Osborne Clarke Vacation scheme - March 2025

What was the full recruitment process?

1. Application
2. Psychometric test (similar to Watson Glaser/verbal reasoning)
3. Virtual assessment centre
4. In-person assessment centre
5. Vacation scheme

What does this report cover?

Virtual assessment centre and vacation scheme assessment centre

Virtual assessment centre

What did the virtual assessment centre involve?

This took place on the TopScore platform, and consisted of:

1. Presentation (1 hour preparation, 10 minute presentation, with a senior associate and a member of graduate recruitment)
2. Another psychometric test (30 minutes)

The presentation  

I was given a brief on a specific topic, and told I had one hour to prepare a response in the form of a presentation. My presentation required me to propose a regeneration project for a local dogs charity which had been given a piece of land with an adjoining hotel. I had to propose a creative idea for what the charity could us the land for, for example knocking down the hotel and building something new or adapting the hotel to make it accessible to dogs.

I was given specific questions to cover during the presentation: 

• Who would you want on your taskforce and what skills will they bring to the team?
• What are your ideas for developing the land? How viable are each of these options? Are there any wider implications?
• Who are the stakeholders that you need to consult?
• How would you implement the project? What other professionals will you need to liaise with? 

I then presented to a senior associate and a member of graduate recruitment for around 6 minutes. Afterwards, they asked me a series of follow-up questions, including: 

• Which of OC’s practice areas would be involved in your project?
• Who is the most important stakeholder?
• What wider factors need to be considered when engaging in your project?

Psychometric test 

The psychometric test lasted for 30 minutes. It is similar to a situational judgement test and has no elements of Watson Glaser. I had access to background materials linked to the questions. It’s very interactive and participants are required to engage in tasks such as deciding when certain employees will be free for a meeting based on a fictional calendar and background information about employees (e.g. X is only available Mondays, X doesn't work weekends etc.).

I would say there isn’t much preparation one could do before the test due to how versatile it is in nature. Time pressure is also a major factor - you get points deducted for every question left blank but will not get points deducted for wrong answers, so giving an answer to as many questions as possible is essential.

Outcome

8 days after the virtual assessment centre, the firm emailed to tell me I had progressed to the next round.

Where did the in-person assessment centre take place?

The firm’s London office 

What does the assessment centre involve? 

1. Interview (30-45 minutes with 2 senior associates)
2. Watson Glaser (30 minutes)
3. Group exercise (1 hour 15 minutes, with a senior associate and a member of the graduate recruitment team) 

(the order of which was different for different people)

Interview

The interview was quite conversational. It was with 2 senior associates. It lasted around 30-45 minutes. I was asked questions such as 

• Why Osborne Clarke?
• What skills will you bring to the role?
• Tell me about a time you failed and had to bounce back.
• What other firms did you apply to and why? 

Following this, there was a section where I was asked for my opinions on controversial topics, for example: should NQs expect to work long hours because they’re paid such high salaries? The firm was mainly looking to understand my thought process, so speaking out loud and considering different factors is essential.

After this, we were given the opportunity to ask our own questions to the interviewers. 

Watson Glaser 

The Watson Glaser is pretty self-explanatory. We entered a room with different laptops set out on the table and had to sit the Watson Glaser test (which lasted 30 minutes). 

Group exercise 

The group exercise involved pretending we were part of the firm's BD team. We had to discuss and choose between 5 prospective Osbourne Clark clients and then present our choice to 2 employees at the firm. This task lasted 1 hour and 15 minutes. 

We were prompted to choose the company which had the most synergies with Osborne Clarke and the biggest potential for a long term profitable relationship.

We then delivered a short presentation on our collective decision (around 6 minutes, although we weren't given a strict time limit). After, we were asked several questions about the company we chose and why we made this choice, such as: 

• What Osborne Clarke practice areas would be most involved with this company?
• Which sector at Osborne Clarke does this company have the most synergy with? 

What was the outcome? 

Outcome unknown at the time of writing. 

Do you have any specific advice on how to prepare? 

I think it's important to have a deep understanding of Osborne Clarke and how the firm operates. In particular, candidates would benefit from knowing about the sectors OC operates in, OC solutions, and the 3 transformations (which are decarbonisation, urban dynamics and digitalisation). 

For the group task, don’t draw any negative attention to yourself. Don’t speak over others but make sure to volunteer ideas to the group and bring others into the conversation who may be struggling to speak. You should also be open to compromise in the event of disputes about which decision should be made 

For the interview, there aren’t really any trick questions. It’s very conversational and very laid back and the firm really wants to get a sense of what's making you apply to them. Be sure to know your reasons why and have relevant examples to demonstrate this such as interacting with the firm during open days. I’d also say it’s important to draw specific links between the other firms you applied to and how they relate to OC, as you want to reiterate why OC is attractive to you. 

For the Watson Glaser, practice is key. When you’ve done multiple Watson Glasers for different firms, you start to see the same questions coming up again and again, as well as similarities in the ways that different questions are phrased. There were quite a lot of questions that I had seen before so familiarity definitely comes through consistent practice.

Osborne Clark Vacation Scheme - February 2024

What was the full recruitment process?         

1. Application

2. Online verbal reasoning test provided by SHL

3. Phase 1 assessments (online)

4. Assessment centre (in person)

5. Vacation scheme

Which aspect does this report cover?

Phase 1 assessment: presentation. Previously the Watson Glaser was included but this was not a feature in the phase 1 assessment in 2024. 

Where did the assessment centre take place?            

The phase 1 assessment took place via the online platform TopScore.

