Experts & Views
“Never give advice, unless asked for it thrice”- Old Chinese proverb
Since the recruitment season has started at many of the law schools, I thought I’d blog about something topical for a change (instead of the usual nonsense about life in a City law firm).
So, you’ve taken the first step after following Legal Poet’s 15 CV TIPS: Make RECRUITERS pounce on you lik.... You’ve been called for the interview. Now what?
While I’m sure most of you are thinking that you already know all this stuff, interviews can be a frightening proposition for some people since almost everything they’ve done in law school boils down to that one hour.
So here’s Modern Bob’s (unsolicited) short guide to breezing through your interviews:
- If your interview is in the morning, make sure your alarm clock is working. If it’s in the afternoon/evening, account for traffic on the way. Being late for an interview probably means you’ll be late for work. Naturally, this doesn’t go down well with interviewers.
- On appearances:
- They do matter. Polish your shoes, button your coat (in a three button suit, only the top two are ever buttoned without running the risk of being confused with a waiter- the rule being sometimes, always, never).
- Wear a BLACK suit. I cannot emphasize this enough. Not brown, not dark blue, not gray (no matter how smart these may look on you). Also, please get used to the fact that your life is going to be dominated by this colour in many, many ways.
- Since interviewers are looking for a lawyer, not the next big Tollywood star, try and avoid goatees/shoulder length hair (for guys).
- Flashy ties/shirts are out- an ironed white shirt with a solid coloured (dark blue/maroon) tie should be perfectly acceptable.
- Plunging necklines are very attractive on ladies in clubs and bars but do not convey the message of being particularly professional.
- Make-up should be used with utmost discretion (this applies to both sexes).
- Go head and use their first names with foreign interviewers- they will not mind at all. With Indian firms, you’re better sticking to the standard Sir and Ma’am.
- Read up on the firm. At a minimum, you should know the firm’s strong practice groups and its most recent deals/awards. LI and www.legal500.com are good places to start for Indian firms. Short profiles for the foreign law firms are available on www.legal500.com and www.legalweek.com. In a nutshell, if a firm is focussed on banking, you don’t want to be telling them about your fascination with real estate.
- On answering questions:
- The Golden Rule is to lie as little as practically possible because if you get caught, the interview is over. If you don’t know the answer to a question, the best thing to do is just give the interviewer a self-deprecating smile and say so. Contrary to popular belief, honesty is appreciated.
- Listen to what is being asked and take a minute before you answer. This shows the interviewer you are processing what has been said and are giving them a considered answer.
- Wherever possible, substantiate your answers with illustrations from your past achievements.
- If there’s a commercial awareness exercise involved (usually the case with foreign firms), do not be afraid to admit your view on things could be wrong. Interviewers will usually try and gently lead you the correct answer. Browbeating the interviewer into submission using your amazing mooting skills will get you no where.
- On asking questions:
- If it’s possible, find out beforehand who is going to interview you. If you do find out, do a bit of research of them so you can ask them questions about their experiences at the firm. This allows them to speak, taking some of the pressure off you. I think you’ll find that the personal touch is appreciated.
- Do not bring up salaries/bonuses in any context. It makes you sound silly, desperate and a bit premature considering you haven’t got the job as yet.
- Use any leverage you may have carefully. If you have offers from other firms, there is no harm in letting the interviewer know about these since this definitely makes you more attractive to them as a prospective employee. Don’t flaunt these offers in the faces of interviewers though. Most lawyers have very long memories.
- Flirting with the interviewer is not recommended as this is successful only in very rare and exceptional cases (for further details see The Recruit: Part 2).
Happy interviewing!
Until next time,
Modern Bob
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Do remember to open the buttons when you're sitting down!
1) In case of three-buttoned suits, is it the practice all over the world to leave the last one unbuttoned or is it only in India?
2) I have friends in NUJS and NALSAR who told me they were not asked any legal GK questions by foreign firms. They were given a problem and asked to solve it using certain provisions. Is this the case with all training contract interviews?
Re: 1)The custom of leaving the bottom button on a coat undone is followed around the world. Applies to two buttoned suits equally as well. It comes from the early 20th century where King Edward VII was too fat to fasten his bottom button!
Re: 2) Its true, foreign firms won't ask you direct legal questions to test your knowledge. The way they test your legal aptitude differs from firm to firm. Some firms ask you to negotiate various clauses of a contract with the interviewer. Others ask you review a document and advise a client as to whether they should proceed with the transaction. In this way, your legal knowledge, commercial awareness and presentation skills are tested at the same time. Of course, since you are a law student they don't expect you to have in-depth legal knowledge of M&A or lending transactions. All they're looking to see is whether your basic concepts are clear.
As regards questions asked, there is a tone to the interview and it is upon both parties to set it. Generally there is a fixed format for junior associates/fresh grads, but interviewers feel free to change the tack mid-way. Sometimes, an answer leads to a different line of questioning.
As an example, one of my friends is into trivia a lot. When he introduced himself, he said my name is [...], but my friends call me Guns. You can guess where the line of questioning went from there.
One good way to ace an interview is to be prepared and have a list of questions that are commonly asked. Example, 'tell us something about yourself' is very common. When asked such questions, refrain from telling the interviewer about the time you passed out at the club after a night of booze/partying.
Make it interesting. You have passed the major test (getting your foot in the door); the interview is to confirm that you are what you stated in your CV...
Good luck to all.
In complete agreement with everything else said at #5.
Also, thanks so much for your comment- should go some way towards preparing those sitting for interviews in the near future!
Legal Dodo
Just shows small things like this can be really important!
please do a separate blogpost on how to answer 'tell us something about yourself'.. my first - and suicidal - instinct is to say something super funny and equally inappropriate. :(
Para 2 should read "You've taken the first step..."
Tip No.1 should read "your alarm clock is working.."
I am a huge fan of your blog but I just had to point this out :P
Thanks!
Komi
Re: the "tell us something about yourself" question-that's a tricky one. If you play sports, moot or are involved with extracurriculars, this would be a good opening to slip a story about of these into the interview. While this could be a funny story, try also to tell it in a way which showcases qualities such as calmness under pressure, hard work, team work etc. Hope this is helpful!
@10- The typos have been corrected. Thanks, let me know if you spot any others!
@Komi- Thanks, do feel free to send me a private message here on LI, would be happy to reply to any specific queries.
All law firms, Indian or multinationals has good percentage of these type of employees...irrespective of merit..
but one must go well prepared and have to follows all norms and standard as suggested above...if he is common man.. we have no option but to find our place in these circumstances...
there are useless dumb children of politicians studying in B-grade law schools but these ppl get better placements than many bright students
Nearly every article posted on LI has a comment which says "that is why we need the foreign firms". As if these foreign firms are a solution to all the problems plaguing our legal system. Grow up guys.
Legal Dodo
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