Pathfinder Review

I really enjoyed the Pathfinder Scheme, there was a good mix of fun team-building activities as well as exercises which mimicked what we would experience on an interview day at the firm, such as commercial awareness exercises

I felt really valued, the graduate recruitment team were all really friendly and enthusiastic about the scheme and us being there

There was a lot of support throughout the two weeks and it wasn't daunting or intimidating as I was expecting it to be! Any questions I had about the firm, application process or anything else, all of the people throughout the scheme were willing to answer them

Applying to the Pathfinder scheme was one of the best decisions I've made in regards to my course, as it has given me an insight into the workings of a Magic Circle firm, with the shadowing in departments allowing me to understand the sort of work that the lawyers deal with as well as their working hours and environment, and it has given me tips on how to develop my commercial awareness and how to come across well in interviews

The two days were planned down to the last detail and everything ran really smoothly - the only comment I have is that it would have been nice to have seen the itinerary before starting Pathfinder to put some worries at ease

We were made to feel so welcome and the atmosphere was very relaxed and open, shadowing an associate was quite scary but turned out to be really useful and enjoyable! Also, on the evening of Monday (the first day) a pub quiz was organised with wine and dinner and it was a really good idea to socialise with the other Pathfinders in a relaxed and enjoyable setting

We had a commercial awareness exercise which is something which would most likely come up in a training day at a firm, and had a workshop about body language and speaking in interviews which was okay but probably could have been a bit shorter - also first thing in the morning of the second day wasn't great timing when we were all shattered!

The shadowing was particularly useful in understanding the type of work and workload of a trainee

We had a talk by a partner on the first day explaining the aims and principles of the company which will come in handy when applying to the firm in the future

The day confirmed that I would definitely like to work in a Magic Circle firm and working in Linklaters would be amazing

I was reimbursed travel expenses and they paid for us to stay in a travel lodge overnight between the two days

We had the opportunity to ask trainees and the graduate recruitment team questions, and were able to shadow trainees

The pub quiz on the Monday evening was a lot of fun and great opportunity to get to know each other and relax

We had a tour of the firm and saw the gym but other than that not much

Definitely, the two days were very worthwhile and will be very useful in future applications for vacation schemes and training contracts