Vacation Scheme Applications - Official Thread 2009!

Reply 780

hsitin

lawyer_manc

also got telephone interview for blp today :smile:

anyone else?

Yup! Got the email yesterday. Mine is on early new week, not looking forward to it though.

Reply 781

preet_123

Hi guys,
I have been filling out VC applications but have had no luck so far! Rejection from A & O which was disappointing =(. I am not studying at a traditional University. I was wondering whether this would be a disadvantage with regards to my application? I have all the necessary academic requirements though - having achieved three A's at A-level and upper second class in my 1st year. Also, I do not have any legal work experience and I am worried this will not be looked upon favourably!

Reply 782

blinkbelle

17

hsitin

Yup! Got the email yesterday. Mine is on early new week, not looking forward to it though.

Mine's on Thursday! Good luck! I hear they're only around 15 mins long! Not bad!

preet_123

Hi guys,
I have been filling out VC applications but have had no luck so far! Rejection from A & O which was disappointing =(. I am not studying at a traditional University - I am at Kent. I was wondering whether this would be a disadvantage with regards to my application? I have all the necessary academic requirements though - having achieved three A's at A-level and upper second class in my 1st year. Also, I do not have any legal work experience and I am worried this will not be looked upon favourably!

I think your lack of work experience might be more of a disadvantage to your apps than where you go to uni! Especially when GR are in the early stages of recruiting - what I mean is, perhaps when choosing between 2 exceptional applicants AFTER interview, your uni might play a part, but in selecting people FOR interview I'm not sure how much weight it would have.
How many apps have you made and how many rejections have you received? xxx

Reply 783

TommehR

13

Ultimately, you're applying to get legal work experience. For most people, applying for Vacation Schemes is going to be their first realistic opportunity to get some legal work experience so if you don't have any when applying it won't matter that much. I would imagine that the majority of people applying for VS don't have any legal work experience. It will obviously look good if you have some legal work experience on your CV, but GR will be alert to the fact that although you might have written hundreds of letters requesting work experience, it is probably more likely that you were able to get it through family contacts.

It is particularly important to have work experience of some description though, whether this be working in a shop, restaurant, pub or some kind of voluntary work, as these will all require you to develop transferable skills that you can use as a solicitor.

Reply 784

Herbie198

preet_123

Hi guys,
I have been filling out VC applications but have had no luck so far! Rejection from A & O which was disappointing =(. I am not studying at a traditional University - I am at Kent. I was wondering whether this would be a disadvantage with regards to my application? I have all the necessary academic requirements though - having achieved three A's at A-level and upper second class in my 1st year. Also, I do not have any legal work experience and I am worried this will not be looked upon favourably!

I haven't completed any legal work experience yet either; although I am going to work for an MC firm in Madrid this summer for 4 months but I haven't put that on all applications.

I had a couple of rejections when I first started my applications and decided to change the way i approached the apps. Since then i've had much more success. Is there anyone at your university who could look over them? Like a careers advisory service?

Reply 785

lawyer_manc

blinkbelle

Me! I'm over the moon! Only had one slot to choose from which I thought was strange! xxx

i had 7! mabye they had all been taken by ur stage?mine is fifteen minutes long with a lady beginnning with D - cant remember the rest tho!

hmm never had a telephone interview before. im so surprised now ive got 4! :eek:

Reply 786

TommehR

13

Herbie198

although I am going to work for an MC firm in Madrid this summer for 4 months but I haven't put that on all applications.

Why the devil aren't you putting that on your applications? :confused:

Reply 787

blinkbelle

17

lawyer_manc

i had 7! mabye they had all been taken by ur stage?mine is fifteen minutes long with a lady beginnning with D - cant remember the rest tho!

hmm never had a telephone interview before. im so surprised now ive got 4! :eek:

You have 4?! That's impressive! :smile:

BLP are the only firm of the 11 I've applied to so far (have 4 more to send off) who I've heard back from!
Lol you're probably right. It didn't tell me the length/who it was with! xx

Reply 788

lawyer_manc

TommehR

Ultimately, you're applying to get legal work experience. For most people, applying for Vacation Schemes is going to be their first realistic opportunity to get some legal work experience so if you don't have any when applying it won't matter that much. I would imagine that the majority of people applying for VS don't have any legal work experience. It will obviously look good if you have some legal work experience on your CV, but GR will be alert to the fact that although you might have written hundreds of letters requesting work experience, it is probably more likely that you were able to get it through family contacts.

