The hard part is done and you have secure a place on a vacation scheme, but now the time for the scheme has actually arrived. It’s important to remember that a vacation scheme is your opportunity to both sell yourself to a firm, but to also make sure a firm is the right fit for you. Every firm is different and this will reflect in their culture, ethos and practice styles. A vacation scheme offers you the unique opportunity to develop your understanding of the firm, and evaluate whether it is somewhere you could see yourself working.
Preparing for a vacation scheme can be overwhelming so here are my top tips for ensuring your scheme is a success:
1. Be observant and a good listener
A large part of your scheme is going to involve various fee earners setting you work and tasks to complete. When you are being set work be sure to be diligent in taking notes of your instructions. This will help to ensure you have completed the task as requested before you share it with the fee earner. As a trainee solicitor a large proportion of your work will be set by other members of your team, therefore you will require the same skills as you will be demonstrating here.
2. Consider the different departments you would like to spend time in
It is likely you will have spent time researching the firm and identifying the areas which attract you most to it. The vacation scheme offers you the chance to trial some work in that department, so make the most of it. Being vocal about the firms disciplines and areas of law that you have an interest in is also likely to make you a much more memorable candidate. Not to mention that you will eventually end up qualifying into one area of law, so you may as well start the search for your passion on day one.
3. Be proactive rather than reactive
Whilst you will be set tasks by your supervisors, there may also be some free time once you have completed them. As a trainee solicitor you will be expected to manage your capacity and workloads, so start on your vacation scheme and use your initiative to ask for more work when you’re finished. The more work that you complete during the scheme the better you will understand both the firm and what any future role may look like. Being proactive is a desirable quality in any future trainee so demonstrate this where you can.
4. Slow down and pay attention to detail
A frequent mistake of vacation scheme students is rushing through the work they have been set in record time. The person setting you the work is likely to give you an indication as to how long it should take you to complete it, so pay attention to that. There is however no expectation that any work will be completed in a set amount of time or that it is flawless, mistakes happen. We would much rather have work which has been completed to a higher standard, although unfinished, than a rushed piece of work with a large number of errors. Taking your time with a piece of work will also allow you to better understand the work you have been given. It is likely that you will need to conduct some research into what you’re doing, and the best pieces of work are where care has been taken to get to grips with the relevant area of law.
5. Enjoy it!
You are most likely already aware of how competitive the industry is, and therefore what an achievement it is to have secured a vacation scheme. Make sure that after all that hard work, you actually take the time to enjoy the scheme. If you don’t enjoy the scheme, then it is also a useful indicator that the firm may not be right for you. Your journey to becoming a solicitor is a long one, as it is for everyone, so try to enjoy all the steps along the way.
There are so many different qualities which make up an ideal trainee solicitor. A vacation scheme provides such an invaluable opportunity to develop a greater awareness those, as well as better understanding the firm you are applying to. Be willing to learn, take on as much work as you are able, use the opportunity to ask questions you want to know the answers to, and show a passion and desire for your career. When your performance is being reviewed (which is no secret), these are the kinds of characteristics and behaviours which will increase your chances of being asked to interview for a training contract (which is of course the dream).
Finally, good luck with any upcoming schemes that you have, and congratulations on coming so far already.
To contact us, please fill out this form and we will get back in touch as soon as possible. Your personal data will be processed in accordance with our privacy policy which can be found here.
Thank you for your enquiry. We will respond as soon as possible.
