Vacation Scheme Review

I enjoyed the scheme thoroughly. I was hoping to find out both about the firm's culture as well as get an in-depth insight into its work and I felt that the scheme was designed to address both of these aspects thoroughly. Because of its strong interactive element (consistent Q&A and ability to reach out to workers at the firm) the scheme was made particularly engaging, therefore enjoyable!

The graduate recruitment team really went over and beyond to make me feel included in the firm for the week. They have been really responsive and generally kind, which is what has made me feel valued during my time with them. Additionally, the willingness of the firm's workers to chat and respond to enquiries really highlighted to me that they valued the vacation scheme students and wanted to share their insights with us.

A lot of support was offered by graduate recruitment members who organised a session prior to the commencement of the. scheme, helping us use the technology which we were going to use. That was a great sign of support. Likewise, other fee-earners at the firm were very willing to extend their time to chat with us which was very supportive. It was good to be given the opportunity to do a practice task and receive feedback on it.

This being a virtual placement I think it focused more on development of technical skills (through practice trainee tasks) and building knowledge of the firm's work. These were two very important areas to learn in. I think that we could have benefited from practising soft skills as well - such as giving presentations, negotiation exercises and tasks calling on those key soft skills.

Yes, the scheme followed a very coherent timetable that was given t us beforehand. This was very helpful, as it allowed us to know what will be covered each day. That also allowed us to think ahead of know what other sessions would cover in the week. The timetabled approach was really good.

The atmosphere was fantastic. The graduate recruitment team and other workers from the firm were evidently very engaged in giving us a well-rounded insight into the firm and its work. Their level of engagement and care inspired the same attitude in the student participant. The result was a synergy of engagement! I felt therefore that the atmosphere was one of everyone wanting to get as much as possible out of what was on offer.

The company did a great job of preparing a very comprehensive and well-structured timetable. That was an important starting point to the scheme. Next, there were frequent opportunities given to us to engage by completing practice tasks and receiving feedback on these. This shows an investment of extra time to give personalised feedback, which I valued particularly.

The insights from the speakers in each department was the key aspect on the scheme that helped me understand what it would be like to work at the firm. Dedicating separate sessions to the departments and allowing experts from the field go in-depth into their work was a good approach to give us a specific, as opposed to general, insight of a full time role. Additionally, access to trainees was invaluable in getting to know what it is like to join the firm from the first.

Company's culture is best represented through its employees I think. Therefore the close contact with its workers was the key to allowing us understand the company's culture through the screen. However, I think that culture is something still best grasped in person when visiting the office and engaging with people face-to-face. I think that a fab job was done of trying to convey culture over the screen nonetheless.

Very valuable. The in-depth insight into the separate departments and their work was key here. To think of one's future career path, it's important to get to know the possibilities first! So setting out what is possible in each department and how various people have steered these possibilities to forge a fruitful career path was how I could start imagining the shape of my own future path.

I was paid for this scheme as well as given a just eat voucher to enjoy meals during social events. I really appreciated that and it made me feel that the firm was investing in me and the time that I spent in getting to know the firm. It was yet another incentive to take the scheme very seriously and invest effort into engaging with its every element. The voucher was a lovely touch as well:)

Calls with trainee buddies were very insightful, as was the virtual "escape room" with the trainees. It was great to be able to connect with those who were in a similar position to ours not too long ago. It was also great to be able to reach out to those working in our area of interest and have an in-depth chat about their own work.

Very good. The personal element was somewhat compromised in a virtual setting - something that is unavoidable and the firm dealt very well with it nonetheless. I think that traditional vacation schemes have a strong element of interaction with people and naturally this is transformed when conducted virtually. If the scheme were to be remain virtual in the future, I would still like to have the opportunity to engage in some in-person events, such as insight day at the office.

Yes - the talk regarding volunteering and pro bono opportunities formed a very important moment of the scheme. It was very valuable to be able to find out in-depth how we could commit to these opportunities alongside our daily work. Pro bono was a particularly important aspect for me to find out about and I felt the focus on it was especially good.

Absolutely. Overall, the scheme gave me a deep insight into what the work at the firm would be like and what its cultural values are. It also gave me the special opportunity to engage with its employees - who always are the best testament to a company. A great way to learn.