It is particularly important to have work experience of some description though, whether this be working in a shop, restaurant, pub or some kind of voluntary work, as these will all require you to develop transferable skills that you can use as a solicitor.

I thought most people would have had at least some legal work experience? :confused:

Perhaps not but it was cumpulsory in my college. And you are definately right its much easier to do work experience when you through contacts - ive worked wiht a barrister, solicitor, in parliament and at various legal bodies all through links

Reply 789

lawyer_manc

TommehR

Why the devil aren't you putting that on your applications? :confused:

exactly what I was thinking!!!!!! that would be one of my first things down!

Reply 790

i_also_rof

lawyer_manc

I thought most people would have had at least some legal work experience? :confused:

Perhaps not but it was cumpulsory in my college. And you are definately right its much easier to do work experience when you through contacts - ive worked wiht a barrister, solicitor, in parliament and at various legal bodies all through links

I certainly had no previous legal work experience at this stage last year and had no problem obtaining VS places, and all of my friends who were in the same boat had no experience either. Not once was my lack of legal work experience commented on during the recruitment process either.

I'd say having legal work experience at this stage in the game (pre-VS stage as an undergrad) is definitely the exception rather than the rule.

Reply 791

Wez

14

I was wondering whether someone could give me some advice/answer questions? (will rep all decent replies, of course!)

1) I'm a second year History student at Durham. I studied History and Politics (got a 65 average in 1st year) in my first year, got a 61 in Politics and 70 in History and am now studying straight History. When application forms ask for expected grades, I always put a 1st because that's what I got in History (which I’m now studying) and that's what I'm hoping to get overall (even though last year I averaged 65...) Is this right or should I be putting 2.i even though I'm aiming for a first?

2) Secondly, how many vac schemes should I be applying to? I know there’s no set answer, but how many do you think is sensible? So far I've applied to A+O (rejected), Eversheds (not heard) and Sintons (not heard). I know that's too few. Any idea how many it's usual to apply to?

3) Also, are there any firms/set of firms it's now too late to apply to for the summer/easter? (because all their places are full, for example?)

4) I was lucky to shadow a judge over the summer (1 week) and work get an informal placement at a commercial law firm in Hamburg (2 weeks) but otherwise have no other legal work experience. I really don't know if this is a lot, not a lot or about average - I have no idea what the usual amount is people have at this stage!

5) Is it usual for non-law students to get any formal vac scheme placements in their second year? Or should I really just be concentrating on work and then really putting effort into vac schemes next year?

6) I’m still undecided whether I want to be a solicitor or a barrister. I know barristers chambers like you to have solicitors work experience so that you know both sides of the legal world and you can make an informed decision. Does it work both ways? Are mini-pupilages at all valued by solicitors firms?

Thank you so much to anyone who helps me out!

Reply 792

Herbie198

TommehR

Why the devil aren't you putting that on your applications? :confused:

The head of GR at a firm in fact told me not to put it on my applications. But when i had the rejections in October i decided to put it on them!

Reply 793

TommehR

13

lawyer_manc

I thought most people would have had at least some legal work experience? :confused:

Perhaps not but it was cumpulsory in my college. And you are definately right its much easier to do work experience when you through contacts - ive worked wiht a barrister, solicitor, in parliament and at various legal bodies all through links

It was compulsory to do legal work experience at your college?

Reply 794

lawyer_manc

TommehR

It was compulsory to do legal work experience at your college?

if you wanted to study law yes
if you wanted to study medicine you had to get some sort of medicial experience.

one week of school at the beginning of january was dedicated to this in our sixth form year.

Reply 795

blinkbelle

17

lawyer_manc

if you wanted to study law yes
if you wanted to study medicine you had to get some sort of medicial experience.

one week of school at the beginning of january was dedicated to this in our sixth form year.

That's actually a really good idea, especially given the amount of work experience med students have to have to get into uni! xx

Reply 796

Happy1

14

lawyer_manc

if you wanted to study law yes
if you wanted to study medicine you had to get some sort of medicial experience.

one week of school at the beginning of january was dedicated to this in our sixth form year.