Phase 1 assessment

Individual commercial exercise with presentation 

(1 hour prep, 10-minute presentation and 15/20 minutes of questions, with 1 partner and 1 member of graduate recruitment)

I was tasked with giving a presentation on greenwashing. I was given 1 hour to go through a short explanatory document, carry out my own research (it was fine to use the internet) and prepare a presentation. There was no function on TopScore to share a PowerPoint or any other visuals, and this was not expected. The explanatory document defined greenwashing and provided a few links as a starting point for my research.   

The presentation had to cover:

• 3 areas of a company’s operation where a company can be accused of greenwashing. 
• Why these points are important for a company to be aware of.
• Why greenwashing is a problem.
• How Osborne Clarke could partner with and advise clients in this area.
• How green washing may affect an organisation. 

I was given a time limit of 10 minutes for the presentation, which I delivered in front of a partner and a member of graduate recruitment.

I then answered follow-up questions for a further 15-20 minutes, including:

• Which two of Osborne Clarke’s sectors would greenwashing affect the most, and why?
• Which is more important: social washing or green washing? Which of Osborne Clarke’s sectors would this affect?
• Which practice area would be most hindered by greenwashing?
• Why would a buyer, who is buying a business accused of greenwashing, care about the business undertaking greenwashing?

When approaching this task, read the brief thoroughly and double check your understanding and what must be included in the presentation before commencing research. 

Keep your presentation relevant, include recent examples that you’ve come across, and specify how the firm could potentially be involved. I would recommend doing research on the firm in advance, particularly its sectors and transformation focus, as this will help when explaining how the firm can be involved. It is a very commercially focused exercise, so brush up on your commercial awareness and understanding of how a business operates. 

The interviewers were very nice and it was an enjoyable experience. I had time at the end to ask questions and we chatted more generally about the firm as a whole. 

Osbourne Clark Vacation Scheme - February 2023

What was the full recruitment process?         

1. Application

2. Online verbal reasoning test provided by SHL

3. Phase 1 assessments (online)

4. Assessment centre (in person)

5. Vacation scheme

Which aspect does this report cover?

Phase 1 assessments: presentation + Watson Glaser test

Assessment centre: interview + group exercise

Where did the assessment centre take place?            

The phase 1 assessment took place via the online platform TopScore. The assessment centre took place in person at the firm’s Reading office (this was for a Reading office vacation scheme).

Phase 1 assessment

1. Individual commercial exercise with presentation (1 hour prep, ~40 minute presentation and questions, with 1 partner, 1 associate).

I was tasked with designing a city for the year 2030. In particular I had to discuss 5 key things that the population of the city would expect to have in place. I was given 1 hour to go through a short explanatory document, carry out my own research (it was fine to use the internet) and prepare a presentation setting out each of these must haves, why each is important, and how each could be achieved. I was given a limit of 15 minutes for the presentation, which I delivered in front of a partner and an associate.

I then answered follow-up questions for a further 15-20 minutes, including:

• How would you implement such a suggestion?
• How could Osborne Clarke assist in such a scenario?
• Why is such a suggestion important?
• Technical questions about the roll out of my suggestions, for example: how could it be financed? What would the impact be on employment? What would be some negative consequences of implementing such a suggestion?

When approaching this task, read the brief thoroughly and double check your understanding before commencing research. Keep your presentation relevant, include recent examples that you’ve come across, and specify how the firm could potentially be involved in your plans. Also speak slowly (15 minutes is a long time to fill, so no need to rush), take pauses to keep your thinking logical, and make eye contact with the lens of your webcam.

2. Watson Glaser test

30 minutes to answer 45 questions.

Assessment centre 

1. Interview (~45 minutes with 2 partners)

Questions included:

• What do you look for when selecting a law firm to apply to?
• Do you think AI will do more harm than good for law firms in the future?
• What is your understanding of / experience with AI?
• Why have you applied to this office?
• What is your understanding of the firm’s sectors?
• Where else have you applied?
• How do you ascertain whether a law firm is a good fit for you?
• Where should the firm be looking to expand its expertise?

I only had time to ask a couple of questions at the end of the interview.

Take time to think carefully before answering each question (asking for time to think is okay!). Where relevant, try to relate answers back to why you would be suited to the firm / how your past experiences have helped prepare you for this role. After answering a question, perhaps ask a related question back to the interviewer, as this can show that you want to know more about the firm / how it operates.

2. Group exercise

I was given 1 hour to work in a team of 4 on a technology-centric group task. In particular, we were given background information on 6 technologies (this set out the benefits and costs of implementing each technology) and were then tasked with selecting which option a law firm should implement.

We had to consider criteria such as the impact on trainees, the impact on the firm’s image as ‘future-facing’, and ESG goals. We then had to present which technology we had chosen, why we had chosen this and how it met the criteria. Our conversations and presentation were watched by one partner and two individuals from the graduate recruitment team.

During this exercise, don’t speak over other members of your group. If you think someone has made a genuinely good / insightful point, tell them. Build upon the points suggested by others in your group, for instance – ‘That’s a really good suggestion. In addition to that I was thinking we could develop it further by …’. If one group member seems to take control talk over others, don’t try to compete with them; wait for them to stop talking and then make your suggestions. Finally, make sure that every big decision is made as a group and that everyone’s opinions have been listened to.

What was the outcome?                                                  

After the final assessment centre, I was told by email within 3 working days that I had been successful in securing a vacation scheme.

Do you have any specific advice on how to prepare?   

Turn up early: I was in the office 20 minutes before my day was due to start and was the first applicant to arrive. In general, be friendly to everyone, from the cleaner and the receptionist, to the partner. Everyone you come across is a part of the firm and may have some level of influence. Engage with other applicants: shake their hands when they walk into the room, and don’t be hostile. Don’t worry if applicants are internal and are chatting to members of the firm already; the only thing that matters is your performance on the day. Also make sure you thank people for their time.