We caught up with Goodwin's First Year Trainees to discover their top tips for acing your application and interview.
Micah Lee
The firm is genuinely interested in understanding your motivations for pursuing law at Goodwin, so be prepared to discuss this in depth on the application form and during the interview. To that end, understanding the firm’s core practice areas is especially important because the firm has a unique offering in the London legal market.
Ollie Thesiger
I would recommend shaping the answers to your application questions around two or three of Goodwin’s specialised business units. These are: Private Equity, Technology, Life Sciences, Real Estate and Financial Services. You should be able to show why they are of genuine interest to you and make reference to work that the Firm has done in these industries. Don’t be afraid to give your own opinion on how these sectors may evolve over time!
Anjola Erikitola
When researching a firm and the work they do, consider why any of that is relevant to you. Feed this back into your answer as the firm is trying to get a sense of why you are attracted to their work or culture specifically.
Marcus Walford
The greatest strength you can show in the application process is an enthusiasm for Goodwin and its ethos.
Ella O’Donoghue
If possible, attend events where you can both hear from trainees and lawyers at Goodwin and also ask them questions which you can then use to make your answers in your application and interview more specific.
Ensure that your answers are tailored towards the specific question you are asked and not similar questions that you may have been asked elsewhere.
Elliot Luke
My biggest advice is to consider your answers before responding and to be specific – a useful tip for both applications and interviews! When you’re faced with a question, be clear on what is being asked and take a moment to think of a structure to your response. Taking a brief second to pause can be a big help to give a properly focused answer with specific examples to evidence your answer. You’ll really stand out if you can bring your wider professional or academic experience into your answers to back up your points!
Another great piece of advice is to recognise your self-worth and channel that confidence into your application. Taking practical steps, I found that making a list of my biggest achievements and my strengths was a great way to start. Not only was this a welcome confidence-booster at what can be a stressful time, it helps focus the mind and provide specific examples to use in application questions!
Apsana Rai
At the application stage, always personalise your answers. Always tell the reader why a specific fact about the firm appeals to YOU. Having a broad range of experiences would help to substantiate your answers here. This will inevitably make your application much more convincing, unique and not generic.
At the interviewing stage, don’t rush to answer any difficult question. Always take a moment to really think about the question first. No interviewer will ever say no to you asking to do this so don’t hesitate to ask. If anything, the interviewers are most likely expecting you to give a well thought out answer to any difficult questions anyway!
Folakemi Dele – Adeniyi
Demonstrate how your skillsets align with the firm and why you would a good cultural fit.
If you can, do a mock interview with every possible question that can be asked so you are prepared for anything.