I’m writing this post because this feed has genuinely been a saviour this application season. I felt so seen and understood.
My biggest tip for interviews:
Commercial:
1. Always speak in terms of the client. (The best way is to imagine you are that client…. What would you want out of your lawyer. That’s your starting point for any suggestion)
2. Give the pros and cons of every approach for the client. Why approach 1 suits the clients values and expectations more than 2. Why this approach would give the client what they want.
3. When they grill you…. AND THEY WILL…. If you feel uncertain or you get to the answer they are pushing you towards… ASK WHY? Why this is the best approach considering xyz for the client.
Let me give you an example,
In one assessment centre, we were discussing the different funding options for the client.m
- Our client was dealing with a Heads of Terms required the full payment on completion.
- Thus, our client needed to have a guarantee that they had the funds to pay the full price before anything is signed.
Q. How would they guarantee they have the funds? And how is the best way for them to raise these funds?
A: get a loan from a bank
My answer: debt (Bond) or equity (IPO) financing.
My answer wasn’t actually incorrect, but it wasn’t the best thing for our client at the time. They made me think about getting a guarantee from the bank and taking out loan and once I got to the answer, I thought…. Wouldn’t they have to pay high interest then?? Equity is better for this deal.
So, I asked. I said given that the bank loan would carry a high interest rate wouldn’t it better be better for our clients to do equity financing for that reason? And then this led to a discussion where they taught me and debated the pros and cons.
Outcome: the partner gave an amazing review. I showed that I was curious, open to learn and easy to teach. Qualities you can’t show from previous experience… you have to prove it.
I genuinely think this conversation was why I got a congratulatory email from the partner weeks after I interviewed and found out the outcome. They personally emailed saying that they were excited to have me on board.
HR/ motivation/ competency:
- TREAT THEM AS A NEW FRIEND YOU ARE GETTING TO KNOW.
- this builds rapport, makes you seem approachable and lessens tension ( we started talking about mutual interests).
- Prepare ideas and not responses. For example think about different experiences that can be applied to different questions and just remember the facts of these experiences and what they taught you but do not write a full answer to any interview question you can practice saying them out loud but do not write them out. This will make you sound so natural but reflective!!