Matei’s Story: From Queen Mary to Clifford Chance, Akin Gump, and Jones Day

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Non-Target → Magic Circle + Elite US Law Interviews. £0 Spent. Free Content Only.

Outcomes (4)

• Akin Gump — Social Mobility Programme (Accepted)

• Akin Gump — Assessment Centre (Invite)

• Clifford Chance — Assessment Centre / Interview Invite (London Training Contract)

• Jones Day — Interview-Stage Invite (Video Interview)

  
  

We've Never Spoken To Matei.

No calls. No coaching sessions. No paid programme.

He found our free content, applied the frameworks, and executed with discipline.

Here's what happened.

The Starting Point

• Queen Mary University of London — a non-target for elite law firms

• Strong motivation, decent experience

• But generic answers, no structure, no firm-specific logic

• Competing against Oxbridge and Russell Group candidates for sub-1% acceptance rates

The odds were against him.

What He Did (Free Content Only)

VTMR™ for his CV

Rebuilt every bullet as Verb → Task → Metric → Result. Higher signal. Easier to skim. Harder to reject.

PEAL-X™ for "Why This Firm?"

Every sentence anchored to a verifiable firm fact. No generic motivation. No fluff. Precision that showed he'd done the work.

STAR-3™ for Interviews

Competency answers structured as Situation → Task → Action → Result (measurable) → Reflection → Relevance. Concise. High-signal. Memorable.

He watched our free content. He applied it. He executed.

The Outcomes

✅ Akin Gump — Social Mobility Programme (Accepted)

✅ Akin Gump — Assessment Centre (Invite)

✅ Clifford Chance — Assessment Centre Invite (London Training Contract route)

✅ Jones Day — Video Interview → Assessment Centre (Invite)

Four elite invites. One non-target student. Zero pounds spent.

In His Words

"Track record speaks for itself. Your frameworks are exceptional, particularly STAR-3 and PEAL-X."

We'd never spoken. He just executed.

Why This Matters

Matei is proof that the ECS frameworks work — even without paid support.

• You don't need Oxbridge

• You don't need connections

• You don't need expensive coaching

  
  

You need structure. You need discipline. You need frameworks that work.

Our free content provides the frameworks. The rest is execution.

Important Context

Matei is an outlier.

He combined four elite outcomes from free content alone. That's rare.

Over 50,000 students have consumed ECS content. Many make progress. But most candidates targeting sub-1% acceptance rates still benefit from structured support to maximise speed and conversion.

Results vary. No guarantees.

But the frameworks work — if you work them.

Your Move

Full screenshots and emails held on file. Used with Matei's permission. Third-party firm names for context only — no affiliation or endorsement.

Disclaimer

Elite Careers Strategy® is not affiliated with any firms or universities mentioned. References to third-party organisations are for context only and do not imply endorsement. Harvard/MIT/Yale sessions were delivered to MBA student clubs. A small number of clients (including Matei) are shown with written permission; most remain anonymous. Evidence is held on file for all claims. Results vary; no guarantees.

Screenshots are included with permission. Graduate recruitment email addresses removed. Third-party names/marks are for context only — no affiliation or endorsement.