By: Sehar Mushtaq

Hi everyone I am a third-year philosophy and politics student at the University of Birmingham. I was recently offered a training contract at an international law firm and wanted to share my experience with you.

So my journey began in 2021 when I came across the Bright Futures programme at Clyde & Co. I decided to apply and didn’t think much of it. However, the following week, I was invited to an online video assessment. Following this, I didn’t think I would hear back for the final interview, but to my surprise, I did. The interview was a really positive experience and very different from what I expected. I received a phone call to say that I had been successful and would be joining the Bright Futures programme. Through the scheme, I was assigned a mentor who would help me through the programme. My mentor has been amazing and so supportive, and she has guided me so much through my journey. The programme consisted of a week-long workshop. I also had an assessment centre on Friday to get fast tracked onto a vacation scheme. I was so scared about this, as this was all new to me. Throughout the week, however, I tried my best to speak to other trainees and associates about any tips and their experiences. This was important not only for myself to learn about the firm but also in terms of networking in the future. Many of the people that I had met on the programme were happy to then meet up when I was at the firm for my vacation scheme.

My assessment centre day was intense and consisted of three components: an interview, a case study, and a group exercise. My main advice would just be to stay calm and go at each task alone. I remember coming out of the case study and thinking that I had completely failed and messed up. I went into my interview then with this negative mindset, thinking that I had already failed. However, I was offered a place on the winter vacation scheme. The vacation scheme itself was an extremely enjoyable experience; however, I remember being petrified about the final interview and that this was my only chance at a training contract. I was in the employment department and had such an amazing team that were all so supportive. I had a supervisor, whom I regularly updated on my tasks and any questions that I may have had. I was given many tasks by various trainees and associates in my team. My favourite task was being able to attend a preliminary hearing with a senior associate. I was then required to write an attendance note. I also used the two weeks to meet up with other trainees and associates to learn more about their seats and the type of work they do.

 My final interview was on Thursday of the last week. Looking back, the only way to overcome that fear was to just do the interview. Because the more I thought about it, the more anxious I became. My interview was virtual and was conducted with two people: a partner and a senior associate. To be completely honest, I didn’t have much confidence in my interview; however, I did feel a massive sense of relief having completed it. My mentor would often say to me that even if you aren’t successful in getting a training contract, this experience itself is a massive achievement. This is so important, as we often fixate on the end goal when all these other experiences are just as valuable. So if you are someone who has done a vacation scheme but hasn’t been successful in getting a training contract, just think about the hard work and valuable skills you have gained from the scheme itself and how you could use this for other applications. Around three weeks later, I received a call from graduate recruitment to say that they would like to offer me a training contract.

The main question that I would constantly ask myself was whether I was the right person to be on the vacation scheme. I am a non-law student, and I soon realised that a lot of the people on the same vacation scheme as me were either LPC graduates or had done the GDL. Before starting my vacation scheme, I would get really nervous and think the worst, as I felt that everyone was in a better place than me and much more prepared for success. However, something that I learned while on the scheme is that this really doesn’t matter. I was really apprehensive about working in my department, as I was scared I would feel left out and behind in comparison to the other vac schemers. My main worry was about being unable to complete tasks due to a lack of knowledge, etc. However, I quickly learned two things. The first is that when you are on these VA programmes, they are tailored to be individual and independent. You are assessed as an individual, and there is no comparison to others. Additionally, I found that a lot of the tasks were assessed more on my skill set than my knowledge. So, for example, if there was a task that I didn’t know how to complete, it was about how I went about conducting this. With that being said, I know how daunting it can feel to think you don’t know anything and are behind everyone else. My main piece of advice would be to just focus on yourself and your own journey. Rather than comparing and questioning your knowledge, focus on thinking about what unique skills you may have.