Vacation Scheme Student Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent at CMS. The vacation scheme was extremely well organised, and we were given talks and presentations throughout the week.

I found that employees were always grateful of any work that I did to assist them, even if it was just printing something out!

I was given more support and guidance from my buddy (a 4th seat trainee), mainly due to the fact that my supervisors were quite busy. However, my supervisors always answered any questions I had, and took the time out to explain things to me.

In my opinion the placement is what you make of it. I was busy, but mainly because I went looking for work. If you ask around the department that you are in then someone will always have something for you to help with.

Given that I haven't started my LPC it is quite difficult to be given responsibility due to the nature of the work, but I believe I could have been given slightly more responsibility.

I learnt how working as a solicitor actually works in practice, as opposed to what I have been taught on the GDL. This is an invaluable skill, and even simple things like using the Companies House website will serve me well for the future.

CMS has a real open door policy, I was never scared to ask a question and everyone was really friendly. I was surprised by the atmosphere in itself as it was quite relaxed. It was apparent that everyone really enjoyed the work they were doing and felt comfortable in the office.

From the beginning, CMS responded quickly to my application form, and I also received a phone call two days after my assessment centre welcoming me on to the scheme. The vacation scheme itself was very well organised, on arrival I was given a pack outlining the activities over the next two weeks. I was also supplied with an e-mail and login so I was able to start work straight away.

CMS put on a number of workshops including tips on how to make a good presentation. In my first week I was also invited to attend 'Banking School' with the trainees in my department, which provided a great introduction to the work I was dealing with.

This vacation scheme has confirmed what I already thought about CMS, a down to earth and friendly firm with great career prospects. Spending two weeks here and being welcomed into the firm has made me feel that I work here already!

Yes, everyone was extremely friendly.

As I live in London I know it's expensive, but I didn't find a great difference in the prices compared to what I normally spend.

There are a number of bars and restaurants close by, which seem to be busy when people finish work.

Yes, I was invited to a social evening with graduate recruitment, where we were taking out for dinner and drinks. We were also given details of the different sports clubs that are on offer.