Articles From the Team

What Questions will you be asked in an interview?

So you’ve secured the interview, you’ve read through your CV and you are about to go in….but have you thought about what they are going to ask you?

If you were interviewing at Oxbridge they might ask you something like “Ladybirds are red.  So are strawberries. Why?”  Thankfully these questions are confined to such situations and are very unlikely to surprise you at your job interview (although please do get in touch if you have had some bizarre questions asked of you, I’d love to hear them).   Having feedback from candidates and having gone through the process myself, the likely topics will be:

Your Career:  • Where do you see yourself in five years time? • Where else have you applied?

The Firm • Why have you applied to this firm? • What differentiates us from our competitors? • Give an example of the most important development in an area of law we work in, and why?

Skills and Competencies • Are you better working alone or as part of a team? • How do you deal with failure?

Commercial Awareness • Explain how Brexit might impact this department? • What is the biggest challenge facing the legal market currently?

Obviously this list is far from exhaustive but I think gives a good indication of the sorts of areas that firms will touch on.  If you were applying for a real estate role for example, it is just as important for a firm to know that you can deal with a conditional lease as it is that you are aware of the challenges facing the real estate market (supply of office space in London for example).  Firms are looking for well rounded lawyers with an awareness of both their skill set and their market, concentrating only on one of these too much will leave you open to questions you may not be able to answer.

So before you go in, make sure you have thought about what might be asked of you and how you are going to answer these questions, write down some answers if you think if might help.  Also don’t be afraid to run your answers past your consultant or perhaps a friend in the legal profession.  As the great Arnold Palmer once said “The harder you practice, the luckier you get.”

For more information contact BCL Legal or email us at info@bcllegal.com.