Pathfinder Scheme Intern April 2013 Review

The chance to shadow Linklaters employees on a one-to-one basis gave me the closest insight possible into what it would be like to work there. It was uniquely valuable.

The firm catered extremely well for us and its employees were professional, informative and respectful. I liked the fact that I never once felt patronised throughout the placement.

There were countless tips on applying for future placements offered to us during the insight. Whether through questions and answers, or through presentations, I felt that Linklaters wanted me to succeed and were giving me the best possible chance of doing so through their guidance.

I developed valuable interpersonal skills from Pathfinder, information on how to get a job at such a firm and information on life as a lawyer at Linklaters. Both the networking skills I developed and information conveyed to me will almost certainly be useful in the future.

There was a very clear timetable given to each of us as we arrived. I appreciated knowing in advance what I was going to be doing over the course of the insight.

Very positive. The enthusiasm of the employees, coupled with the desire of the interns to learn more about life in the firm meant that everyone benefited greatly from the insight.

They gave us as much personal training as they reasonably could have done given the short duration of the scheme. The personal branding workshop and time spent with associates on an individual basis were especially useful for my development.

I was toured around the building, spent significant time shadowing employees in offices and even undertook a negotiation exercise designed to replicate issues faced by Linklaters' lawyers. Apart from actually completing the work myself, the insight I gained was as significant as it reasonably could have been, given my limited expertise.

The best way to understand a company's culture is to meet its employees. I had the opportunity on this scheme to meet plenty of lawyers, which helped to ascertain the ethos of the firm as a whole. Moreover, the presentation given by a Linklaters partner on my first day thoroughly explained the company's core values, purpose and means to acheiving that purpose.

The greater level of understanding about the firm that I have following this scheme will serve to help me to make a more informed decision as to whether I want to work there later in life. Therefore it was most valuable in helping me decide on my future career path - there is no substitute for first-hand experience like this.

This was appropriate given the duration of the experience.

There were countless opportunites to question members of the company about the firm, their reasons for joining and the experiences on a daily basis in the work place. This was certainly one of the best aspects of the overall experience.

There was a social event on the first night and plenty of time to network with both employees of the firm and other interns on the scheme.

Yes, both through hearing about individual employees' extra-curricular activities personally as well as through the information booklet and presentations.

The best insight you can possibly get about a company aside from working there is to spend time in its offices. Shadowing its employees on an individual basis, questioning them, receiving guidance on interview and application techniques and meeting other like-minded interns was an extremely valuable experience which I would recommend to anyone interested in a career in commercial law.