Preparing for an Interview

You've been called in for an interview.  Now it's time to prepare.  What will be important to the screening employer?  How can you convey that information in the brief time allotted?   There are three basic things you need to cover in job interview preparation:   1.  Know the employer 2.  Know yourself 3.  Convey the connection

KNOW THE EMPLOYER

Importantly, look for hints the employer gives about their priorities. Check their initial position adverstisement, their website, or the marketing materials sent to the school.

Check out the employer's website. 

• Firms: What practice areas do they specialize in? How many attorneys are in the firm?  How many offices does the firm have?  Where are they located? Which is the main office?  Where did the attorneys go to law school and undergrad? Any alumni in the mix (consider your undergrad institution as well)?

• Public interest: Who are the employer's main clients? What is their mission?  Funding sources?

Do a basic internet search.  Has the employer made the news?

Speak to a classmate who has worked for the employer before.  And don't forget recent graduates and other alumni.

If you know the individual employer's name, look them up in Martindale-Hubbell and the state bar directory.  For more tips like this, see also Employer Research. 

 

KNOW YOURSELF

Review all of your application materials submitted to the employer.  Reflect on what they say about you.  How can you incorporate these points into your interview answers or questions? 

Think outside the box by considering life experience not on your resume.  Based on your research, consider whether these experiences might be relevant to the employer.  Make notes on how to share this information during the interview.

For example, when interviewing with a public interest or government employer, be prepared to translate your volunteer experience to skills you developed that will serve the needs of that employer.

 

CONVEY THE CONNECTION

Spend some time sketching rough answers to some of the possible questions below.  Then go back and review your resume and other applications materials.  Have you missed an important connection?

Make sure to prepare your own set of questions. Use questions to:

• illustrate your research about the employer
• to convey your particular interest in their work, and
• to gain the information necessary to make an informed employment decision.

 

SAMPLE QUESTIONS

That you might receive:

• Why did you decide to come to law school?
• Why did you choose Georgia Law?
• If you were not pursuing law as a career, what else might you consider?
• What practice areas interest you?
• Why are you interested in our firm?
• Why are you interested in living in our city?
• What have been your favorite law school courses?
• What did you do last summer?  What did you enjoy most about it?
• What are your grades/class rank?
• Please explain your school's grade/rank policy.
• Tell me about these law school extracurricular activities.
• Why did you/did you not participate on this journal/in this activity?
• Where do you see yourself in five years? Ten years?
• Give an example of a problem that arose at your last job and your resolution of it.
• Give an example of a goal that you set and met.  How did you do so?
• What two or three accomplishments have given you the most satisfaction?  Why?
• How would you describe your leadership style?
• Tell me about yourself.

 

That you might ask:

• I read about the recent matter/case handled by your firm/organization.  At what level would someone get to work on matters like that?
• I saw news about the recent budget issues in state/local/federal government funding streams.  How will this affect hiring plans for your agency?
• I read about the merger between your firm and ___ last year.  How has that changed the firm's culture and growth plans?
• In the summer program, how is work allocated among the different departments?
• How soon and to what extent would I be expected to participate in client development?
• Did you come to work at the firm following a summer associateship or as a lateral candidate?
• How does this firm compare to other places you have worked?
• What would you characterize as the firm's/agency's/organization's strengths and weaknesses?
• What type of supervision and responsibilities are given to a new associate/to a summer associate?
• Can you describe your partnership structure? and lengths of time to each partnership level?

 

Some Additional Considerations:  What to wear, on-campus interviews, call back interviews (meals), telephone interviews, thanking and follow-up.

 

WHAT TO WEAR

Do not wear anything too memorable.  When an employer reflects on your interview, you want to be remembered is for your ideas and your intellect.  Flashy jewelry or a really unusual tie choice can be very distracting and may cause a potential employer some concern about whether you could be entrusted with their clients.  You should leave the interviewer with the impression that being neat, pressed and well turned out are second nature for you.  Never wear any piece of clothing that makes you tug.  If in doubt, always go with the safe choice.  Don’t forget to schedule haircuts at proper intervals.  If your shoes need to be polished, do that the night before.  Prepare ahead like you’re going into battle.

