Articles From the Team

Law graduate jobs: interview tips

Research

I’ve worked with a number of graduates this year and almost every single one who has interviewed through me was asked: “what do you know about the firm, and why us?”

Interviews can be daunting in general but this is even more so if it’s your first (for a legal position).

Start by looking at the firm’s website, view the team you’re interviewing for and delve into the type of work they handle. Take a look at the interviewers’ profiles on LinkedIn: this will give you insight into their career and experience. It’s also beneficial to have a look at the firm’s latest news and recent articles so you have an idea of any changes to the firm/team news and updates.

Preparation

As well as the general firm and interviewer research it’s really important to prepare in such a way you know the role and duties inside out. You should study the job specification, if you know anyone in a similar role it’s always good to try and speak with them to get an idea of what the role involves.

The interviewers will want to know how you feel about the role in detail, so knowing the duties inside out and how your skills will be transferable is essential.

Ahead of the interview, ensure that you know what the format of the interview will be, what it will entail and if there’s anything specific (on top of the above) that you should prepare for. Some firms include a testing element, so you should find this out beforehand to allow you to prepare.

Arrive on time

It’s important that you’re punctual and arrive on time for an interview. It’s protocol to arrive around 10 minutes early for an interview. We always suggest that if you don’t know the area very well, or you’re unsure on parking, do a trial run beforehand – so you know exactly where it is and can find it easy on the day of your interview.

CV

Most of the interview will be a discussion around you and your ambitions. Firms will understand that to date, you’re unlikely to have any legal experience, however, it’s still important to flesh out your CV to include any relevant experience you may have i.e. work placements.

Questions

You’ll always be asked towards the end of an interview if you have any questions for the interviewers. You should have prepared questions that you want to know the answer to. Make sure they’re relevant based on the firm or the role and they haven’t already been covered throughout. Asking questions reflects well on you: it shows you’ve listened and have a genuine interest in the firm/role on offer.

Interviews are a chance for you to stand out from the crowd and be remembered. Good preparation and research will help you but it’s also important to be yourself.