Kirkland & Ellis Vacation Scheme - January 2025
What was the full recruitment process?
1. Written application
2. Video interview
3. Assessment centre
4. Vacation scheme
Which aspect does this report cover?
Video interview and assessment centre.
Video interview
This was hosted online on a platform called ‘Shortlister’. It was a pre-recorded video interview with three questions. I was given 15 seconds to prepare for each and 60 seconds to answer. I could not re-record answers. The questions were as follows:
I was invited by email to the assessment centre the day after the video interview.
Where did the assessment centre take place?
In-person at Kirkland’s London office.
What did the assessment centre involve?
The assessment day was 3 hours in total, including breaks, and involved the following three components:
1. Group Q&A with 2 senior partners (~30 minutes I think)
2. Group discussion (~30 minutes I think)
3. Written exercise (~30 minutes I think)
Group Q&A
We were seated in a roundtable with two senior partners, and were first asked which other firms each of us had applied to. We then had the chance to ask them questions about the firm.
It is helpful to think about which firms you are applying to and what the tying thread is between them.
You should also be confident about speaking up at the start, as people were just going ahead and asking instead of raising hands and waiting for the partners to recognise us. Later on, everyone gets eager to ask questions, so it’s best to ask one as soon as you can.
Group discussion
We were split into small groups; mine had 5 people. We were given instructions that a fictional management consultancy, K&E Enterprises, was looking to hire a new CEO. The instructions also included a number of attributes and company objectives to guide the choice. We each had 10 minutes to think and come up with a character as our candidate for the new CEO.
Our candidate could be real, fictitious, historical, or alive (e.g. it could be Beyoncé or Napoleon Bonaparte), but it had to be someone well-known that our group mates would be able to recognise. They could not be related to the business world, e.g. they could not be CEOs of real companies or significantly involved in business otherwise.
We then had about a minute each to pitch our candidate to the group. We spoke about why they best matched the attributes and objectives that we were given. Following this, our group had to discuss between us who to choose. The discussion was observed and assessed by two partners, including the training principal Rajinder Bassi, but not moderated by them and we had to speak to each other.
The tricky part here—and likely what they were assessing—was how well we balanced putting forward our own points whilst working well in the team. It is not easy to propose eliminating someone else’s candidate, and it can get quite tense as the time is close to running out, but managing these aspects well is part of the exercise.
Written exercise
This was a prioritisation exercise—I was given a bullet point list of various tasks or situations, some of them conflicting one other, and I had about 25 minutes to write how I would prioritise them. I was not given any format or further instruction, so I had to decide how to go about it myself, whether that means listing the tasks in priority order, or writing it like a diary planner. I was given a pen and notepad; it was not a computer e-tray exercise.
An example of the tasks or situations is that you were working on a piece of research for an associate, but a client on a matter you had been working on just called/emailed you to say they wanted a meeting at 12 PM today, and your supervisor from that matter is currently in a meeting. It is usually two or more tasks conflicting for time.
The time limit is not too pressured, but still needs careful management.
What was the outcome?
I was emailed ~2 weeks after the assessment centre and told I had been unsuccessful.
Do you have any specific advice on how to prepare?
There was no individual interview element throughout, so you don’t get to answer ‘Why K&E?’ or ‘Why commercial law?’ or any other motivation or technical questions. That means it’s important to speak up as much as you can – without dominating the group or monopolising time—during the two group sessions.
Think about your answer to ‘Which other firms have you applied to?’. If there is one outlier firm that is quite different from the rest of your firms, I would advise not mentioning it at all so there is some consistency. Most people said ‘US firms, private equity’ so don’t be afraid to be a bit different or specific as long as it applies to K&E.
I would advise thinking about how you would format or present your written exercise, as we were just given a list of tasks to prioritise and no further instructions regarding our responses.
Other than that, there is not much you can prepare for. I found that a lot of it was about how you behaved in a group, and whether you were able to balance being confident and sharing your own ideas with being collaborative and friendly. During the group discussion, you could try to facilitate positive discussion by referring to others or being the one to bring it back to the relevant points if it is going off track. Propose a way to go forward when there is any kind of disagreement in the group. These are the kinds of things you can do to stand out.
Kirkland & Ellis Vacation Scheme - February 2022
What was the full recruitment process?
1. Application: three 400-word questions
2. Video interview: 2 questions
3. Assessment centre
4. Vacation scheme
5. Training contract interview
Which aspect does this report cover?
Vacation scheme assessment centre (although this was subsequently converted into a direct training contract interview, due to COVID-19).
Where did the assessment centre take place?
Zoom
What did the assessment centre involve?
1. Q&A with senior partners: question and answer session for a 12-person group (~60 minutes, 2 x partners and 1 x graduate recruiter)
2. Written exercise: explain how you would prioritise a number of trainee tasks (~30 minutes)
3. Group exercise: pitch a fictional CEO candidate to the group, then discuss which candidate is best (10 minutes reading time, 1 minute per pitch, 15 minute group discussion in front of two partners and one member of graduate recruitment).
Partner Q&A
Two senior partners introduced themselves and the firm. Each of us was then asked which other firms we had applied to, and were then given the opportunity to ask one question. The key is to remain engaged throughout and to prepare one or two questions in advance.
Written exercise
I was given a list of fictional tasks that a trainee had to complete in a day (including deadlines for these tasks), and was then given 30 minutes to prioritise these tasks in order to plan the trainee’s time. These activities included, for example:
Attention to detail is key. Some of the activities within the list might complement one another, or one might obviously follow-on from another, so consider the tasks holistically. In general, perhaps assume that client work comes first, followed by training/knowledge management/internal presentations, followed by graduate recruitment commitments.
I wasn’t given direction as to how to present the written piece, but I personally recommend using a timeline with headings for clarity. I was not required to justify my order of priority, although I recommend including a few bullet points to explain your thought process.
Leave at least a couple of minutes to upload your work at the end of the task, just in case there are tech issues or the upload speed is slow. Note that I didn’t receive feedback after submitting the work.Group exercise
We were placed in a group of ~8, then each given 10 minutes to (individually) read through a 1-2 page document, which included a description of a fictional company (Kirkland Enterprises) and details of the type of CEO that the company is looking to hire.
Each group member was then given 1 minute to pitch a character to take on the role of CEO of Kirkland Enterprises. The character could be fictional, historical, or from the present day, but could not be associated with current businesses (e.g. not someone like Warren Buffet or Elon Musk). Next, we had 15 minutes to discuss as a group which of the characters pitched would be best.
The key is to keep your presentation to within 1 minute. During the discussion, listen to others, engage with their ideas, and do not shout over others! The partners are looking for good communication and listening skills and the ability to positively engage with others in a group situation. In addition, be willing to concede or compromise in order to reach a conclusion before the time is up.
What was the outcome?
The firm called me 5 days after the assessment centre to tell me I had been successful.
Do you have any specific advice on how to prepare?