Don’t Drop the Ball! – How to Adequately Prepare for Your Upcoming Interview

Many factors in a legal-career job search are beyond your control, such as the current market trends in our legal community and the credentials of other candidates.  However, you can control one of the most powerful factors in any job interview: your own preparation.

Preparing for a job interview helps you set yourself apart from the other candidates.  It boosts your credibility, underlines your enthusiasm, and helps you create a positive and lasting impression in the minds of hiring managers.

How can you prepare for your upcoming interview?  Consider the following tips:

  1. Look at what the firm says about itself. Despite the commonalities in language choice across law firm web pages, social media, and printed materials, law firms do have distinct “personalities” that stand out.  Focus on the values the firm espouses in its publicly available materials, the accomplishments it publicizes in news releases and blog posts, and the subjects it covers in blog posts, speeches, seminars, and white papers.
  2. Find out what others say about the firm and its lawyers. The legal community is smaller than many realize.  In addition to the “brand image” it attempts to create in its public materials, every firm has a reputation in the community.  Find out what your colleagues have to say about the firm. While everyone’s experience is different and that should be understood, use this information to further inform and develop your questions for the interviewer.
  3. Determine how the firm fits your career goals and work style. Firms attempt to stand out from one another in brand image and reputation, but they also differ in their internal work environments and overall “culture.”  Use your research in other areas to develop thoughtful questions about how they will fit for you, what your opportunities for advancement are, and how the particular opportunity may fit with your own requirements and commitment to work/life balance.

At Kent Legal, our experienced legal recruiters specialize in placing qualified talent in great legal jobs in Toronto and beyond.  Contact us to learn how we can help you in your career or browse our career resources today!

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