We recently caught up with Eleanor about how they secured a role with Clifford Chance, how they build commercial awareness before the interview and their top tips for Bright Network members looking to follow in their footsteps.
What stood out to you about Clifford Chance?
Clifford Chance stood out against other firms for truly celebrating the diversity of its people and their experiences - it is difficult to feel like the odd one out in such a friendly, open and diverse environment.
Clifford Chance also invests in you. The Graduate Recruitment team do a great job at staying connected with you and there are many opportunities for personal and professional development, including travelling and secondments. Before you start and as a future trainee, you are given the chance to apply to an internship with one of their partners on an internal scheme called LIFT.
How did you build your commercial awareness before the interview?
Commercial awareness is crucial to performing well in interview. Familiarise yourself with the industry: How does the firm operate - type of business, fee structure, how does it make money, strategic goals? Who are its main competitors? Who are its clients? What are the main industry trends - how do you anticipate these will impact the firm?
Use resources such as Finimize, the Financial Times (News Briefing podcast is good!), BBC News and Bright Network’s Commercial Awareness newsletter. Follow a story or topic that interests you. Thought Leadership: Read publicly available resources from the firm and its competitors
What would be your top tip to members going through the application process
Choose an area of interest, find news articles on the topic and follow related stories. This strategy should help you to build your commercial awareness in a way that is tailored to your interest(s).
It will also make answering the interview question ‘Tell me about an article in the news recently that you found interesting and why’ easier.
This approach can be supplemented with the creation of a separate social media account to follow related content: for example, create a Twitter account to follow BBC News, politicians, the Financial Times, or individuals and companies related to your area of interest. This way you have a feed designed to build your commercial awareness, tailored around your interests.
How did Bright Network help you secure this role?
Bright Network helped me secure this role by:
- Growing my commercial awareness and refining my commercial acumen. This was essential for case-study based interviews
- Building my confidence as a candidate. The resources available through Bright Network better equipped me to perform well in interviews and at open days. I was also better informed about opportunities available to me, including internships and placements
- Expanding my network. Attending Bright Network events helped me to grow connections with peers and potential employers
What’s been the toughest interview question you've faced and how did you tackle it?
'What are your major strengths and weaknesses?'
Strengths: Make sure these align to the key skills required for the role or company values.
Weaknesses: Avoid common answers - such as being a perfectionist - and rather use this opportunity to reflect on your own working style and character. Interviewers will value answers that are authentic and natural; answers that are honest and truthful will also demonstrate a strong sense of self-awareness. Always follow-up weaknesses with examples of what you are doing to improve or tackle that specific weakness.
What top three tips would you give Bright Network members looking to follow in your footsteps?
- Build your network and stay connected to your peers
- Apply to every opportunity and explore other industries - all experience is good experience
- Practise, practise, practise - from psychometric tests to mock interviews, familiarising yourself with timings and structure is key
Let us know where you've secured your work experience, internship or graduate role. We want to celebrate your success with a gift from us and exclusive invitations to evening networking drinks throughout the year.
