About Interviews If you are reading this, chances are you have been given an interview - congratulations! You now have an invaluable opportunity to convince the firm or organization that you are the best candidate for the job. This can be exhilarating, but for many it is also a bit nerve-wracking. By doing a few simple things, however, you can help ensure that you will be less stressed, more confident, and better able to do the sales job you need to do.
The first thing you need to do is learn a little bit about the art of interviewing. Surely there are things you already know about interviewing, even if you have never had an interview before. Most people would know, for example, not to challenge an interviewer to an arm wrestling match (a true story), not to ask about the firm policy on carrying concealed weapons (also true), and not to wear your walkman during the interview so as to demonstrate your ability to do many tasks at once (yet another true incident)! Nonetheless, there are a few basic things to know about interviewing that might not be quite so obvious. Read on to find out what you need to be a great interviewee. For those who would like a more in-depth discussion of the art of interviewing, we have included a list of possible questions you may be asked.
Before the Interview: Preparing The first thing you need to know is that the key to successful interviewing is PREPARATION. As with oral arguments, an exam, or anything else you do in law school or in your career, preparation can be the most critical component of a good performance. By the same token, lack of preparation can ruin your chances of getting hired.
There are four different kinds of interview preparation that you should consider doing:
- Research the firm or organization
- Practice answers to the questions you anticipate
- Know the questions you want to ask the interviewer
- Conduct mock interviews
1.) Research.
When most people respond to a job posting or draft a cover letter, they research the firm or organization so they can appeal to the employer's unique qualities. For instance, you would not say in a cover letter to a firm that practices real estate and corporate work that your passion is environmental law. The same principle holds true for the interviewing process. The more you know about the employer, the more sophisticated your participation in the interview process will be, and the more likely you will be to impress the interviewer. The good news, of course, is that you may have already done much of the research you need to do when you first applied for the job, in which case you will only need to review your notes. If you have not done all your research already, though, there are many resources available in the Career Development Office and on-line that can help you find out basic information about an employer. Such information may include the number of attorneys working for the employer; if the employer is a judge, the areas of law the judge practiced before going on the bench; the number of alumni from your law school working for the employer; the employer's chief areas of practice; and the employer's representative clients. All these pieces of information will help you decide which questions to ask the interviewer and how you may want to tailor your answers to their questions - which skills you will emphasize, which interests you will highlight, etc. For links to web sites designed to help you research employers, check out our section on "Researching Employers."
2.) Anticipate questions, formulate answers.
As with any moot court argument, an essential part of preparing for an interview includes anticipating the questions that will likely be asked and formulating your best possible answers. Be careful, though, not to appear "rehearsed". The following are some common questions that you should anticipate in advance, and suggestions of things to think about in formulating your answers:
Tell me about yourself. This is usually a lead question and is one of the most difficult to answer. The average person who has not anticipated this question is inclined to respond by explaining something about their personal lives -- something that is important to their self-identity. This might be their religion, their marital status, their political affiliation, or numerous other items that may or may not be of interest to the interviewer. As you decide now how you would answer this question in an interview, however, the key thing to remember is that this is one of the best opportunities you will get to sell yourself. Keep your answer brief, (most obviously the experts warn not to start with when you were born!) and focus on a few key attributes that you believe the employer is looking for. Also, where possible, illustrate these qualities with anecdotes; do not make the employer take your word for it that you are very well organized, an exceptional writer, or a great public speaker. Provide brief illustrations or proof of your qualities.
What do you do outside work/school? Most employers want someone who is well-rounded. Typically, personal interest information is included on a resume. At a recent luncheon meeting in Philadelphia, hiring coordinators for large Philadelphia firms emphasized the importance of including this kind of information on the resume. It is a real ice-breaker in the interview process, and can even influence who will be interviewing you. The example one firm recruiter provided was a resume noting that a student was a "Beatles fan." She explained that she was able to ask a partner in the firm who was a Beatles aficionado to participate in the interview. Be sure that any such information you include on your resume is clear and accurate; if you like Beatles music but you are not an aficionado, do not include it; likewise, do not say "tennis" if your interest is limited to watching Wimbledon. Just as your interests can help you in the interview by providing a common bond between you and the interviewer, if you are inaccurate about the nature of your interest and the interviewer discovers this, it can hurt you.
