Preparing for a paralegal interview

[Matt_96]

I was recently pinged by a recruiter who found me on LinkedIn and have been offered an interview for an entry-level paralegal position in a midsized firm, X, next week. They know I am a future trainee solicitor at another midsized firm, Y, and what my start date is going to be. Coincidentally, I was also offered a training contract at firm X but decided to turn them down for firm Y as it offered a more convenient (sooner) start date.

What kind of questions am I likely to be asked at interview? Will they be competency based? Because I applied through a recruiter and had no idea who firm X were until the interview was offered, could that affect their line of questioning?

The job is going to be in a field of law that I have only studied as part of an elective module on the LPC. Would it be likely for firm X to ask questions about it?

 

[Alison C]

I was recently pinged by a recruiter who found me on LinkedIn and have been offered an interview for an entry-level paralegal position in a midsized firm, X, next week. They know I am a future trainee solicitor at another midsized firm, Y, and what my start date is going to be. Coincidentally, I was also offered a training contract at firm X but decided to turn them down for firm Y as it offered a more convenient (sooner) start date.

What kind of questions am I likely to be asked at interview? Will they be competency based? Because I applied through a recruiter and had no idea who firm X were until the interview was offered, could that affect their line of questioning?

The job is going to be in a field of law that I have only studied as part of an elective module on the LPC. Would it be likely for firm X to ask questions about it?

Can you ask the recruiter to guide you? It's in their best interests to send suitable, prepared candidates so the least you can expect is a job description which you can spend some time researching. If you can figure out what skills are needed and how these fit with your experience, you can figure out where the gaps may be. Maybe they can point you towards some prep suggestions.

The firm, as with any role, want to feel they've hired the best person for the job.

 

[James Carrabino]

I was recently pinged by a recruiter who found me on LinkedIn and have been offered an interview for an entry-level paralegal position in a midsized firm, X, next week. They know I am a future trainee solicitor at another midsized firm, Y, and what my start date is going to be. Coincidentally, I was also offered a training contract at firm X but decided to turn them down for firm Y as it offered a more convenient (sooner) start date.

What kind of questions am I likely to be asked at interview? Will they be competency based? Because I applied through a recruiter and had no idea who firm X were until the interview was offered, could that affect their line of questioning?

The job is going to be in a field of law that I have only studied as part of an elective module on the LPC. Would it be likely for firm X to ask questions about it?

My guess is you will get at least a question or two on the area of law they want you to work in - they won't expect much knowledge from you but will probably want to see that you have at least some interest in the role.

Otherwise, I am personally inclined to think that it will be less competency-based than VS/TC interviews, simply because they have reached out to you and know that you have already jumped through all those hoops to secure your TC.

You may get asked how you see their position fitting in with your career goals and what you may be able to bring to the job. Obviously they reached out to you first but I wouldn't be surprised if there are some motivational questions with regard to the firm and the role in order to make sure that you are taking the interview seriously.

 

[lawgirl101]

I just finished a 6 month stint at a law firm as an IP paralegal where they knew I had a training contract secured elsewhere. Due to having my TC secured I had the feel the interviewers felt as if my TC employers had done the groundwork for them so they knew I was already 'good enough' and were just trying to find out how suitable I was for the firm. My questions were mostly how my experience makes me suitable for the role as well as asking me a technical IP question. I just said things like wanting to gain more experience in different fields of the law before starting my TC where I may sit in a similar seat or work with similar clients etc. The interview was not hard at all so good luck!

 

[TC fiend]

I recently interviewed for a new role (which I've just started) and there was also no job spec. Though the role was similar to my last role, the questions were more asking some situational judgment questions ("what would you do if you couldn't reach the senior associate on this matter and you had a deadline the next day?"), and some general questions ("what will you bring to the team?"). As always, just know your CV in and out. Practice some answers re general motivations and what is drawing you to their firm.