When interviewing for your dream legal role there are a few things that you need to keep in mind, such as – interview questions article
YOUR QUESTIONS MUST HELP YOU ACHIEVE YOUR GOAL.
In asking your questions you are seeking either to impress the interviewer with the depth of your research or your shared experience, or you are seeking information you can use to show the interviewer how perfect you would be for the job. If a question does not serve either (or both) of these goals, it should not be asked.
DON’T ASK QUESTIONS THAT ARE TOO DIRECT.
While there is certain information about the employer you simply must know in order to make an informed career decision, there are some things you cannot find out about by asking a direct question.
An example would be asking “how hard do you push your staff to work long hours”. This will just tell the interviewer that you are not willing to work hard to learn your profession.
Asking indirect questions such as: “are there any expectations as to the number of hours a first–year associate is expected to work at your firm?” would be a better way of getting the information.
AVOID QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FIRM’S WEAKNESSES.
Even if you think you can phrase them in a positive way,questions such as “tell me, how is your firm handling that massive legal malpractice judgment that was brought against you?” is going to go down like a lead balloon.
Better ways to handle these questions are to phrase them like: “How does your firm handle quality control as a general matter? Is there much close supervision of associates in the early years?” and “What is your company’s overall strategy for adding or reducing legal staff this year?” These phrasings of the same question are more neutral.
ASK QUESTIONS THAT MAKE YOU LOOK GREAT!!
What sort of questions will make you look good? Generally, ones that play to the interviewer’s special interests or current problems go down very well – These questions can be pre-drafted by having a look at the firms “about us” webpage or researching any news about cases/mergers that pertain to them online. The answers to these questions could be irrelevant to the position you are applying for but they will show the interviewer you have done your homework and are genuinely interested.
SOME GOOD INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
The key to asking good questions is to memorise the question so that you can introduce it naturally and gracefully during the interview. With that understanding, here are some good interview questions that I believe will be a good fit. You should feel free to change them to your own style of speaking and your own interests.
– If I were to start working in this position today, what sorts of projects would I be working on?
– When you think about your practice and where it’s going, what sorts of things are you happiest about?
– If you could narrow it down to one thing, what do you think is the key to success in this position?
These are only a few questions that will help you obtain the role you want but for further examples, please have a look at our webpage that details Interview Techniques in more detail – http://www.austenlloyd.co.uk/interview-techniques
HAPPY JOB HUNTING!