Reading Time: 2 minutesAdvice This is a loaded question and one you need to be very careful about answering. If you are applying for a junior post, for example a training contract with a solicitors’ firm, you really should not be giving any indication at this stage of an interest to specialise in. You simply do not know…
Reading Time: 2 minutesAdvice This question really depends on the circumstances of the interview. If you have been headhunted, are currently in employment and not particularly looking until you were approached then it would be perfectly acceptable to give a straightforward answer. If not, you need to consider your response very carefully. If you give an affirmative answer…
Reading Time: < 1 minuteAdvice This again is a question that almost requires you to say yes. If you say no it almost indicates that you really don’t care about your work or your activities. You are the type of person who is happy just to turn up to work each day and sit at a desk for 8…
Reading Time: < 1 minuteAdvice This is almost a challenge and is again one of those interview questions that can really only be considered in a negative fashion. There are obviously jobs where aggression is considered to a certain extent as a positive at certain levels, but this question really is one to determine negative and not positive issues. …
Reading Time: 2 minutesInterview Question – Are you Accepted into a Team Quickly? Advice At first glance you may be forgiven for thinking that this is a yes or no answer as you are being asked a pretty closed question. This question gives you the opportunity to give a specific example and to get over a point to…
Reading Time: 2 minutesInterview Question – Are you a leader? What a horrible question! Some would argue that it is too formulaic – would “yes” or “no” suffice depending on the job? Would you want to recruit a junior paralegal who said “yes”? Advice This is a very difficult question to respond to if you have not prepared…
Reading Time: < 1 minuteYes. This could be the shortest article I have ever written! Here is what to write.. 1. Make sure you cc in any agent you are working through so they know what has been said.. The firm may think you are trying to circumnavigate their involvement.. 2. Thank the interviewer for their time and say…
Reading Time: 2 minutes1. Review your CV. If an agent has sent it, ask them for a copy. We amend CVs nearly every time we send one out – mainly to remove any waffly bits or to present them in a better light. Get a copy, read it carefully. Remind yourself of anything you may have written 10…
Reading Time: 2 minutesMaking a Job Offer and matching current salary – a good idea? A candidate looks to make a move and we send them over details of vacancies. The candidate applies for a vacancy and we send a CV across to a firm, indicating current salary levels. We go through the recruitment process – interview, discussions,…
Reading Time: 2 minutesInterview Survival Tips Top tips for surviving legal job interviews: 1. Do not exaggerate your abilities. We have recently had a conveyancing candidate claim she could run files from start to finish and work independently. The solicitors firm in question arranged a full test to check this and discovered that actually this was definitely not…
Reading Time: 2 minutesTop 5 things to take to an interview with you We hear lots of feedback as recruiters as to items that our candidates take in with them to interviews and here are the top 5 to add value to any job applications you might make. 1) Your CV. So many people turn up to interview…
Reading Time: 4 minutesTop 5 Tips for making sure you get the most out of interviews. These tips apply as much to senior members of staff and managers as they do for junior staff. They are designed so that you get the most out of the recruitment process when you apply for jobs with a law firm. 1.…
Reading Time: 5 minutesTop 5 Tips for making sure you get the most out of candidates applying for your posts. These tips apply as much to senior members of staff and managers as they do for junior staff. They are designed so that you get the most out of the recruitment process when they apply for jobs with…
Reading Time: 2 minutesInterview Question – What sort of response would we get from your referees about your professional and social manner? This question is asking you to consider the way you come across as a professional and also in a social environment. It is not asking you to give any details as to the type of reference…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQ Why do you offer career coaching to lawyers and law students? Good question! Together with 3 other lawyers I set up Ten Percent Legal Recruitment back in April 2000. Within a few months we were being bombarded with CVs from law students and graduates desperate for training contracts and work experience. We obviously could…
Reading Time: 2 minutesI was asked yesterday about the likely interview style and questions to be thrown at someone from a city law firm during a pre-selection day interview. This was to be with the HR Manager of the firm and would last for about 30 minutes. Does it matter who takes a legal job interview and is…
Reading Time: 3 minutesThe decision to give references is sometimes quite complicated. Firms have requested references before second interviews, including requests to speak to current employers (!) and colleagues. Alternatively some firms ask for references prior to first interview. Others have waited until a solicitor has commenced work and two weeks later asked for a reference. Two incidents…
Reading Time: 3 minutesA recent dilemna arose for a solicitor looking to take a fairly senior post in the North of England. He had two offers, as well as an additional firm interested. One firm were very friendly, a reasonable size, good working conditions, excellent career prospects from the outset including possible partnership. Their location was not the…
Reading Time: < 1 minuteBusiness Acumen – what’s it all about? This term comes up quite often in legal job interviews, whether for training contracts or qualified solicitor roles. But what exactly does it mean? In reality, not a lot! The usual question is along the lines of “can you give an example of when you have had to…
Reading Time: 2 minutesNegotiation with some firms is like a gunfight at OK Corral! It can be great fun dealing with firms and candidates when it comes to job offers being made by firms. Some firms make good, competitive offers, which any sensible candidate would accept, and other firms make low, slave wage level offers, which only someone…
Reading Time: 2 minutesThe main aim and focus during interview must be: EVERYBODY LIKES ME, I LIKE EVERYBODY, I AM WILLING TO DO ALMOST ANYTHING (WITHIN REASON), I HAVE NO PROBLEMS WITH ANYTHING OR ANYBODY. 12 Top Tips for Surviving and Succeeding at Legal Job Interviews. 1. Do not reveal your political leanings if at all possible during…
Reading Time: 2 minutesWhen interviewing a potential employee for a job, it is important to see things at all times from the employee’s perspective – they will almost certainly be trying to guess what you are wanting, thinking and going to say to them and will want to get certain things confirmed about your firm before they commit themselves. This…
Reading Time: < 1 minuteAs recruitment consultants, we are not sure that this is good practice. In fact I would recommend avoiding confronting candidates head on with technical questions. Firstly, at an interview a candidate is nervous and slightly wary, secondly partners of law firms are notorious for asking questions that no-one on the interview panel knows or understands,…
Reading Time: 2 minutesFirstly, be aware that a lot of employers want to do the decent thing when it comes to interviews, and are open to requests. They are highly unlikely to offer to pay travel expenses unless you ask! You have to prepared to be proactive in interviews, and not expect everything to be handed to you…
Reading Time: < 1 minuteThis is quite an easy question to answer as to a certain extent it has no hidden agenda, unlike a lot of questions, and does not leave you open to too much cross examination. One thing to be aware of is that if you come up with “I’d travel the world as I have a…
Reading Time: 2 minutesA cursed question to anyone who has not worked with business speak before. The reality is that the concept of teamwork is somewhat different in a law firm – the majority of decisions are made at senior level, and although more junior staff are informed that they need to be ‘team players’, very often the…
Reading Time: < 1 minuteI have to confess I asked someone this once, and he said “oh no, I have never been ambitious – I just want to earn some money”, which is an honest enough answer! In fact most employers would love this as in reality this is what they are looking for – a solicitor who is…
Reading Time: 2 minutesI have conducted career coaching sessions for a number of years for law students and lawyers, and once someone come to see me to ask what they needed to wear for a legal job interview. It almost seemed like the primary reason she had travelled over 200 miles to see me, and I am not…
Reading Time: 5 minutesHow to Prepare for a Legal Job Interview Dress Attending for interviews is your chance, and often your one and only chance to present yourself as a potential lawyer to the firm. It is important that if you are male that you wear a suit with a jacket, and a tie that is fairly smart.…