Background research – where to start?
Thorough and detailed research are key to converting an interview for paralegal roles and / or training contracts into job offers. Demonstrating insight and knowledge about a prospective employer, including its size, values, culture, core practice areas, recent work and key competitors etc is likely to give you a competitive edge over other applicants.
What’s more, going into an interview armed with relevant and up to date information will make you feel more positive and in turn enable you to present your answers with greater confidence. It will also help you pose considered and well-informed questions to the interviewers, resulting in you gaining a meaningful understanding of the role you are interviewing, what the potential employer is expecting from the successful candidate, and whether culturally an organisation is a good match for you.
Online Resources for Researching Employers
The internet is awash with readily accessible, and most importantly free, information on most hiring organisations. The most useful include:
- The employer’s own website – this is a must for gathering basic information regarding key departments, partner profiles and recent work. As well as looking at the graduate recruitment / careers / join us pages, check out the recent news page and any other sections that include information about the work handled by the hiring organisation and recent accolades.
- Social media – most large organisations now regularly post content on LinkedIn and Twitter covering recent developments, their reactions to breaking news stories and future trends. LinkedIn is also particularly helpful for researching the backgrounds of interviewers as well other individuals working within a hiring organisation. It is also key to growing your professional network.
- Chambers and Legal 500 are fantastic for learning more about how law firms rank in different practice areas and/or locations.
- Newspapers and trade journals are useful for learning about recent developments in the legal sector and the wider economy, which will help to brush up on your commercial awareness. Trade journals, including The Lawyer, Legal Week and The Law Society Gazette are all available online, albeit some content sits behind a pay wall. For more student specific content Legal Cheek and LawCareers.net are also helpful resources as is CheekyLittleCareers.com.
As well as online research, asking your own contacts (including if appropriate the recruitment consultant who put you forward for the job) for inside information about an employer is also a great way to build your knowledge. And whilst you are at it be sure to ask contacts to share their top tips for job interview success and even better for help with a mock interview!
For more information on how to research employers watch the linked webinar here. And for more information on how to network your way into a new role check out, check out this resource here.
Research on Yourself!
In addition to gaining adequate knowledge of a hiring organisation, it is important to spend some time learning to understand your biggest strengths and how to sell yourself with confidence. Formulating an inventory of your recent accomplishments, experiences, key skills and attributes will enable you to provide robust answers to interview questions that test your ability to do the job.
You must also be prepared to discuss your background, motivations for applying and any other information contained in your CV or application form. Therefore, first start by re-visiting your CV or application form and remind yourself of what’s contained in it. Additionally, prepare your elevator pitch and key messages in response to the almost inevitable “tell us about yourself” style questions. For a strong answer to such an opener, showcase your unique selling points that confirm you as the most suitable match for the job, using pithy, punchy and memorable soundbites. But avoid over-used buzzwords and cliches.
Second, have responses ready for motivational questions such as why law, why that particular role, why that organisation, and what are your longer-term goals etc?
Third, make a list of all your achievements, including which skill(s) or attribute(s) each one has helped you to develop or strengthen as this will help you answer competency-based questions (see below).
Finally, if a friend or relative can use your answers, they are potentially too generic.
By the way, it is entirely your call as to whether or not to prepare fully scripted answers. For some students, this can be a potential trap for a number or reasons: it is a very time-consuming exercise; your answers may sound forced; and if you forget what you had planned to say it risks throwing you off course.
Competency-based interviews
Most employers in the legal sector use competency-based interviews for assessing candidates. During such interviews, you will be asked questions designed to test whether you have the right skills (or competencies) to perform the job well. The thinking is that if you have deployed such skills effectively in the past then you should have the ability and experience to perform well in the future.
Interviewers will focus on the specific competencies that are important for the job they are looking to fill and will ask open questions designed to get you talking about your real-life experiences. They will use your answers to determine your transferable skills.
For each competency, the interviewers will usually be looking for both positive and negative indicators to score you against other candidates. For instance, if the competency is teamwork, they are likely to be after specific examples that demonstrate how well you work with others, how you may have resolved a conflict, how you have supported a colleague or how well you listen to and encourage others.
