How do you overcome the disappointment of applying to your dream firm and being rejected? You put all of the effort, time and dedication into learning about the firm, its values and its culture, to then be rejected at an early stage of the process. I promise you, all is not lost.
I applied to DWF in 2015 and was rejected at the video interview stage; I then reapplied this year for the Vacation Scheme and was successful, and I will be joining the Manchester office in September 2019 to begin my training.
It is paramount as a candidate to understand why you have been rejected, and having a moment to self-reflect is no bad thing. For myself, I did not have a great deal of self-belief when going into applications and I believe that the negativity shone through. I decided to work as a paralegal at a top 50 law firm to better my understanding of the career, gain some valuable legal experience but also be in a position where I can learn from various people. A combination of the above, along with assistance from Aspiring Solicitors, allowed my confidence and my understanding of the profession to grow.
If you are someone who has been rejected from the firm you wish to work for, ensure you open a dialogue with them; attend law fairs and meet the graduate recruitment team, or apply for an open day and build up your knowledge on the firm. By doing this, you will gain a wealth of information about the firm; its clients and you will get a general feel of what it would be like to work there. This will then translate throughout your application, and they will be able to see your true desire for wanting to work there and your reasons behind it. Attending an open day at DWF certainly solidified my desire to work in the business and I feel that this came across throughout the whole of the application process for the vacation scheme and training contract.
The most valuable piece of advice that I would give anyone who has been rejected from a training contract application is to not give up. If you put in the hard work and you have the ability to take on board constructive criticism from application reviews, mock interviews etc., I firmly believe that you will be successful in achieving your goal.