I know I’ve practically taken over this forum today but quick question for a panicking human 😂😂
I’ve just recorded myself answering “why do you want to work for x firm”
It came up to 6mins 10 seconds.
Would this come across as me yapping on? How long should you spend answering a question?
If I smile and console the poor partner that I’m nearly finished talking would that make it better? 😭
Would my answer to “why do you want to be a commercial lawyer” be short than the former
I watched it back and I thought I did a pretty good job would offered myself the TC tbh…
I think it really depends on the interview and who is interviewing you and if your answer catches your interviewers' attention. For these reasons it is quite difficult to tell how many minutes you should dedicate to an answer.
What I recommend is always follow the vibe of the interview and of your interviewers, if you feel like they are quite interested in what you are saying I would keep talking, if not, then find a way to stop yourself and wait for them to ask you more questions on what you are saying.
6 minutes seems like a long time for an answer but then again we are not listening to you in real life, it might be that you are so engaging that it is a pleasure to listen to you and what you have to say.
As a standard rule, I would say to stick to the 3 minutes rule so that you will never be wrong and let them ask you more questions if they are interested in what you are saying/describing or talking about. I think this should make you feel a little more tranquil when you answer because you know you are not talking too much or too little, and if interested, they can ask you more questions.
Personally, I feel like I used to take 3,5 to 5,5 minutes for the why law section and I always followed the sensation the interviewers were giving me and it always worked out for me.
Good luck with your interviews !!