Simmons & Simmons Assessment: Study Guide & Practice Questions For Ambitious Lawyers
For ambitious lawyers, working in Simmons & Simmons is a dream come true. The prestigious law firm has set up a delicate pre-employment process to find the best candidates. Applicants have to undergo several steps before they are part of the family.
Have you been invited to take a Simmons & Simmons test? Then you need to take a look at this article before starting the most challenging test of your life.
Table of Contents
What Is Simmons & Simmons?
Based in London, the UK, Simmons & Simmons is an international law firm with over a century of history. While this famous British firm is well-known for a lot of things, its most recent achievement is getting involved in the fintech funds long before its competitors saw the golden opportunity.
Currently, the firm has around 1,500 employees in different departments. Its tentacles extend to every aspect of the legal field. Working in Simmons & Simmons is the ultimate goal for many fresh graduates.
Simmons & Simmons offers an excellent employment package. Full-time employees enjoy medical coverage, dental care, training and further study opportunities, child support for working parents, retirement schemes, and more. These all-rounded benefits make Simmons & Simmons a top leader in its field to attract new talents each year.
The Simmons & Simmons Hiring Process
At Simmons & Simmons, every prospective candidate has to pass a few online and physical tests to qualify as a new hire. These tests are carefully designed to access your specialty at each stage.
First, you need to submit your online application. Choose the role you are applying for based on your skills. Do not apply for the same position more than once. Redundant applications can be seen as spam and go straight to the junk with the automatic screening.
If your initial parameters match the profile, you will be invited to take the online test. The online process involves a situational judgment test and some aptitude tests. Only the passing candidates will be invited to a video interview.
You will meet and greet some of the bigger figures at Simmons & Simmons during the video interview. The exact panel differs depending on the position you apply for. During this stage, the interviewers will decide if you have the right mentality and attitude for the team.
You, as a candidate, will also have a chance to ask questions and get a better understanding of your daily tasks in the role.
The interviewers will pick the final candidates to attend the in-person assessment day at a Simmons & Simmons centre. On the assessment day, you should be prepared to spend roughly 7 to 9 hours on-site.
At the centre, you will be guided through a few briefing sessions about the company culture and work responsibilities, participate in group exercises, and attend interviews. Your performance on the assessment day will directly determine your suitability for the role.
Successful candidates will be contacted within a month following the assessment day. If you are happy with the offer, accept it and you are ready to shine at one of the top law firms in the UK.
What Is the Simmons & Simmons Online Test?
Taking the online test is part of the initial screening in the pre-employment hiring process. The online test includes two sections, which are the situational judgment test and the aptitude test respectively.
1. Situational Judgment Test
In this section, you need to utilise your critical thinking skills. Numerous real-life scenarios will be given. Candidates have to decide what procedures to take in these situations.
There are scenarios where you need to strictly follow the protocols for the client’s and company’s interests but there are also scenarios where you need to think creatively for a solution.
The best part about this test is that although there are guidelines to follow, candidates that demonstrate exceptional reasoning skills will score the highest. You can arrive at the perfect solution with various means. There are lots of options to consider and you only need to justify your chosen path.
2. Aptitude Tests
The aptitude tests are further divided into smaller sections that access your numerical reasoning, logical reasoning, and verbal reasoning skills.
The numerical reasoning test contains multiple-choice questions only. It measures your numerical sensitivity and statistical analysis ability. Questions involving graphs and charts are used. You need to compute or map out the correct data points with the information provided.
Another section is the logical reasoning test. Candidates with a quick mind and forward-thinking mentality will gain the most points.
Under the circumstances stated, you have to judge the best reaction and rank the responses according to how suitable they are. This section is a condensed summary of the conflicts and challenges you will face at work every day.
The last section is the verbal reasoning test, which evaluates your communication, comprehension, and presentation skills. You will read through some chapters and break down the meaning behind some paragraphs.
Having a strong reading skill consolidates your candidacy as lawyers must deal with a sea load of paperwork each day with countless professional jargon.
How to Pass the Simmons & Simmons Test?
