Vacation Scheme Student Review

I really enjoyed the insight and would rate the experience a 10. The insight was extremely helpful and enabled you to understand a bit about the firm, its work culture, what expectations it has from its employees as well as what the different practice areas are and the kind of work you may expect in those areas.

I definitely felt valued at the firm during my time there. Everyone, from trainees to partners, took out the time to interact with the vacation scheme students and address any concerns or queries that they may have. Further, it was evident that a lot of time and effort had been put in towards planning the scheme and ensuring that the students were able to derive the maximum from it.

All vacation scheme students are assigned one buddy and one trainer. The 'buddy' is someone who you can share all your thoughts and concerns with in an informal setting. He/she does not report back to the HR. The trainer is the person who guides you through the work that you have to do and he/she also evaluates you. The guidance and support that both provide is great and really enables you to enjoy the vacation scheme and maximize your learning.

The vacation scheme helps you understand the nature of work that you might be doing if you decide to work in the firm and to that extent the information is really useful in making an important career choice. There is not too much work allotted during the scheme, however, that is a positive as it gives you time to interact with more people and ask questions about the firm.

The vacation scheme was extremely well structured, with social events and activities planned for the entire duration of the scheme. Everything was very well organized as well. We were given the opportunity to interact with various people from the firm, working in different practice areas, including partners as well as get to know our fellow

I found the general atmosphere at Allen & Overy to be very friendly but at the same time professional. The people are very approachable and will do their best to make you feel comfortable. The scheme itself is full of fun activities and social events, which naturally makes the atmosphere great.

I believe that the firm invested quite a lot in terms of training and development. A wide variety of activities were arranged for us which included pro-bono exercises and business development workshops, among others. The trainers also took out time to explain how the department functions and the work that it does.

The vacation scheme definitely helps you understand what it would be like to have a full time role with the firm. You get a glimpse of the nature of work you might be getting and the kind of people that you would be working with. In fact, some of the tasks that I was entrusted with were the tasks that trainees perform.

I do believe that I acquired a decent understanding of the firm's culture during my vacation scheme. The scheme is structured such that you are acquainted with all the different initiatives undertaken by the firm and really get an idea about the firm. Further, spending two weeks in one department helps you actually see and experience the work environment and culture.

The vacation scheme did help me acquire some clarity about my future career path. A practice area fair was organized during the scheme where we were given the chance to interact with associates from different departments. This enabled me to understand the kind of work that different departments do and see what I would be interested in. Allen & Overy also organized a training contract overview session wherein they explained exactly how the training contract is structured and the qualifications that are needed.

Allen & Overy definitely goes out of the way to ensure that monetary considerations are not a reason for not participating in the scheme. If you are coming from outside the UK, they will help you out with flights, accommodation and visa. For students from the UK as well you can approach the firm in case you need financial assistance.

There were numerous opportunities for networking and meeting other employees of the firm. Nearly every day there would be a different event organized for us to meet with the other employees, this would include people at the trainee level as well as the partner level. Further, you could send an email to any employee in case you wished to speak them and I found everyone to be very receptive to those emails.

All the networking and social events were very well organized and structured. Allen & Overy ensured that each and every student received an equal opportunity to interact with the associates and partners. The events were a great opportunity to network and talk to people about their experiences working at the firm.

Yes, Allen & Overy ensures that we are not only briefed on the work related activities but also the other initiates that employees can get involved with outside of work. This includes their pro-bono initiatives, A&Out and the Women's Network, among others.

Yes, I would definitely recommend the vacation scheme to a friend. It is a great opportunity to experience what working at Allen & Overy will actually entail and understand what your future could look like. On a lighter note, it is a very fun experience and you get to meet some great people.