Converting a Vacation Scheme into a Training Contract: Advice from a Future Trainee Solicitor at A Global Law Firm
Top Tips on How to convert your law firm vacation scheme into a full-time job offer.
It is again that time of year when the excitement of the “milk-round “season is replaced with the apprehension of assessment centres, interviews and vacation schemes, and nobody feels the pressure more than a VC candidate aware of the upcoming partner interviews waiting for them at the end of it. Vacation schemes are hard, but there is a way to enjoy the experience while also ensuring that you’re ticking boxes along the way.
Having undergone the process myself, I compiled a list of points to share with the wonderful readers of the CLJ which I believe made me successful throughout that precise experience. Even though my vacation scheme took place digitally due to the covid-19 imposed social distancing, the majority of the points I cover can be applied to either an online or in-person context.
Appearance:
Let’s begin with a no-brainer: your appearance. If you have made it as far as a VC, then you probably already got this one right. The first introduction you will ever make to your firm is through your outward appearance, so make sure it is a good one. Business attire: men can never go wrong with a black or navy suit, and ladies, don’t be afraid to jump onto the suit train as well. They are smart, clean, and professional looking which is exactly the image you want to present (even if that image is through the lens of a camera due to continued social distancing interviews). I have heard that guys are best advised to stay away from brown shoes. The firm you are interning with would have probably already sent you the dress-code requirements, so stick to those. However, remember that clothes are not the only factor of your appearance, so make sure the rest of you is clean and professional-looking as well.
Preparation for the Vacation Scheme:
In between the assessment centre and the scheme itself, you will have a few weeks’ time in which it is very important to prepare. Do not leave it to the weekend before. Preparation will not only allow you to stand out during the process but will also generally give you more confidence in yourself by allowing you to feel more prepared. Such preparation comes from research, in particular, research of:
· The firm (website, podcasts, YouTube videos, LinkedIn, etc.)
· The department you have chosen
· The deals they have completed
· Commercial awareness (specific and general)
· Legal/business concepts you might need
Once you have chosen the department you wish to work in throughout the scheme, it can be highly beneficial to do some background research on the type of work it does. For me, I was particularly interested in project finance, and since it is a big department for my law firm, I took the weeks before the scheme to complete an introductory course on Coursera about the basic principles of project finance. It allowed me to speak more at length about my interest on the topic both during my interview, as well as during the informal conversations with my trainee buddy and associate mentor. Showing initiative to learn more about the department before even setting foot in the firm shows drive and ambition and is especially easy to do with the internet at your fingertips.
I am not a law student, so I was excused from this, but for the law students out there, I would recommend that you brush up on some basic concepts of contract law especially, as this could be a standard point of discussion during the scheme.
Commercial awareness has become a key phrase in the industry, and there is a reason why. A successful candidate, and subsequently a successful lawyer, is always one step ahead by being aware of the business, political and legal landscapes around them. The trick here is not just to read the news every morning, but to think critically about the legal consequences a news issue may have, both on the firm and its clients. Reading the Corporate Law Journal’s articles allowed me to grasp that concept better due to the way the journal takes commercial news issues and analyses them from a legal perspective, so I recommend giving it a try. It will help you stick out compared to the rest of the candidates.
Work Throughout the Week:
This is the part which, in my opinion, differs highly depending on whether the scheme is online or in-person. In person, the work you do during the week is highly reliant on the department you are in, whereas in an online context (at least in the case of my own scheme) the work was more standardised. In both cases, however, it is crucial that you are very observant with the details of each task you are given. The worst thing you can do is make a mistake because you were rushing or not concentrating too much on the task itself. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice if there is something you don’t understand, you will usually be given the reference of who to turn to if that happens. Turning in a correct piece of work is much better than turning in a wrong piece of work because you were shy or uncomfortable to ask for help. If you firm has previously submitted a virtual internship on websites like Forage (previously InsideSherpa), make sure to do them before your scheme, as it can give you a head start in learning about the different departments of the firm and what kind of work they do. If the firm doesn’t have one, don’t worry about it, find another similar firm and do theirs instead. You can never be too prepared.
In relation to the group work, do not dismiss the weight it carries. Working in a team is a very important part of the job, which is why there are so many team activities and interview questions on the topic during the initial stages of the assessment process. There are a few things which you should seriously consider avoiding when working in a team (and generally on the scheme itself):
Being rude, condescending and disrespectful. Nobody likes an arrogant person, especially when they have to work with one all day every day. It will lower your chances of being offered the job.
