Career Strategy

Interviews

The Critical Importance of Interviews

Congratulations on your interview! Now's your chance to persuade the employer that you're just the candidate they've been looking for!

Why are interviews so important? Because first and foremost law is a service profession, and therefore is highly personal in nature. The investment in hiring new lawyers is one of the most important capital investments a legal organization can make. Moreover, competence and strong legal ability are ordinarily just the minimum qualifications. To make the most of legal skill and competence, effective lawyers must demonstrate good judgment and the ability to work well with all sorts of clients, all types of co-workers, judges, judges, and other government staff. So, academic achievement or other resume material does not usually tell the "whole story" about any candidate. Demonstrated enthusiasm, energy, and eagerness to serve and to learn separate the great candidates from the "so so" candidates.

In the hiring process, most employers are looking for some or all of the following qualities:

• Maturity
   
• Vitality
   
• Judgment
   
• Analytical Ability
   
• Breadth and Depth of Knowledge
   
• Interpersonal Skills
   
• Productivity
   
• Core Values and Goals
   
• Character
   
• Talents
   
• Communication Skills
   
• Motivation
   
• Diversity of Interests
   
• Self-Confidence
   
• Teamwork
   
• Energy

Most legal employers rely on interviews to find out which candidates (whom they've met on paper) demonstrate these qualities in person. Thus, every candidate for legal employment -- even those who have straight A's and are on tons of journals -- must make a great impression in interviews to succeed. Your job at the interview is to "sell yourself" by persuading the employer that you would be a great fit with their organization. Likewise, the employer has an opportunity to answer your questions and to convince you that you should join their organization. On both sides the process is one of simultaneously buying and selling.

You may believe that being a "good interviewer" is an innate trait (like brown eyes) that you're either born with or you'll never have. This is false. Interviewing well is a skill that you can (and must) learn - with self-awareness, preparation, and practice. Below, we've outlined the steps for putting your best foot forward in an interview. For more information, please consult the Career Strategy Library or Website. Or, contact Career Strategy to arrange for more in-depth consultation and/or mock interviewing. (Note: Career Strategy conducts a "Mock Interviewing Program" in the Spring Semester. Individual mock interviews can be arranged throughout the year on an "as needed" basis.)

"The More You Know….!" Preparation is the Key to Success

Remember: your goal in the interview is to sell yourself and persuade the employer that you'd be a great choice. To sell yourself effectively, you must make sure that you:

• Know yourself,
   
• Know the organization with which you're interviewing, and
   
• Know how your unique qualities and experiences match the unique needs or culture of that organization.

Thorough preparation will help you be more persuasive, will help you formulate intelligent and meaningful questions, will demonstrate your sincere interest and strong work ethic. Just as importantly, good preparation will make you feel more confident and relaxed in the interview because you'll know that you've done your homework!!

To know yourself, determine your motivations for applying to this specific employer. Determine what you have to offer. Consider your strengths and weaknesses from the employer's point of view, as well as your own.

To know the organization you're interviewing with, research! Here's what to get your hands on before your interview. (Note: ideally you've done much of this research before you've applied for an interview!)

• Brochures, websites, or other materials published by the organization about their own practice.
   
• Directory Information (i.e., Martindale-Hubbell, NALP Directory, etc. if available for your organization) for objective data, such as number of attorneys, education background of attorneys, practice area specialties, etc.
   
• News about the organization or any of its leaders (check Westlaw or Lexis news databases and/or stay current on relevant periodicals that might report on your organization).
   
• People who have or currently do work at your target organization. This includes lawyers and non-lawyers, VLS alumni and non-alumni. Check out the Summer Job Survey binder in Career Strategy to hear from fellow students who've been at your organization.
   
• Anyone else who comes into contact with that organization (e.g., clients, court personnel, other students who've interviewed, etc.).
   
• Almanac or other news data on the geographic region or city that you're targeting (Places Rated Almanac, for example, or the Bar Association, Chamber of Commerce or other civic organizations can give you great insight on the plusses associated with that region or town.)

To know how your unique qualities and experiences "fit" the employer's unique culture and needs, develop your own "marketing strategy." Think through the following questions:

• What will I tell this employer to convince them that I am the best person for the job?
   
• How will I convey this information if the employer never asks the direct question, "why are you the best person for this job?"
   
• What questions do I wish someone would ask me during an interview? Now, think of the answer and of a way to work that information into the discussion, even if the question isn't asked!
   
• What questions am I likely to be asked? Do my answers to these questions convey my strong interest in this employer? Do they communicate my positive qualities?

