There’s been much written on the topic of employment interviews.
What follows are some handy tips for legal employment interviews.
They’re unintended to be definitive nor fail safe. Many of the tips make for good common sense. Although most lawyers are possessed of excellent book smarts, when it comes to the pragmatics of employment interviews there can sometimes be scope for improvement.
Prior planning and preparation:
A good lawyer will prepare for a settlement or a hearing for a client and yet can inadvertently ignore or at least underestimate preparing for their own submission before those adjudicating on their success or otherwise at an employment interview. Interviewers can be tough judges too.
We know of expressions such as: “plumbers always have leaking taps”, “electricians have blown light bulbs at home” and “cobbler’s children go without shoes” – well welcome to the scenario of the lawyer who prepares for client matters and who may neglect their own needs being the matter re the employment interview. This is no less an important matter too involving their livelihood. Perhaps it would be a helpful reminder to open a personal matter file and call it: “Matter re my career”. This need not be seen as a selfish or a conceited act. Remember – you and family around you remain important as does your career. Consequently, the interview remains important too.
If you don’t take the time to manage and commit time to your career then chances are no one else will do it for you.
The interview is a forum in which it’s advisable and expected that you be self-representing in a sense. It’s beneficial and advisable to view it as such. Own and respect the process along with the associated dynamics and expectations of the stakeholders involved commencing with preparing properly.
Be timely:
At risk of stating the obvious – it’s imperative to be at the interview not on, but comfortably before time. Take the time in advance to know where you’re going, how you’ll get there, give yourself ample time to arrive ahead of time and ideally arrive relaxed and composed. Sure, things happen beyond our control which might have us late, however endeavour to factor unexpected contingencies in.
In the event you’re unexpectedly running late for interview then ensure you call ahead. Most of us have mobile telephones (and remember to turn it off when you arrive before the interview too) so there’s no excuse not to call and let them know. They’re then made aware you’ll be running late as a courtesy gesture and they’ll usually let you know upon calling whether to still attend or to reschedule. Making the call conveys initiative, respect and in itself creates a powerful first impression. Failure to do so however won’t and shouldn’t reflect well.
Your choice – choose wisely and respectfully.
The CV/Resume:
Update it where need be and be across the details. It’s a career snapshot summarizing your qualifications, competencies, experience and accomplishments to date. Ensure it does you justice both in terms of presentation and content. No spelling or grammatical errors, no unexplained periods or employment gaps left unaccounted for. Ensure roles appear in reverse chronology with the most recent/current appearing first.
It should be prepared in a reader friendly format, bullet pointed rather than in prose and key achievements summarised for each role.
Best to not assume the interviewer or interviewers have always read your resume before meeting you. Many interviewers purposely don’t read a resume on the basis if the candidate can’t speak to their experience, promote themselves in the process, within the interview forum and establish a case for being appointed to the position then they immediately self-select and are usually discounted from the selection process.
Suitability and worthiness for the role – there’s no Take 2’s:
Never in 30 years, and yes never is a long time and I repeat – never have I witnessed an interviewer defend a candidate at interview and suggest another interview to be arranged or have a “take 2” or second interview on the basis the candidate wasn’t prepared, was too nervous or didn’t answer the questions well.
Remember – there are no take 2’s for legal employment interviews.
There’s one, and one only opportunity to make the right impressions and submit your case in a sense as to why you believe you’re the best candidate for the role. The interviewer has a role to fill. You can presume there will be other Candidates contesting the role and you won’t be the only candidate. The hiring managers or interviewers have invested in the process to appoint a candidate to the role. They like to see candidates present at their best during interview. This includes a Candidate stating their case as to why their qualifications, experience and skills make for being the preferred candidate for the role. Try not to give any reason to discount you from their short list of Candidates.
Though not advocating being brash or over confident nor is it recommended that there be under representation or self-deprecation to the point of doing you and your suitability a disservice. The interview is the perfect forum to speak to the relevance of your competencies, acquired experience, motivations and aspirations. You cannot communicate your suitability for a role by relying solely on a CV alone no matter how impressive you appear on paper. The CV will secure the interview, however it’s the interview which will determine if an offer of employment is made or not.
Dress Code – dress and impress:
The workplace’s interpretation of “corporate casual” has taken on a life of its own requiring some firms to re-visit their Dress Code policy or specifically define/re-define the policy and prevent misinterpretation or at least – loose interpretations.
For women lawyers this will involve a well cut or properly sized pant suit and a collared and pressed business shirt buttoned up at a respectable level or a tailored skirt at or below knee level, minimal jewellery and collared long sleeve shirt/blouse with skin toned stockings and a low to medium heeled court shoes with no stilettos or heel-less shoes. A Jacket is advisable.
For men it’s commonly the dilemma of tie or no tie with the suit. If in doubt, it’s best to wear a conservative tie on the basis it’ll be seen and respected as being a standard and the appropriate dress standard option for interview. Being too presumptuous and not wearing a tie risks being misconstrued. Best err on the side of caution and wear a tie. You can always remove it if requested or you discover it’s not expected that you wear one you can always remove and place in your pocket.
For peace of mind you can speak in advance to the person coordinating the interview who should know the dress standard or at least know who to ask. Clean polished shoes, pressed long sleeved collared business shirt and a respectable/professional haircut should go without saying.
Beards and moustaches must be neatly trimmed.
Keep it conservative, professional and presentable and you can’t go wrong to dress to impress.
Questions:
It’s an employment interview so expect to be asked them and expect in turn you’ll be asked if you have any questions too.
Some interviews will be more unstructured and informal “get to know you” type formats at one end of the spectrum. At the other end there’s the technical interviews which may involve competency or behavioural based questions with specific questions relating to legal and procedural aspects of your practice mix and skills. I recommend you always be over, rather than under prepared. This builds confidence going in to the interview, makes the right impression where it counts and demonstrates to the interviewers that if you’ve prepared well for the interview then you’ll likely prepare well for client and colleague related matters too.
Research:
In this day and age of the internet – it’s importance, the detail available, the accessibility and the sophisticated use of the internet by employers there’s no excuse for not knowing about the who, why, where, what and how of the people and organisation who are investing time in meeting with you for a role they need to fill and which you can conceivably be the right solution for.
If you’ve no reasonable questions to raise or you have no considered responses to reasonable questions such as: “why would you like to join us” ?, “what do you know about us” ? and “why should we offer you the role” ? then it’s time to properly prepare with considered responses in advance.
There are no take 2’s for legal employment interviews – are you properly prepared ?
Ian Dhu
Ian’s an industry expert in the recruitment, career development and retention of lawyers.
Over the last 30 years Ian’s successfully placed numerous lawyers.
Career conscious lawyers contact him for his informed, objective and accurate market advice when making considered and confidential career enhancing transitions involving private law firms, corporations and Government.
Organizations requiring lawyers collaborate with Ian.
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