Looking to Make a Career Move?

Interviewing Fundamentals: What You Need to Know:

Homework
The Interview
Follow Up

Homework Preparation

1.
Research the law firm or company and use the information to prepare a list of good questions to ask at the interview. Prior research and preparation will not go unnoticed!

If you’re interviewing with a law firm, find out how important your practice area is to the firm, who are their major rainmakers, and the nature of the client base. For example, does 35 percent or more of the firm’s revenues stream come from two clients or one industry or a single partner? Check their website or Martindale-Hubbell profile for such details as partner-to-associate ratio and the law schools from which the firm traditionally hires. You will make a more favorable impression if you ask the interviewer to clarify that you have the correct understanding of their firm’s management structure rather than asking her to describe their firm structure.

If you’re interviewing in-house, find or request the company’s annual report. Use the Internet, Hoovers, Lexis-Nexis, or other tools available to familiarize yourself with the industry, the company, its web site, recent articles and publications, recent history, merger-acquisition-divestiture activity, competitors, market position, etc.

After all of this preparation, don’t be shocked if you do more listening than talking during your first round of interviews. It’s a common mistake among interviewers. If you’re asked back, a lot of your prep work is already done.
2.
Establish before hand your strongest selling points relative to the job description. You will then be ready if you are asked, “So what qualifies you for this job”
3.
Prepare succinct answers for the other two most logical questions you could be asked: 1) "Why are you looking make a job change?" and 2) "Why do you want to come to work with us?" Practice answering these questions aloud! Also, try to anticipate any tough questions (such as a short stay with one or more employers), and have answers ready.

As you likely know, it is considered unprofessional to criticize one’s current employer. If a bad work situation is the reason you are looking, prepare answers that are honest but diplomatic and tactful and that focus more on career advancement or career direction. These answers should also be practiced aloud. How do they sound? How believable are these responses?
4.
Of course, you should look your best, be dressed professionally and groomed flawlessly. Hair trimmed? Coat clean and pressed? Glasses clean? Fingernails manicured? Shoes shined? Car washed (if you’re driving to the interview)?
5.
Try your best to plan the day before and the night before an interview to eat sensibly and get a good night’s sleep. No matter how well suited you are for the job, you’ll perform better if you are rested and well nourished. Make it a point to clear your mind of all personal and professional issues that may impact you interview performance.

During The Interview

6.
Exude self-confidence, interest in, and enthusiasm about the position. Express an overall positive impression. Within the limits set by the interviewer, seek appropriate opportunities to sell yourself, such as sharing examples of work or career goals that relate to the job description. A "sell me on this job" attitude is a serious turn-off most of the time.
7.
Be aware of your body language, and maintain good eye contact. Smiling at appropriate moments (such as when you introduce yourself and say goodbye) doesn’t hurt.
8.
Listen to the question, and answer concisely. Then, elaborate on your answer if appropriate. Once you have answered the question, stop talking and let the interviewer ask his or her next question. Or, you may want to ask a question that puts the ball back in the interviewer’s court and establishes a dialogue. You might ask, "Does that answer your question?" at suitable moments. "Read" the interview!
9.
Be yourself. It’s the best way to find out if you are compatible with the people and the culture. One unspoken item on every hiring official’s checklist is "Is this a person I can work and live with over the long haul?" It also belongs on yours. If you have a sense of humor, and the interviewer does not, be sure to factor that into your assessment.
10.
If the interview appears to be going well, you may want to politely inquire as to what the employer’s next step would be, the anticipated timetable, who is involved in the ultimate hiring decision, and where they are in the hiring process. You may then be asked if you have other interviews in progress.
11.
One of your main goals at an interview is to sell yourself. Unless you are exceptionally good at thinking on your feet, consider taking doubts or reservations that occur to you in the interview home with you to assess, rather than expressing them at the interview. It might increase your chances that you will be called back for a second interview, by which time you will have had a chance to process the information and phrase your inquiries tactfully.
12.
The basic qualities our clients seem to look for are:
1. Intelligence
2. Common sense
3. Assertiveness
4. Creative problem solvers
5. Flexibility
6. Honesty
7. Ambition
8. Energy
9. Interpersonal skills
10. Personality fit

After Your Initial Interview

13.
A concise thank-you note is always good business etiquette. We recommend a brief handwritten card on quality paper, expressing appreciation for the opportunity to have met the interviewer and learn more about the position and reaffirming continued interest in being considered for the position (if that indeed is true; if you are sure it’s not, you may as well say so). Referencing details of the interview conversation or aspects of the job that are particularly well-suited to you can serve to personalize the letter and to distinguish you from the rest of the candidate pool they have or will be interviewing. You can also mention questions that have occurred to you since the interview and areas or issues you hope to have the opportunity to explore in greater detail at a later time.
14.
If you are interviewing for an in-house position, one important issue to explore is how management regards the law department. How involved are the lawyers in business matters? How much interaction do lawyers have with business people? How much substantive work is handled in-house, and how much is done by outside counsel? Verify the answers you get to these questions with the in-house lawyers and employees outside the law group.
15.
If you are asked to return for a second interview, it is just as important for you to inspect them as it is for them to inspect you. Is this a place you want to work? Are these people the kind of colleagues with which you want to spend 50 to 60 or more hours a week? How marketable would this job make you for your next career move, and what kind of job would it make you marketable for?
16.
Make a list of things you’ll need to know in order to decide on an offer. What should you have known—or asked—about your current job before taking it? Why is there an opening? Is this a newly created position or vacancy, and if so, why is there a vacancy? What is the day-to-day nuts and bolts work like? Can you get a sense of the prevailing politics of the department or company? Animosities? Unwritten rules? Recent history? Explore these questions with employees who would be your peers as well as people outside the legal department. If your request to meet them is not honored, think carefully about what that tells you!