Ultimately, the responsibility for revealing your great qualities to an employer lies with you, not the employer. Think through the interview and how you plan to market yourself during your conversation.

Practice your "sales pitch!" Don't just "wing it" in an interview. Anticipate questions, write out the answers, and then practice talking through them until they sound totally spontaneous and unrehearsed. Practice making "small talk" with new people. How to do this? Next time you're in line at the supermarket or the gas station or anywhere, try engaging someone in conversation. Next time you have to complete some transaction by telephone, try "chit chatting" with the person before or after your task is complete. You might also like to know that the same skills you use in answering questions in moot court or in other "on the spot" experiences will serve you well in the interviewing context. For example, watch a political debate or an oral argument: when candidates make the discourse seem natural, but packed with positive messages, they score with the audience. When candidates flub or evade or sound uninspired, they fall flat. Interviewing is no different.

"Screening" Interviews vs. "Callback" Interviews

(Note: for more details on Callbacks, please watch the Career Strategy Video "Callback Interviews: What to Expect," presented by legal recruiters and attorneys who know. Available at the reserve desk in the Law Library.)

Generally, your marketing strategy should be the same for both your first or "screening" interview and the second round or "callback" interviews. There are some differences, however, that are worth mentioning.

Usually, the screening interview is the employer=s first opportunity to decide whether to invite the potential candidate back to the office for more interviews with more attorneys from the organization. The screening interview can take place on campus or elsewhere, often with one or two attorneys, and can last anywhere from 20 minutes (if on campus) to an hour, if off-campus, or during lunch or breakfast.

If the screening goes well and you stand out among the other candidates, the interviewer will decide to bring you back to the office to meet more of his or her colleagues. Often you'll be invited by telephone, sometimes by letter. It is important that you have a reliable (and professional) message system or answering machine at your home.

Callback interviews are also very important to the hiring process. You get to meet and talk with more people from the organization - attorneys and non-attorneys - and you will be further evaluated. In addition, you should take care to observe the culture and interactions among colleagues at the organization. You are getting an important "inside view."

Typically, a callback will entail several (anywhere from 3-5) more interviews - much like your initial interviews. Sometimes you will be invited to join attorneys for breakfast, lunch, or drinks the same day. Make every effort to accept the invitation - but also be aware that you are still being evaluated. This means that you have even more of an opportunity to make an impression - hopefully a good one.

Deciding to bring a candidate back to the office for several more interviews is significant for the organization because much time and effort goes into arranging an interview schedule, seeking feedback from every interviewer, and then vetting the candidate through the hiring committee or other decision-making body. Because callbacks are offered to relatively few candidates and because they entail considerable employer effort, students are strongly discouraged from canceling or declining callback interviews. By taking a first interview, you are expressing good faith interest in accepting employment with that organization. With proper preparation, there should be little, if any, information that you learn during your screening interview that you could not have gathered before you took the first interview. However, examples of where it might be appropriate to decline or cancel a callback interview.

• When the student has decided to accept (or is close to accepting) another job offer.
   
• When the student has learned brand new or hard to find information that was not available prior to the screening interview and that information makes it highly unlikely that the student would accept an offer.
   
• When, despite your best efforts, it is absolutely, positively impossible to arrange the callback for a mutually convenient date due to scheduling conflicts between the employer and the students.
   
• A screening interviewer was totally inappropriate or offensive.

Even if you feel like you didn't "click" with your interviewer, keep in mind that lawyers aren't necessarily professional interviewers and legal organizations are made up of many different people. The callback interview will allow you to learn for sure whether the interviewer is truly reflective of everyone at the organization, or simply one person with his or her own style.

Winning Interview Tips

• Always convey a positive, upbeat attitude.
   
• Be prepared to talk comfortably and insightfully about yourself and your experiences (especially everything you've included on your resume).
   
• Answer questions directly and positively. Make lemonade from every lemon.
   
• Interact as an equal during the interview; it's a conversation, not an interrogation, so play an active role in the discussion.
   
• Maintain good eye contact and use a firm (but not painful!) handshake.
   
• Demonstrate an enthusiastic and sincere interest in the employer. Do not treat the employer as just another listing in Martindale-Hubbell, or you shall be similarly treated as just another law student looking for a job.
   
• Be on time, if not a bit early.
   
• Be assertive and confident without appearing aggressive, overbearing, or cocky.
   
• Be intelligent without seeming like an "egghead."
   
