On the realistic journey of a successful TC applicant, the "order of priority" when drawing from personal experiences and more...
Happy New Year guys!
Before you jump into this week's content, I want to quickly share an exciting news with you!
Around 30 aspiring lawyers from the UK, Europe, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and China etc. have already joined my BigLaw Academy for this application cycle. They've been making significant progress in perfecting their drafting and interview skills!
While you may think the application for many vacation schemes is almost closed by now, don't forget about applying for a direct TC! For those who don't know, I actually secured a TC without doing any vacation schemes back then as an International student, and it's still a very realistic way for you to land a training contract.
If you're interested in knowing more about the BigLaw Academy, "Apply Now" via my website here!
And now, let's delve into my insights on your upcoming job applications and drafting techniques.
My Insider Views of the Week
#1 The realistic journey of a successful training contract applicant
Whenever the thought of you being "not good enough" pops up in your mind, you should immediately stop the negative talking.
I've spoken to so many aspiring lawyers over the past years, and I realise that a majority of them stop applying to law firms when they get about 4 to 5 consecutive rejections.
The truth is this not only happens to students graduating from less prestigious university, but also to those from Oxbridge and Russel Group universities.
If you're taking the application process very seriously and it's your dream to get into a big law firm, I need to give you a reality check here:
Law is an inherently competitive industry, and law students across the world are all dying to work in a place like London. If you think that by simply submitting a few applications, you'll get an offer at one of the best law firms in the world, you're underestimating the efforts required to get the job that perhaps only the top 5% of law students can get.
I once graduated with one of the best grades at my university, got into Cambridge University, published multiple articles in peer-reviewed law journals, won international mooting and entrepreneurship competitions, interned in places like Italy, the UK, Shanghai and Hong Kong.... I was perhaps one of those “perfect on paper” candidates at the time. I also thought I would easily get an offer by submitting just a few applications.
But the reality is I got rejected over 90 times after going through two application cycles.
If there is one thing I learnt from this insanely competitive process: you can never have a good enough of CV to avoid rejections at all.
From experiences, this is a more realistic application journey for even a “perfect on paper” candidate: submitted roughly 15 to 20-ish applications, about half of them got to the second/video interview stage, secured 2 to 3 assessment centres.... and if they are lucky enough, they will be able to get 1 to 2 offers.
And again, this is the realistic journey of an excellent candidate.
What differentiates an excellent candidate from a successful candidate is that a successful candidate will not simply quit when things don't go their way.
So guys, please stop taking rejections too personal.
#2 the "Order of Priority" when drawing from your personal experiences in applications
Many of my coachees asked me this:
"What experience(s) should I mention when answering motivational questions?"
Let me break it down to you. The point of a motivational question in an application form or interview is, in essence, to test whether you're genuinely interested in pursuing a law career at a commercial law firm.
For an answer to be genuine, it must be supported by strong evidence. So what constitutes very strong evidence of your motivation? Let me give you two examples:
Candidate A attended a virtual internship at a magic circle firm in his first year of law school. He learnt a lot about the typical role of a commercial solicitor and completed a virtual case study on a simulated M&A transaction...
Candidate B worked as an intern at a small-size commercial law firm outside of London. She was involved in different research and drafting tasks typically done by a commercial solicitor...
In this case, do you think Candidate A (who mentioned his virtual internship to support his passion for commercial law), or Candidate B (who mentioned her work experience to support her interest in commercial work), shows a stronger motivation?
It's likely Candidate B, and there are at least two reasons for that:
Many candidates with a laptop can participate in a virtual internship, but not every candidate has an actual work experience at a commercial law firm. A virtual event shouldn't be the main reason that sparks your interest in commercial law when answering say a "why commercial law" question. You can of course mention it as part of your answer, but you definitely should include more actual experiences you have with law firms to show a more in-depth understanding of the role of a commercial solicitor.
The level of involvement/experience is vastly different: a virtual internship only allows you to learn the basics of commercial work, but not hands-on experiences. Simply put, would you trust someone who told you that their dream is to become a commercial lawyer while all they did is hearing about the work of law firms from an online event? Do they actually know what commercial lawyers do? I think you probably have the answer.
Thus, if there is an "order of priority" when drawing from your personal experiences in applications, this will be my list:
Work experience at commercial firms > Contrasting Work Experiences (e.g. at chambers, smaller firms, other law-related roles) > In-person Open Days/Events > Non-Legal Work Experiences (e.g. relating to specific industries/businesses/transferable skills of lawyers) > Law Subjects you Studied at University > Virtual Internships...
This list is non-exhaustive (and a little bit subjective), but I just want to give you some ideas as to how you can present a stronger answer to a motivational question like "why commercial law."
Hope this helps!
#3 Favourite Quote of the Week
"You're a human and you're going to feel emotion towards certain things, but you shouldn't let those feelings and emotion control your life."
This is the interpretation of what "stoicism" means in the Book "Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius.
Being stoic is a very rare quality these days. We're constantly looking at someone else's achievements or luxurious lifestyle on LinkedIn or Instagram. Our emotion is often dictated by what is happening around us.
As human beings, we cannot control what is going to happen to us or our physical sufferings (e.g. getting sick or old), but we can control how we respond to those things and try to avoid mental sufferings.
Having a bad day from time to time is inevitable, but whether you're going to be bothered by it for weeks or move on with your life is a choice.
Want to Work With Me?
1. Book a Free Call
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2. Book an Ad-Hoc Coaching Call
Book a formal coaching session if you are struggling with job search or want more specific application support.
