Interview Tips

Posted by sussexlegalminds on

by Isobel (Tinks) Wilson

Imagine you have spent hours meticulously crafting your application to your dream firm. Weeks later, to your surprise and delight, you get an email inviting you to an interview. You’re happy, excited- and also very nervous. These interview tips will ensure that you go into the interview as well informed and best prepared as possible.

Please note- this guide is not meant to make you feel more nervous! This is just to give you the best chance at making a good impression, but letting your personality shine is just as important. 

  1. Before the interview

The most important thing you can do before any stage of the interview process is know the firm. Know their specialist areas, any recent deals, their core values, a brief history and so on. You want them to know that you really want to work there!

First impressions are really really important, and the first step begins in the morning at home in choosing what to wear. This may sound simple, but you do not want to have to work even harder to impress your interviewer because your outfit has left a negative impression. Even if you think the firm is forward-thinking, err on the side of caution; take out facial piercings or change them to something more business appropriate (I always switch my nose ring to a small stud- this is particularly important in international law firms, because facial piercings are much less common outside of the UK and can receive a bad rep) and cover any tattoos. It may well be that your firm is more than comfortable with you having these on show, but it is best not to assume.

Make sure the night before that everything you plan on wearing is clean, ironed and ready to prevent any further stress the morning of the interview. If wearing a suit, remember to wear a tie. Make sure any skirts or dresses are not too short. In terms of shoes, make sure they are clean, business appropriate, polished if necessary and importantly fit properly- you do not want a situation like mine where I realised my new shoes were too big on the train there, and I ended up stuffing the toes with tissues! Finally, definitely do not wear heels if you cannot walk properly in them- you need to have your full attention on the interview, not worrying that you’ll fall over on the way!

  1. General interview etiquette

Treat everyone with equal respect, from receptionists to trainees to partners. Often, everyone will be asked what they thought of you, and it will come across poorly if you were lovely to the partners but rude to the reception staff. Remember that these are potentially your future colleagues, so be nice- you’ll be especially grateful for a friendly face when you start!

When meeting and greeting your interviewer, it is important to smile, stand up, and shake their hand and introduce yourself. If you’re nervous, you can try practising this a few times with friends or family so it just rolls off the tongue when the real interview comes. The interaction should look something like this-

(stands up, smile and hold out hand to shake)

“Good morning, I’m (name), it’s lovely to meet you.” 

You can also let your personality shine with a little bit of small talk. Keep it positive and professional, but maybe comment on how beautiful the office is or that you like the water glasses on the table. This is a good way to get to know your interviewers a bit better and is a good way to ease into the interview. It also helps to make you feel a bit less nervous!

At the end of the interview, it is also important to thank the interviewer for their time and that you are looking forward to hearing from them.

  1. Interviews

In larger law firms especially, you may notice that there are multiple interview stages for a Training Contract or Vacation Scheme. Do not assume what each interview stage will consist of based on the stage of the process- I was quite surprised that in my initial interview as part 1 of a 5 stage process, I was being asked complex legal knowledge and current affairs questions. This meant I was underprepared, and this definitely showed! Make sure you’ve read the business news that morning and maybe squeeze in some general revision of any areas of law you feel could come up based on the firm’s specialisations- contract is particularly common. Legal knowledge questions may not come up at all, but if it does, you’ll be pleased you did some revision.

If you are asked a question and you do not understand it, tell your interviewers that you’re not 100% sure you understand the question and ask them to rephrase or repeat it. They will appreciate your honesty and it saves you from panicking. If you have already started to answer the question, but are unsure as to whether you have satisfied their expectations, you can always add at the end, “Does that answer your question fully?”.  

If you are asked a question and you just do not know the answer, do not blag or waffle- your interviewers will know that you do not know! Be honest and tell them that you are not sure, they will respect you for not wasting their time by making up an answer that both of you know to be incorrect. You can also ask them what the answer is, phrasing it as “I’m not sure of the answer to this question, this is definitely an area I would look to go over but if you have the answer there I would love to know?” A similar idea is googling the answer on your way home and putting a sentence about it in an email thanking them for their time in the interview.

  1. Common interview questions and how to answer them

Learning STAR analysis is the key to answering any interview question that may come your way. This stands for-

Situation

Task

Action

Result

This means that when asked a question, describe the situation you found yourself in, the task this presented, the action you took and the final result. This also helps to give your answers structure and keep them succinct.