Do not interrupt, speak over your team-mates or hog the discussion/presentation. If you have planned your presentation well, you should have allocated a specific part to each member of the team so this issue doesn’t even arise. Otherwise, make sure that if someone in your group hasn’t had the opportunity to speak, that you address them and give them the opportunity to contribute. It shows sportsmanship and ability to work in a team.
Being eager is usually a good thing, but try not to be too eager because, in such a situation, you may end up subconsciously hogging the exercise from the rest of your team-mates. That being said, if you do end up having such a team-mate in your group, don’t be afraid to politely call them out on it when given the chance (without interrupting) by saying something along the lines of: “Thank you to my colleague for the points raised, now I think we can move on to allow another person in the group to contribute”. If you stay there in silence and say nothing, you will lose out on your opportunity to be heard and complete your part of the required exercise.
Overall, I think there is power in the art of knowing when to speak and when not to speak. I have seen many candidates who constantly chat on the schemes, just for the sake of being heard. However, in my experience, the majority of them don’t get the job. Listening more and speaking less gives you more of an opportunity to say meaningful things when you do, and less of an opportunity to say something wrong.
The Interview:
The final interview is by far the aspect of the scheme which all candidates seem to fear the most. It is understandable, but not necessary. The interviewers are not there to catch you out, they just wish to know more about you, the way you think and what you can bring to the table (the firm) if they give you a training contract. Chances are, if you have reached this stage, you are capable and qualified on all other fronts (academic, work experience, ability to pass exercises/interviews, etc.), so you can only build further on this interview. It is important to go into the interview confident (key: but not arrogantly so). Regardless of the amount of preparation you have done for this scheme, you will never know more than the partners sitting across the table/screen from you. That is why you do not need to present yourself as a know-it-all to be considered capable (as many people think), you just need to show that you are driven to learn more. Ask questions, open discussions, and try hard to relay your interest and passion for the job which you are interviewing for. If your opinion differs from that of the partner/interviewer, it’s okay to stick to it, provided that you can provide justification for why you think so. If you realise halfway through the conversation that you are in the wrong, do not be scared to admit it and say, “You know, now that I have thought about it, I realise that this may not be the right answer/approach”. It shows critical thinking and ability to solve a problem, even if you have made a mistake. It is infinitely better than stubbornly sticking to a stance everyone on the table knows is wrong.
The best way to prepare for the interview is to use the scheme at the firm to do so. The final interview is really more of a reflection of what you did during the week, your experience with the firm and the department you were in, and any other discussion which arises from that. Therefore, taking the initiative throughout the week to learn as much as possible about the firm will put in you in a good position to answer those questions during the interview. Being given a trainee buddy or an associate mentor is a wonderful opportunity to do so, and you should use it to ask any questions you have about the firm, about their experiences and about ways to stand out. Prior to the interview, I compiled a list of 50 potential question (competency, motivation, etc.) which I believed could come up and jotted down brief ideas for each on what I could mention if said question came up. There are a multitude of sources online where you could find such questions. It definitely helped me feel more prepared.
A partner once said to me: “When I am interviewing a candidate, I think to myself; would I trust this person to be alone in the back of a cab with a client? It says a lot about what kind of solicitor they will make”. So don’t be shy, show them what you are capable of (which, as I mentioned earlier, is probably a lot if you have already gotten to the final stage).
Make sure that you go over the initial application which you sent to the firm and that you know it like the back of your hand; your cover letter, work experience, answer to questions, etc. It is very likely that large parts of the discussion during your interview will stem from what you have already submitted in your original application. Being able to speak at length about things you have mentioned within it will definitely be an advantage. If you have mentioned practice areas, deals or commercial awareness issues, you should be able to talk about them in more detail if the discussion shifts that way. Remember, always try to answer your questions with reference to why you and why this firm. It will highlight how you have thought about why you are perfect for this firm and why it is perfect for you.
Finally, try to be yourself. It may sound like a cliché piece of advice, but at the end of the day, they want to know about you, about your character, and about who you are as a person. After all, they might be spending a lot of time with you in the future if you were to join their department.
Remember that even if you are not offered a training contract at the end of the scheme, you have still gained an invaluable experience through which you would have learned a multitude of things to use in the future, both about the industry and also about yourself. Many candidates realise after an experience like this that this is not the role for them, or many realise that it is, but just at a different type of firm. Regardless of what the outcome is, stay confident in your abilities and don’t get discouraged to try again.
Conclusion:
Hopefully some of these tips will be helpful to those who have vacation schemes coming up in the spring and summer. I am eager to hear your opinions, therefore I have left the comments section under this article open for any other questions you may have – leave a comment with them below and I will answer them!
by Elinor Nikolova