Interview Tips
Pre-Interview
Practice, Practice, Practice
There is no substitute for articulating answers aloud. Have a friend, family member, or your recruiter run you through a mock interview
Review the bios of you interviews
Review firm website
Know office size, practice group size, other practices in office, other offices with your practice
Wear a suit
Bring copies of your resume
Get there 10 mins early
Interview
Listen, Listen, Listen
They may have just answered your next question. Don’t ask it. The conversation should flow. Ever see a novice litigator read off a script when examining a witness? Don’t do that.
Stay out of you head.
You will make mistakes. There will be awkward silences. You will catch someone in the middle of something, with their mind of something else. You will feel less-connected to one of your interviewers. That’s okay. It happens. The important thing is not to carry it to the next interview.
Keep your energy level-up
Treat each interview as a self-contained event. Even if it is your 6th time answering x question, it is the 1st time that interviewer has heard you answer. Maintain your enthusiasm. Be sure to get the relevant points across.
Questions
Be specific in your answers.
Always better to say that you like x, y, and z about the firm than to say that “you’ve heard good things about the culture.”
Be sure that you can say a paragraph about every item on your resume.
Brush-up on the thesis you wrote in college or that client alert from four years ago.
The interviewer may simply be curious; it will look bad if you cannot answer.
Keep you answers short. Two paragraphs are plenty. Maintain eye contact to make sure the interviewer is still with you.
Slow down your speech. Interviews create anxiety and anxiety increases your rate speech.
Be prepared to answer the following:
Why do you leave x/why did you join y? You should have an explanation for each move.
In general, you do not want to bad-mouth a prior employer. That said, a generic fact, especially if structural, is fine. Ex. The practice group did not get much support within the firm. Ex.2. We lost a major client and the work has slowed considerably.
It is better to state a generic negative reason than to appear to be someone who makes moves for no reason.
Why are you looking to leave x?
What interests you in us?
What interest you in x city?
Tell me about x matter and your specific role.
What has been your most challenging matter? Most interesting matter?
Give me an example of a mistake you’ve made or lesson learned.
What are you reading outside of work?
Why should we hire you?
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Off the wall question: if you were a superhero, who you be and why?
The point of these questions is to see how you react or handle curve-balls. It’s okay to smile and take a few seconds to answer.
Have at least 5 questions to ask.
Occasionally, the interviewer will ask you if you have any questions for them 5 minutes into the interview. Make sure to have enough questions to avoid awkward silences.
Avoid questions on compensation and salary.
Avoid questions that put the interview on the spot or reveal specific concerns about the firms. Save those for the offer stage, when the ball is in your court. You’ll have a chance to ask those questions then.
Ask questions that give you a good sense of the work and what your role will be.
What are you working currently?
What would I be working on?
Who are you main clients?
What has the mix of work been historically?
What do you expect the mix of work to look like going-forward?
How are matters staffed?
Where would I fit in on your team?
How do you think my skill-set might be useful?
What are you seeking in this hire?
What does it take to be successful in this group?
What advice would you give a [jr., mid., sr.] associate in x practice?
Phone Interviews
Keep your answers even shorter. You won’t have the benefit of reading the other person’s body language to see if they are still with you.
Slow down your speech. It is more difficult to hear over the phone.
Follow-up
Send thank-you emails. Notes may not get there in time.
Keep them very short. Ex. “Thank you for taking the time to meet with me today. I enjoyed learning about your practice.”
No typos.