An example of this might include:

Q: Name a time you lead a task

A: I work for my university as a Residential Life Connector, and part of my role is to put on events for new students to help them settle into university life (situation). From my experiences in the role, I noticed that cooking skills could be quite difficult for students who had no previous experience of cooking before coming to university, so I wanted to put on a cooking event to help teach new students the basics of cooking (task). I liaised with my line managers to book a suitable time and space to hold the event, and I led a team of 3 other Residential Life Connectors to put on the event. I played to the individual strengths of my team members to ensure it was well advertised, for example via social media by creating a reel (action). The event had a great turnout and feedback from the new students was really positive, so much so that my managers asked me to repeat the event on another 2 occasions (result).

It is a good idea to practise STAR analysis and have a bank of potential responses to common interview questions. These often include:

  • Describe a time when you were challenged
  • Tell me about a time you made a mistake (make sure your answer does not include a really diabolical mistake which would make you look like a bad fit for the role! This could also be a good opportunity to squeeze in some humour if you feel it is appropriate, for example when I was asked this, I told my interviewers about how I got into the passenger seat during my driving test)
  • How do you stay organised
  • What are your strengths
  • What is your biggest weakness? (make sure your answer is not something crucial to the role!)
  • Name a time you demonstrated good leadership skills
  • When have you shown good teamwork

Remember, if a question comes up that you are not sure about, tell your interviewers you need a few moments to think about it. In this time, take a sip of water whilst you think about a good response.  

Some interviewers like to throw in a rogue question- you are best off trying not to prepare for these too much, as you will never cover everything they could potentially ask, and they are designed to test your quick-thinking skills. Nevertheless, some questions like this could include-

  • If you were a biscuit, what would you be?
  • If you were an animal, what would you be?
  • If you were a vegetable, what would you be?
  • If you were to time travel back to caveman times and you could take one thing from the modern day to show them, what would it be?
  • Who is your favourite political figure and why?
  • What is your favourite unit of measurement and why?
  1. Asking your questions

Asking questions is a really great way to show genuine interest and get a deeper feel for the firm and what you are looking for. This will also help you stand out to your recruiters. However, one of the best pieces of advice I have ever received was that in an interview situation, there is such a thing as a stupid question. What I mean by this is do not ask a question which is easy to find the answer to, or they have already told you. Worse still, is not asking any questions at all. This risks you looking ill-informed and that you lack genuine interest in the firm.

You may also be familiar with tips for interview questions floating around on TikTok etc, which often advise along the lines of “has anything in this interview made you unsure about giving me the role?”, “can I give you any other examples of how I would fit the role?” and so on. I would avoid using these questions- remember, if you’ve seen that video, so will most of the other interviewees, and asking the same question as everyone else will not help you to stand out.

A good strategy is to do some thorough research on the firm and make questions out of areas that are of particular interest to you. This will also ensure the recruiters see your personality and what genuinely drives and interests you. Make up a bank of questions for the interviewers in case some of them are answered during the interview and save them to the end. If you are at the Partner Interview Stage and you know which partners will be interviewing you, do some research on their recent work and ask related questions that would not be easily found online. This is also a really good way to get slightly more personable with your interviewers, remember lawyers love to talk about themselves!

In terms of other questions, you can also look at the firm’s recent achievements and diversity statistics. Firms are often keen to discuss these, and if you look at their diversity reports as well, they can see your genuine interest in the firm. Make sure you keep questions light and positive. When discussing diversity and inclusion specifically, you want to demonstrate that you are genuinely interested, and not criticising the firm, especially if some of their diversity statistics are not what you had hoped. You want to frame it as something you would want to actively pursue as an initiative, not imply that the firm is falling below a standard. Importantly, this highlights how critical prior research of the firm is- you do not want to realise at the Interview Stage that you do not think the firm is aligned with your values. 

Examples of questions you could ask include:

  •  I saw that you, [address partner by their name], were recently involved in XYZ deal. I found this particularly interesting because ABC. Within confidentiality of course, I wanted to ask, what was your favourite part of the deal/ what was the biggest challenge you came across on the deal?
  • I read your Diversity and Inclusion report, and I was impressed by [this statistic]. This area of D&I is especially important to me because XYZ. I wanted to ask you more about this/ how you put this into action?

Resources

Hopefully, these tips have been helpful. Remember, an interview is also your opportunity to get to know the firm and whether you want to work for them. It could be that you discover they may not be the right fit for you either. Also, remember not to take rejection too harshly- it can be really tough out there, and most candidates go through many application cycles and interviews before they secure their TC. Keep pushing forward and you will get to where you want to be eventually. Prepare well, be yourself, and you will find the perfect place for you eventually!

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