1. Practise
With the full information in this article, you now possess a good understanding of what to expect at the Simmons & Simmons test. However, it is far from enough to ace it. There is no better way to pass the test other than practising.
JobTest Prep is an online test resource library with thousands of job preparation tests meticulously created by inside experts. Its Simmons & Simmons test contains a dozen sets used in the tests. Students will get to practise hundreds of questions in the same section.
Furthermore, it provides 27 study guides and video tutorials to walk you through each step of the pre-employment testing journey. With 7 sets of the assessment day exercises, you are well-protected under the umbrella of these intelligent experts.
2. Make Sure You Are Qualified for the Role
Study guides are here to supplement your existing knowledge, making it easier to land a position that you are qualified for. First, you need to understand your ability and if you are the right fit for the position.
If you are too far behind or your experience is not enough as stated in the requirement, you should take a step back and consider positions that are more relevant to your skills. Reaching too high will not work at Simmons & Simmons.
Candidates with the right set of skills are highly appreciated but those that are not on par with the standards will be disqualified effectively.
3. Get Enough Rest Before the Test
Attending a pre-employment test is not at all like doing a university exam. Pulling an all-nighter will not do you any good but will only drag down your performance. Keep your brain fresh to dismantle any trick questions.
Get enough sleep the night before so you are loaded with a fully functioning mind, especially when you are going for the video interview and the assessment day.
When you are meeting the seniors at Simmons & Simmons, they can tell your suitability by how sharp you look. You do not want to look like you are fresh out of a 30-hour shift.
What Happens During the Video Interview?
The moment you get an email confirmation about your video interview, you are one step closer to securing a seat at the law firm. During the video interview, you will be asked multiple questions about your desire to work in the firm and what innovative angles you can bring to the team.
The interview panel will vary each year depending on your role and the availability of the interviewers. You will introduce yourself and the reasons you have chosen Simmons & Simmons.
Take a look at the website to jog down some notes. Any valuable information about their mottos and visions should be mentioned to align your beliefs to theirs.
Then, you need to justify why they should hire you. Do you possess skills that match their values? Are you the young blood they are looking for to bring a change in the atmosphere? Or are you ready to expand their clientele with your charming character?
Be as personable as possible. Charisma is contagious. In a business like the law, you need to be handling client relations regardless of your role. Show your interpersonal skills to your interviewers by always maintaining a smile and a calm tone.
What Happens on the Simmons Assessment Day?
The rigorous assessment day will start with a 40-minute writing exercise. In this test, you will draft a response to a client according to the requirements and scenario. It will most likely be an email exchange instead of a legal document. Your presentation skills and client’s relation ability will be measured.
Following the writing exercise, you will then be directed to the legal document review exercise. This exercise aims to assess your fluency in comprehending legal documents. Two interviewers will ask you questions about the content in the legal documents and how you interpret the data.
Articulate your points logically to show that you have grasped as much information as possible within the time frame.
Towards the end of your interview, the focus will gradually shift back to your qualifications and how you can add value to the team. The interviewers will want to find out more about you. Construct your argument by showing them how well you have read about the company.
You can slide in some constructive criticism for the firm to improve. But remember, your humble suggestions should not contain negativity. You are only here to give positive advice, rather than to criticize the firm.
Better yet, if you can go through their annual reports and find a possible solution to the problems they are facing, you are setting yourself up for the throne.
Simmons & Simmons has been putting their focus on the fintech industry and financial products. Therefore, any innovative ideas coming from this angle will be highly useful.
Summary
Getting a seat at Simmons & Simmons is not an unattainable dream after all. As fierce as the competition, you now stand a very good chance of mastering the Simmons & Simmons test with this article and the study materials at JobTest Prep. Get your copy today so you waste no time in preparing for the biggest test in your career.
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Sarah is an accomplished educator, researcher and author in the field of testing and assessment. She has worked with various educational institutions and organisations to develop innovative evaluation methods and enhance student learning. Sarah has published numerous articles and books on assessment and learning. Her passion for promoting equity and fairness in the education system fuels her commitment to sharing insights and best practices with educators and policymakers around the world.