• Project a professional image by dressing neatly and appropriately.
   
• Identify and control distracting nervous body language (like flipping a pen or twirling hair, etc.)
   
• Thank interviewers for their time, and follow up in-office interviews with a thank you note.

Interview "Turn-Offs"

• Missing an interview or being late for an interview.
   
• Not being engaged or involved in the interview, but being passive and forcing the interviewer to pull information from you. An interviewee should plan to do 50-60% of the talking.
   
• Admitting or conveying that you did no research on the employer and that you don't know anything about the organization that sets it apart.
   
• Conveying that you have not made any effort to identify your own strengths or interests and therefore have no idea where you could "fit" best in the organization. An employer cannot do this for you.
   
• Appearing unenthusiastic, lethargic, or arrogant.
   
• Mispronouncing the name of the organization or the interviewer.
   
• Giving close-ended "yes" or "no" answers without carrying your end of the conversation.
   
• Asking canned questions just because you think it's the appropriate thing to do, but then ignoring the answers.
   
• Treating the non-lawyers (or non-partners or other "higher ups") differently from the lawyers. Remember - you're making an impression on everyone you meet, and anyone can be important to the hiring process.

Handling a Meal (or Cocktails) with Your Prospective Employer

Employers (particularly private sector employers) often invite candidates out to breakfast, lunch, or cocktails on the day of their callback visit (or sometime thereafter). Make every effort to say "yes" to the invitation (if you don't drink, have a non-alcoholic beverage). But remember the following tips:

• Who pays? Typically if the employer invites you, the employer will be paying. It's nice to offer, but not ordinarily necessary. (If in doubt, better to offer to contribute and be told "no, it's on me," than to assume incorrectly it's on them and not offer at all.
   
• Should I drink alcohol if offered? At lunch (or breakfast/brunch), its probably safest not to imbibe, even if you're hosts do and you'd otherwise be so inclined. At a function billed as "cocktails" or a "cocktail reception," drink moderately if and only if you otherwise feel comfortable drinking alcohol. Do not feel pressure to drink - cocktail receptions are commonplace in the professional world, but the key to their success is great conversation, not alcohol.
   
• Isn't the lunch/breakfast/cocktail portion "off the record?" No! Nothing is ever "off the record." While one purpose of such events is to encourage mutual interaction in more relaxed settings, the main agenda is to continue to learn about you as a potential colleague. Make a great impression and you can do yourself good! Leave a really bad impression and you can kill your chances with that employer.
   
• How do I know what to order? Generally, stick to moderate priced and easily consumed (i.e., no hard to eat escargot, a la "Pretty Woman") menu items. Try to be sensitive to your host's schedule: if they are glancing at the clock and it's 3:30, do not order a cappuccino to top off that dessert. To avoid awkward waiting or delay between courses, it's safest to order no more courses than your host orders, i.e., if your host only orders an entrée but no appetizer, consider doing the same to be sensitive to the rhythm and the timing of the meal.
   
• Do I say "thank you" even if the organization is picking up the tab? Absolutely!! What would your mother say??? Thank them for a lovely lunch / breakfast / cocktails and mostly for great conversation.

Never Panic!

If you feel that you're not receiving positive feedback from your interviews, do not panic! Come see Career Strategy to check out ways to improve your skills. Also, make sure to remember:

• Most employers who come on campus interview all over the country and receive hundreds of applications - - i.e., several hundred students are interviewed for a few positions.
   
• Usually the students who are having success interviewing are the only ones you hear about. You are not alone if you have received several rejection letters.
   
• If you are discouraged by the interviewing process, make an appointment with Career Services.

Inappropriate of Discriminatory Practices

Generally, employers should not make the following sort of inquiries on an ad, an application form, or during an interview:

• Age
   
• Ancestry/Citizenship
   
• Arrests, Court Records (If not substantially related to specific job function.)
   
• Credit Rating
   
• Handicaps/Disabilities
   
• Marital/ Family Status (Childbearing Plans)
   
• National Origin
   
• Race
   
• Religion
   
• Sex
   
• Sexual Orientation

Please notify the Assistant Dean for Career Strategy & Advancement or the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs of any and all improper recruiting practices or inappropriate interviewing conduct as soon as possible after the incident in question. Informal and formal complaint procedures are available to students. Informal complaint procedures aim at conciliation and correction of abuses. Formal procedures are designed to provide a structured system for resolving disputes under the school's non-discrimination rules. They contemplate proceedings leading to a determination of whether the law school's policies have been violated.

Back to the Top