Law Students

Top 10 Successful Interviewing Techniques

By Ms. JD

Editor's Note: Ms. JD's annual conference, Avenues to Advancement, was held November 20-21 in Chicago. These are notes from the "Successful Interviewing Techniques" panel. 

At Ms. JD?s recent Avenues to Advancement Conference, held at Northwestern Law School, one of the panels, entitled ?Successful Interviewing Techniques,? brought together five people experienced in the world of interviews to dispense their advice on how to interview well: William Chamberlain, Assistant Dean, Northwestern Law School, and Moderator of the panel; Julie Bailey, Recruiting Manager, Latham & Watkins; Kristina Gajewicz, North American Recruiting Director, Baker & McKenzie; Elizabeth Jolliffe, Career Management and Business Development Coach, Your Benchmark Coach; Rachel Skaistis, Partner, Cravath, Swaine & Moore.  The following list summarizes the top 10 successful interviewing techniques provided by the panelists:

1. Practice interviewing beforehand.  Think about what you can do for the employer.  Record yourself in a simulated interview and review it.
2. Engage in self-assessment.  Identify your relevant values and attributes.  Determine what is important to you.  Delineate a few ?selling points? for yourself.  Have a few ?trigger stories? on hand.
3. Investigate an employer.  Think about why your skills and talents will be a good fit for a particular employer.  Go online (NALP, Vault, individual firm websites)!  Discover who has worked for a particular employer and set up an informational interview with them.  Find out what the firm is known for.  Reach out to past summer associates.
4. Know proper interview etiquette.  Carry yourself well ? know that you are being observed the entire time.  Never underestimate the importance of a handshake and body language.  Keep note-taking to a minimum.  Be careful about your breath!

read more

Full post as published by Ms. JD on December 08, 2009 (boomark / email).