Where do you want to be in five years? It typically takes employers 3 years to recoup training expenses and start making a profit from an employee, so they are naturally interested in employees who intend to be stable with their career choices. You might explain to the employer that you have researched several different organizations and locations, and that you hope to be with a quality organization such as the employer's in five years. You do not want to say that you hope to have the interviewer's job, that you hope to have a solo practice in another state, or that you hope to be home raising children. Your answer will depend on your honest intentions and other factors, but this is a particularly important area in which you should be sensitive to the interviewer's concerns.
What is your greatest strength? There are many different variations on this theme that could come up in an interview. As with the "Tell me about yourself" question, the employer is allowing you the opportunity to sell yourself. It sounds like a no-brainer, so people tend to skip over it in the interview preparation process, but you need to have a well thought out answer. Which of your best attributes would be most valuable to this particular employer? People skills? Team work? Tenaciousness? Research and writing?
What is your greatest weakness? This is a tough question, no doubt, and the experts disagree somewhat with how you should field it. Some experts say that you should not say something that is really a strength (e.g., tend to work too hard), because employers may see that as a dishonest answer. Some recommend, rather, that you admit a weakness that you have overcome; you might explain, for example, that you tend to be shy, but that you have gone to great lengths to overcome this through courses, ITAP, etc., and that you think you may have conquered it.
Why do you want to work for us/why do you want this job? One important thing to remember here is that the employer is not really interested in what they can do for you. They are much more interested in what you can do for them. At the same time, though, they would prefer to have a person working for them who is genuinely enthusiastic about the position, rather than a person who just wants a job. Accordingly, any enthusiasm you can muster for the position or the employer, particularly honest enthusiasm, will strengthen your candidacy for the position.
At the end of this section, we have included a list of possible questions you may be asked. No matter what, avoid negative information in your responses. Do not speak negatively about your law school, professors, curriculum, etc. It ultimately undermines the value of your own degree. By the same token, do not "trash" a former or current employer. Regardless of the experience, you can always find something positive to say which can propel you back to your ultimate interview objective: selling yourself.
3.) Formulate questions.
One of the biggest mistakes you can make in an interview is to not have questions ready to ask the interviewer. It is considered a serious mistake to say that all your questions have been answered during the interview. Ideally, you should interject questions a few times during the interview, as well as at the end when interviewers usually ask if you have any questions. The ability to ask intelligent questions will be directly related to the quality of the research you did before the interview. Accordingly, employers can tell a lot from a candidate by the questions he asks. If the candidate has no questions, the message is: I do not know enough about you or your firm to ask an intelligent question (read: I am not prepared), or, worse yet, I do not care enough about this position to ask any questions.
Once you have some experience under your belt, the questions get easier to ask because you will have a better sense of what an intelligent question might be. As a student, however, your best bet is to do as much research as you can, gauge the interviewer as the interview progresses, and seek advice before hand.
Among the kinds of questions you can ask are the following:
- Personal ones about the interviewer: Why did he choose this firm? How does he like the firm? Does he find practice here different from (previous experience)? etc. Be careful with these types of questions, and only ask them if you feel that the interviewer has set the tone for that kind of question.
- Questions about the firm or organization or a particular area of practice: certain cases you know about, how the firm is affected by new legislation, growth areas for firm, opportunities for community involvement (such involvement inevitably leads to rain making), etc. These kinds of questions are important for demonstrating your level of interest and the amount of research you have done on the employer and particular areas of law.
- Questions about the position for which you are interviewing: What does the firm look for in a successful candidate? How will a person in the position for which you are interviewing be evaluated? How will they be supervised? To whom would you report? What types of training would you receive? When is the decision being made (and may you call if you have not heard by then)?
Remember to not ask questions that make it seem as though you are only interested in what the firm can do for you, or that might alert the firm to something that you may not want the firm to be alerted to during the interview process. Do not ask, for example, how many hours you will be expected to work, how much time you get for lunch, or when you can be expected to get your first raise. Be careful, also, not to ask questions that could have been answered through reasonably diligent research.