Alternatively, if the competency is adaptability the interviewers will want to hear about whether you can handle change positively, how well you adjust to changing deadlines, how you juggle competing priorities and respond to new situations with innovative approaches and an open mind.
Key competencies typically sought after by employers in the legal sector include:
- Adaptability
- Commercial awareness
- Communication
- Conflict resolution
- Decisiveness
- Problem-solving
- Teamwork
- Organisation and time management
How to answer competency-based questions
One of the most effective ways to structure your responses is to use the CAR technique, which stands for:
C – context: briefly describe a specific project or situation, paint a picture for the interviewer. For example, ‘We had an important client presentation to prepare for’
A – action: explain what you did, how and why you did it. Really emphasise your role in this, remember the interviewer wants to hear about you and your contribution – they are looking for key skills you possess. If you keep referring to ‘we’ or ‘they’ your interviewer will not get to hear about you.
R – result: talk through the outcome of your actions. For example, ‘As a result of my hard work and forward-thinking I was able to effectively ….. As a result, the client sent an email to my supervisor thanking me for my contribution and the quality of my work.’ Alternatively, if all did not quite go to plan it is important to outline what you learnt from the situation and any remedial step you are likely to take in the future.
Using CAR adds structure to your answers and magically makes them a suitable length, thus avoiding ten-minute monologues and hoping that at some point you get across what the interviewer was looking for. It also forces you to slow down and pause, enabling the interviewer to interrupt and ask a follow-up question as and when necessary.
The aim during the interview is to bring in a variety of examples so you can show a range of experiences. If you have anticipated which skills may be tested and prepared an inventory (see above), it makes it far easier to select the best, and most appropriate example for the role when under pressure.
Competency-based questions typically open with: ‘Tell us about a time when you…’, ‘Give an example of…’ or ‘Describe how you…’ Here are some examples of the most common questions:
- Describe a situation in which you led a team.
- Tell me about a time you worked as part of a high-performing team.
- Give an example of a time you handled a conflict in the workplace.
- Give me an example of a challenge you faced in the workplace and tell me how you overcame it?
- Give an example of a situation where you solved a problem in a creative way.
- Can you tell me about a time when you had multiple deadlines and how you handled it?
Interview Dos, Interview Don’ts
Dos
- Do make sure you have prepared thoroughly and have your CV or application form and notes ready
- Do make sure you are not late
- Do make sure that for virtual interviews your laptop or tablet (and Bluetooth headphones) is fully charged or plugged in
- Do make sure that during the interview you smile and maintain good eye contact with the interviewer who is asking a question and during your answer but when answering do not exclude any other interviewers present
- Do make sure that you listen carefully to each question
- Do make sure you pause, think about your answers, and how you want to express them rather than blurting out the first words that come to mind
- Do ensure you answer questions honestly, fully, clearly and precisely
- Do ensure you appear positive, enthusiastic and authentic
- Do demonstrate how your skills and experiences can be of benefit and add value
- Do make sure that for every responsibility or requirement on the job specification, that you have at least one example of a recent experience or transferable skill that covers each one
- Do show a willingness to learn and an interest in your own professional development
- Do make sure you ask some, or all, of your prepared questions on the hiring organisation and the role
- Do dress appropriately, even for virtual interviews
- Do watch your posture and avoid slouching (for virtual interviews remember to position your camera at an appropriate height so your head isn’t chopped off)
- Do have your mobile phone switched off (for virtual interviews turn off email alerts and any other alerts that may distract you)
- Do experiment with techniques to reduce interview stressors, including getting a decent night’s sleep, breathing exercises or going for a walk to clear you head
Don’ts
- Don’t fidget (if it helps remove jewellery and tie your hair up)
- Don’t be verbose or long-winded in answers to questions as you will bore the interviewer
- Don’t tell fibs about your experiences or skills as it is likely you will be caught out
- Don’t make any derogatory or negative comments about a previous employer / boss
Read our other Careers & Employability blogs here: