Students and graduates

Ensure your application is free from spelling and grammatical errors – attention to detail is a fundamental skill for a lawyer – so we expect this to be reflected in your application. The interview questions are likely to include details about school and university studies, your interests and achievements, work experience, why you have chosen this career and why you want to work at Allen & Overy (Vietnam). University careers services may offer mock interviews, so book one if you can. Getting feedback on how you come across in an interview scenario from someone you don’t know can be really helpful before the event.

There is no “typical” Allen & Overy (Vietnam) candidate and we know students have various interests and skills. We are keen for interesting and open-minded people to join us. Essentially, in your application we are looking for evidence of teamwork, motivation and drive, communication skills, planning and organisation, critical thinking, commercial awareness and commitment – both to a career in law and to a career with Allen & Overy (Vietnam).

At Allen & Overy (Vietnam), we recognise that you will be applying to a number of law firms and that can mean a lot of applications. It may appear that each firm wants a similar application, but your individual approach and attention to our firm will help set you apart. It’s worth taking the time to focus on each individual application – it may take longer but the effort will be worth it if you secure an interview. The questions asked by different firms may look similar, but it is unlikely you will be able to use the same answer each time.

Creating an application that stands out from the rest of the crowd and sells your skills can be a challenge. In the first instance, make sure that you know exactly what’s required by familiarising yourself with  what we look for – communication, teamwork, interpersonal skills and commercial awareness are just some of the skills we look for at Allen & Overy (Vietnam), so prepare some examples to demonstrate your experience of each.

We want to find out what type of person you are, so try to showcase yourself in your application. We expect academically successful candidates but your application will stand out if you show that you have experienced life outside the library. Volunteering or joining a society or sporting team is valuable, especially if you take responsibility for a task, such as managing a budget or project. Try to demonstrate your responsibilities and your capacity to shape events, committees and outcomes.

If you have completed legal or non-legal, commercial or any other kind of work experience, think about what you have learned and observed. You may, for example, have made a recommendation for improving a process to your manager or have handled a difficult customer. Using examples like this on your application and during interviews shows that you have learned from your experience and that you are willing to be asked about it.

Yes, our Internship programme is aimed at students in their penultimate or final year.

If you have already completed your law degree and did not apply for an internship during your penultimate or final year, you are still eligible to apply for the programme.

We welcome candidates all year round. It is a structured programme giving you the best possible experience of Allen & Overy (Vietnam). Usually, we run four cycles of the internship programme per year.

We recruit our graduates via our internship programme. We do not have a separate graduate recruitment programme. In the event that we need to add graduates to our intakes we will advertise the role on our website.

No, all applications must be submitted online via our email address VN_recruitment@allenovery.com or our career portal. Any applications received by any other means will not be considered.

We appreciate that not all universities release their results prior to the internship applications period. You are able to submit your application without your most recent academic transcript. However, we will require a copy when it becomes available. If you do not submit your past academic transcripts, we will be unable to assess your application and it will be declined.

Interviews are hosted by HR and partners. We do not always specify who you will be interviewed by during the process, due to last minute changes, which can be unsettling. The first interview is based on your application form and will assess your skills, experience and understanding of what it means to be a commercial lawyer at Allen & Overy (Vietnam). The second round is a written test followed by an interview with the lawyers to discuss your interest in business, your commercial awareness, and ability to digest information and present your findings.

We appreciate that you may have other commitments during the summer. However, our internship is a structured programme to give you the best experience. In very exceptional cases are we flexible on internship dates.