe17

Original post by aliakhan

Hey, I've seen you on a couple of the other threads - nice to see you again :wink:

Ahhh, as i said we are all in the same boat - its not unusual to get a 2.2 in your first year - just try not to be disheartened and make sure you aim for a mid 2.1 in your second year grades!
You've got the potential, you just need to be more active i guess.
In terms of firms that I'm looking into, I've already had extensive work exp. at quite a few regional firms, I've also had a few open days in the top London firms - at the moment I'm tethering towards a regional firm because of my first year grades however i haven't lost hope just yet in a couple MC/SC firms namely HG and Travers :wink:

I would definitely recommend you to look at the lawyer, legal check and a couple of other websites to get a roundabout view of the law firms your interested in - i wouldn't say its over just yet, you've got a 2.2 but that doesn't mean you can't improve your second year grades to a 2.1/ 1st.
You have to realise its not just your grades that the firms look at, they also look at your extra curriculum activities, part time work, volunteering etc.
Your doing the 'Pathways Plus' scheme too right?

Yeah thats true, thanks for the input. And yeah I am! Where are you going for your work exp? I'm going DLA Piper.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 82

dlaiden

Original post by J-SP

Please don't elaborate about the negotiation exercise - it really isn't needed.

Any experience is better than none. But if you have open days + general work experience + any "office" environment experience this should be ok, although the work shadowing with a local firm would be even better. It doesn't matter that it's a small firm as you have the open days on your cv to show you are interested in large scale commercial work.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Thanks very much for the advice. I don't have an office environment experience, although I do have the others; I think I'll send an email to the firm because I genuinely would like to get a feel for the law work environment, or at least I could maybe get an informational interview.

Reply 83

dinolove

Original post by J-SP

Thankyou! What would you count as commercial vs. general? I've worked in shops/supermarkets up to supervisor/team leader level, but have also done sales on behalf of banks and lots of general admin/fundraising type things on the side. I'm about to start at head office of a regional bank full time and looking to add some legal as well hopefully before any apps are actually sent.

Reply 84

Tarnybxxx

Hi guys! Just introducing myself, UoLiv second year student got 58 in my first but a well rounded applicant! This is going to b a long year :colondollar:

Reply 85

aliakhan

Original post by ItsJustMe17

Yeah thats true, thanks for the input. And yeah I am! Where are you going for your work exp? I'm going DLA Piper.

Posted from TSR Mobile

hey, I'm at Hogan Lovells in a couple of weeks - my twin sister is doing the DLA Piper work exp. too :wink:

do you have a mentor yet?

Reply 86

gman10

Would it be possible for someone to provide an exemplar to the following (abbreviated) question: "List your extra curricular activities".

How would you approach this? Although it seems simple, I am sure there is more too it than just putting 'debating'.

Reply 87

SammyHam

Joining too.

Second year law at Reading. Unfortunately received poor results for first year (58%), but hoping I can turn it around this year. Not really looking to apply for London firms as I'm a single parent so can't immerse myself fully into the dog eat dog world of London firms! I'm hoping to apply for a few medium size firms in the Oxford area.

Reply 88

dlaiden

Anyone else got onto the Weil non-law insight day in September?

Reply 89

gman10

When writing applications and talking about work experience, would you tailor what you write to the specific firm or is what you write meant to be more general there?

Reply 90

SJU1

Wondering whether to include about being Campus Ambassador for a firm on my CV or not? It's a MC firm so the brand is great, but won't bother if it's the kind of thing other firms will get funny about, thoughts?

Reply 91

SJU1

Original post by J-SP

Of course you do. I don't know why you wouldn't.

If you are applying to firms very different to your MC firm, then you just need to ensure your motivational part of your application is explicit in stating your preference for them over the MC firm.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Haha I don't know, I was probably just thinking that when someone like Links/A&O/Weil looks at my app they will wonder why I didn't apply to them for the position rather than Freshfields. But thanks for clarification, just me overly worrying I think!

Reply 92

SJU1

Original post by J-SP

Definitely over worrying.

Only one person can be hired as a campus ambassador per firm per campus. It would be stupid to put a black mark against a candidate just because they weren't your campus ambassador.

It will show more positive evidence than negative - interest in commercial law, responsibility, time management, understanding of the career, and that another firm has seen your potential/you have gone through a selection process. You'd be stupid to leave it off.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Okay great, thanks J-SP, top advice as per usual.

Reply 93

gman10

Original post by J-SP

Most of it will be the same. But you might want to tailor it. For instance if you sat in a practice area that the firm who you are applying to has a strength in, you might want to make it clear you were sat in that area. If it contrasts strongly against the firm you are applying to, you probably don't.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Thank you very much for your succinct advice - very helpful!

Reply 94

gman10

@J-SP - I have another question. If I mention a particular bit of work experience (e.g. Working at firm X) in an earlier question of the application (e.g. When answering 'why law?'), should I talk about that bit of work experience again in the 'Work Experience' section of the application? Or would this be considered repetitive?

Reply 95

gman10

Original post by J-SP

Depends what you are writing. I would expect your work experience section to be based more on factual elements (what you did/when). While in a "why law" question it should be more about describing what you enjoyed about your work experience. There may be a bit of cross over with the content, but I would expect the detail to be written quite differently (if that makes sense).

Posted from TSR Mobile

Yes this makes sense, thank you very much! I wanted to draw from my various work experience to mention my enthusiasm for law and some skills I have gained which would benefit the particular firm I am applying to.... and then I would talk more precisely about what I did and what I gained from the work experience in the work experience section of the application

Reply 96

xxblue

Hi All,

I achieved 65% this year (Tort-70%, Constitutional 68% and Contract 57%) but my alevels are ABC :/ Is it realistic for me to apply to a few law firms with an ABB restriction (I have Tower&Hamlins/Taylor Wessing in mind so far) as well as other law firms with a BBB requirement?

Any advice would be great!!

Reply 97

gman10

Original post by xxblue

What uni do you go to?

Reply 98

dlaiden

Original post by xxblue

What I've heard is that it's best to look for firms which on their career pages use the phrase "we usually look for" instead of we expect/want XXX" if you have grades lower than the stated requirements; they have more leeway usually. Otherwise you'll be looking at an auto-rejection during the initial screening process without any extenuating circumstances.

Reply 99

ani333

Hey, I just wanted to get some advise about my situation! Im really passionate about this and want a vac scheme so bad! i'm on a 4 year law degree and didn't do so well in my first year, averaged out at about 57. this year (my second year) I did a lot better and got 65. I go to warwick university. I'm doing a summer internship this year at one of the top 4 banks in the regulations area and also gained some experience in the legal department. I have also done a couple of open days at firms such as allen and overy, dla piper and have attended numerous campus events hosted my law firms. What are my chances of securing a vac scheme at MC/SC firms? Am I pitching above my weight? Thanks for any feedback!