 

ON-CAMPUS INTERVIEWS

Often called “screening interviews”, these tend to be 20-30 minute discussions where every minute counts.  If you have an “interests” section of your resume, don’t include topics you wouldn’t be willing to devote time to discussing.  For example, don’t list reading as an interest if you’re not prepared to discuss beyond “I haven’t had any time to read anything this year because of law school.”  If you list travel, be prepared for the fact that your interviewer may be a very accomplished traveler so have something interesting to say that helps build a favorable impression of your intellectual curiosity, good nature or some other transferrable skill or trait.  Remember to practice possible answers to any number of questions that might come your way knowing that the anecdotes you prepare to discuss may be the basis for any number of good answers to an interviewers questions.  Prepared answers should serve as a “safe harbor” to return to when you’re not sure what to say.  Do be mindful to also answer the question at hand even as you try to work in good bits about yourself.

 

CALL BACK INTERVIEWS (AND MEALS)

Typically a screening interview is followed by a call back interview at the potential employer’s office and/or a restaurant.  Be punctual, but don’t show up in the interviewer’s office more than 15 minutes in advance.  For an office visit, do your research on the biographies of attorneys you believe you will meet and know who in a given department might be a recent graduate or a Georgia Law alumna.  Be prepared for the fact that interviewers will also change at the last minute and have questions in mind for various practice groups or for a general audience. 

If the interview extends to a meal, be a good guest and follow the host’s lead.  Don’t be the first person to discuss business and wait until the meal order is placed to pose complex questions.  Often the guest orders first at a business meal, so be sure to think ahead about what meals are easy for you to eat and don’t order the most expensive thing on the menu.  Feel free to take the host’s lead on beverage orders, but don’t feel pressured to drink alcohol or make any excuse for not drinking.  If you do choose to follow a host’s lead on a drink, stick to one alcoholic beverage even if your dining companions drink more. 

It is customary for the person who invites (the host employer) to pay for the meal, but do be gracious in thanking your host and complimenting the meal selection where appropriate.  It’s possible that in the case of company reimbursement that the junior attorney or even the guest will need to pay and then turn in expenses, so do be prepared to pay if necessary.  Always keep in mind that the business or interview meal is more about the exchange of information than it is about being fed.  Help make others feel comfortable.  Wait for everyone’s meal to arrive to start eating and try not to take a good deal longer to eat your meal than your companions.  Do not order desert or coffee or otherwise prolong the meal unless you are following your host’s lead.  All these things will demonstrate good manners, respect for others and the judgment that would make a potential employer comfortable that they could send you out to entertain their clients.

 

TELEPHONE INTERVIEWS

Try to make a telephone interview as much as possible like an in person meeting.  You may want to repeat the name of attendees and make sure you pronounce names correctly.  Ensure absolute punctuality since you can’t visibly show up early to make sure others do not have to wait on you.  The advantage of a telephone interview is that you can have all your notes handy.  Do be prepared to take advantage of notes in a way that does not lead to a stilted conversation.  It sounds silly, but consider tacking a piece of paper on the wall near where you plan to sit with a note about smiling.  A smile is actually conveyed to speakers as you talk.

 

THANK YOU NOTES

Be prepared to send notes off the day of the interview or within 24 hours.  Carry note cards and stamps with you so you can drop notes off that day while conversations are fresh in your mind.  Taking care of the task right away will ultimately make the act of thanking less burdensome and more effective.  Write a note to each person you meet with and personalize the messages just a bit so that if others “compare notes” they won’t learn that you could have used a mimeograph to prepare your cards.  Handwritten notes tend to be popular because they are novel in today’s electronic world.  However, sometimes an e-mail is the better method when decisions will likely be made very quickly.  I think an e-mail to a large firm employer after an On Campus Interview is very commonly done and just fine.  If you have a more intimate call back meeting, a handwritten note to properly thank for the time and hospitality of your host may be better.  Handwritten notes should not be long or complicated.  A brief, sincere and legible note will do just fine.

 

FOLLOW-UP

Make your follow-up appropriate to the situation.  Try to follow-up in the requested manner and by the requested date. Call employers back promptly when interviews are offered and have your calendar in front of you.  Where employers are conducting on campus interviews at many schools in the busy recruiting season for summer employment, too much follow-up may be a burden.  However, when you interview with a smaller employer for post graduate employment it may seem like you lack interest if you don’t follow up.  Show a level of persistence that indicates an appropriate interest in being hired. 

On the flip side, always keep in mind that every employer has a hierarchy of what is a pressing issue.  Serving clients and their legal matters will tend to come before getting back to potential hires unless there is a recruiter in place to handle hiring.  Make sure that your follow-up efforts demonstrate that you are sensitive to the business concerns of your potential employer.

Set up an appointment with the LCS counselors to get feedback on your interviewing skills and for more specific advice (salary negotiations, offer/acceptance etiquette).