Interview from abroad?
updated on 22 April 2014
Dear Oracle
I am a penultimate-year non-law student on a year abroad and I'm looking to apply for summer vacation placements. Many firms only accept applications from final-year non-law students and hold assessment days which, because I am abroad, I could not attend. Would firms allow me to do a telephone interview?
The Oracle replies
Friend of the Oracle, Kaplan careers adviser Gemma Baker, responds:
"You're right that many firms only accept applications from final-year non-law undergraduates, and it can be very difficult to find formal work experience placements (ie, vac schemes) before you've got to this stage. This is simply due to the high volume of applications that firms receive each year, coupled with the fact that most of the larger firms recruit two years in advance. Having a vac scheme in your final year fits in with this timeframe and, to be honest, the firms are unlikely to change!
I would ask, if you are studying in Europe, why you are unable to attend an assessment day in the United Kingdom? Provided that you can get a (cheap) flight back to the United Kingdom, many firms will cover the travel expenses for the purpose of an interview/assessment day - but make sure you check whether they will reimburse you for expenses first! I know of several firms that would certainly do this, but you should do some research as to whether they do beforehand.
You should also bear in mind that telephone interviews are pretty common as so many students take gap years in their penultimate undergraduate year - graduate recruitment departments are aware of this and would try to work around your availability. There are also firms around that don't interview for vacation schemes.
I would suggest that you get some local work experience this summer - even if it is in a high-street firm - and then make sure that in the autumn term you focus on gaining a place on a vac scheme. Go to law fairs, presentations and open evenings to meet graduate recruiters, trainees, associates and partners. There are plenty of vacation schemes taking place at Christmas and Easter that are specifically targeted at both final-year law and penultimate-year non-law undergraduates and graduates."