4.) Mock interviews.Your Career Development Office counselors, attorney friends, and many professors, will be happy to conduct mock interviews with you. Just as you would want to practice fielding moot court questions before the competition, you want to practice your interviewing technique and get constructive feedback on your strengths and growth areas. Practicing can help you feel as prepared as possible, and can thus alleviate stress. If you are stress-free, chances are you will be more relaxed during the interview and you will make a better impression.
During the Interview The next thing to prepare is
WHAT TO WEAR. Most law students do fine in this area; the watch-word is conservative. Be as neat, as polished, as professional, and as conservative as possible. For women, this means long hair tied back, minimal makeup, low-key jewelry, no short skirts, and low to medium pumps. For men, conservative typically means no earrings and no flashy jewelry. Both genders should wear dark colors, such as grey or navy blue suits; women do have a little more leeway to wear different colors than men. Your suit should be clean and pressed, and you should be sure to avoid perfume or cologne. And finally, try to wear something you are comfortable in.
If you have done all the right preparation, and you are
ON-TIME for the interview, you should do great. Make sure to bring extras of all your paperwork with you: a resume, a writing sample, a transcript, a reference list, and anything else you think the interviewer may need.
When greeting your interviewer, be sure to use a firm handshake and have good eye contact.
Keep in mind that during the interview, you need to project the best possible persona. You should strive to be poised, confident, friendly, prepared, and enthusiastic about the job; toward that end, be sure to maintain good eye-contact throughout the interview. Remember that you want to emphasize your best qualities to the interviewer: she is expecting this. Any deviation from that may be interpreted as a warning sign. Therefore, although you must be honest, it is expected that you will generally be emphasizing only your best qualities.
Some large firms have noted, however, that there comes a time in the interview process when you should relax a little, tone down the sales job, and be yourself. This is particularly true if you are invited back for a second interview. Quite often if you are invited back for a second interview they know you're qualified for the position and just want to make sure your personality is a good fit for the firm. If you're not sure whether to keep selling or relax more, try to take your cue from the interviewer and the kinds of questions they are asking.
Two other things are worth mentioning here. First, sometimes the interviewer(s) will be mean or obnoxious. This might be due to anything from the interviewer's unfortunate personality to testing how you react in stressful situations. Whatever the cause, REMAIN CALM. The "stress interview" is a tactic of employers who expect their employees to be faced with a lot of pressure, such as in the courtroom. They want to make sure that you can remain level-headed under fire. As long as you know this and do not take it personally, you can stay calm and concentrate on answering their questions.
The other item is what to do if improper questions come up, such as questions about your plans for marriage or starting a family. Such questions may be prohibited by law. Many interviewers, however, have not been formally trained in proper interviewing techniques and may be simply trying to set an informal tone in the interview. If such questions come up, you can answer them if you are comfortable doing so. You may also attempt to address what you perceive to be the interviewer's underlying concern (e.g., you intend to fully devote yourself to your job). Or you may refuse to answer the question. In any event, if you feel you have been asked an improper question during an interview, let the Career Development Office know.
At the conclusion of the interview be sure to deliver a firm handshake, a sincere thank you, and a clear and enthusiastic reiteration of your interest in the job. While you should not seek an evaluation of your performance ("How did I do?") or an estimate of your chances of success, as previously noted it is okay to ask when you might expect to hear from them again.
After the Interview: Thank You Letters
Sample Thank You Letter (PDF)
As a professional demonstration of courtesy, you may wish to send a short thank-you letter to an employer with whom you have met. The letter should be sent within 48 hours of your meeting. Address the letter to the person with whom you interviewed. If you interviewed with several individuals, it is sufficient to send one letter to the person chiefly responsible for bringing you in for the interview. The letter gives you an opportunity to reiterate your interest in the organization and also brings your application to the top of the pile in terms of refreshing their recollection of you and your particular candidacy. The thank you letter should be brief and professional. It should be typed and follow the same business format as for the cover letter.
It is also good practice to write a note even if you do not get offered the job. In addition to displaying good manners, it is possible that your resume could be kept on file for future openings or be passed on to the interviewer's colleagues who may also be seeking help. Never burn your bridges! Try turning the negative into a positive.