Case Study: Jones Day (Vacation Scheme) – From Free Content to Interview Invite

hassan2990
Oct 22
2 min read

At a Glance

Cost £0 (free ECS content); ≤ 7 days to invite
Frameworks: PEAL‑X™, STAR‑3™
Stage reached: London Vacation‑Scheme interview

Before

Strong student, motivated but unstructured; answers lacked firm‑facts and commercial precision; no paid coaching or editing.

After

Jones Day VS interview invite (London) secured; firm‑specific PEAL‑X™ motivation and two‑minute STAR‑3™ answers ready for panel/video.

Problem

Jones Day London is ultra‑selective and screens for concise motivation backed by verifiable facts plus crisp competency stories. Matei had drive but no repeatable structure: motivations drifted into biography, firm knowledge was broad rather than Jones‑Day‑specific, and competency answers over‑ran. With no budget for coaching, he needed a zero‑cost method to prove research depth and deliver timed, evidence‑rich responses. Using ECS’s open resources he rebuilt his motivation and competency bank to match graduate‑recruitment scanning: a six‑sentence firm‑fit with public facts, plus 90–120‑second stories that foreground measurable impact and reflection—aimed at clearing the first human screen and winning an interview.

Solution

Authored 6‑sentence PEAL‑X™ “Why Jones Day” (one public firm fact per sentence) → motivation flagged “well‑researched.”
Built 10 STAR‑3™ competency stories (90–120s) with 3 Actions / 3 Results → panel timing & clarity achieved.
Rehearsed 3 loops of strengths‑based prompts → filler words −60%, confidence +4 → 9/10.
Linked achievements to London practice strengths (global disputes, cross‑border work, client industries) → relevance score ↑ on mock rubric.

Result

Matei received a Jones Day Vacation‑Scheme interview invitation (London) using free ECS materials only. Recruiters noted the specificity of “Why Jones Day” and the structure of his competency stories. No paid advisory, no external edits—just disciplined execution of PEAL‑X™ and STAR‑3™. He will now scale the same approach across US and Magic‑Circle firms.

ROI

Metric	Result
Investment	£0 (free ECS tutorials)
Outcome	Jones Day VS interview
Pay‑back period	Immediate — access to TC feeder stage
Pathway	VS → Training‑Contract track