Tips for the Law Firm Interview that Apply to All Job Interviews

If you're a law student, you're probably already in the middle of the interviewing season. Nothing makes me happier than knowing that I don't have to go through the whole interview process again this fall. The truth is, I am terrible at interviews. There are a few things I wish I would have known when I was interviewing. Wear the uniform. There is an unspoken uniform required in law firm interviews. The worst part is that no one will ever tell you that you've got the uniform wrong. You're expected to wear a dark suit, pumps, minimal jewelry, subtle makeup and neat hair. I went to countless interviews with messy hair. Frustrated that my hair was frizzy and uncool, I would put European styling putty in my shoulder length locks. As a result, I looked more like a surfer girl than an aspiring professional. I wish someone would have just given me a barrette and put me out of my misery. The correct answer is "Yes, I want to work for your firm!" No one goes into law firm interviews without some ambivalence about whether they want to work at a large law firm for the rest of their lives. But now is not the time to share your ambivalence. If a prospective employer asks you if you want to work for their firm, the correct answer is "yes!" and not the answer I actually gave on too many occasions that you're willing to give it a try. Is it less than honest? Possibly. But odds are, your interviewers are similarly misrepresenting how fascinating they find their work and how they have a great work-life balance. Come across as a capable subordinate. Behind all the wining, dining, and wooing of recruiting, your interviewers know that what they're really doing is hiring first year associates. A good first year associate is someone who is willing to 1) learn, 2) work hard, and 3) enthusiastically accept the assignments that none of the other attorneys want. As a secondary matter, they're looking for people who could eventually transform into a good senior attorney capable of managing clients. If you come across as bored, arrogant, lethargic, or just plain not up to the challenge, it will remind your interviewers of every disastrous first year associate they've supervised. Have a good reason for talking to each firm. Even though most students choose the firms they interview with more or less randomly, you need to have a plausible reason for interviewing with any given firm. This usually means a compelling justification for living in the city where the firm is located. It also means doing research on each firm so that you can answer the inevitable question all interviewers ask: "Why do you want to work for our firm above all others?" Interviewing for a firm's head office is preferable to a satellite office. I made the mistake of interviewing with countless satellite offices, not realizing that satellite offices only hire a small fraction of the associates that a head office would hire. Even if you plan on working for a firm's satellite office down the road, spending your summer at the head office is often a better strategy from a training and networking perspective. delicious | digg | technorati
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