Tips to Crush Your In-Firm Interviews
As OCIs are underway, many students will be hearing back soon about in-firm interviews. These interviews can be daunting, but there are many ways you can prepare and show up as your best self! The most important thing to remember is to relax and enjoy yourself. This is an extremely abnormal interview process and the outcome says nothing about your intelligence or future success. This structured recruit is just one way to land a job and just because you don’t work at your dream firm as a summer student, it does not mean that you won’t end up working there a few years down the line. Be open to exploring all your options in this process and you may be pleasantly surprised on how things turn out.
The in firm stage is important because this is where you have the time to make a lasting impression on more than one person at the firm. Typically the in firm interviews will be anywhere from 45 mins up to an hour and a half, which means you have to be mentally prepared to talk A LOT. You may not anticipate it, but in firms are extremely draining so make sure to be well rested, well fed, and well prepared. Here are a few practical tips that can help you have an awesome in-firm interview.
1. Nail the ‘Tell me about yourself”.
Undoubtably, you will be asked this question at every interview you have, right off the bat. This question is an amazing opportunity to sell yourself — if done right. A huge mistake that I made was not rehearsing what I was going to say. I thought that ‘I know myself and my story well enough that I can just ad lib it’! Wrong. I wish I realized sooner on how critical it was to have a solid story to tell, and to practice saying it out loud beforehand so I don’t stumble on my words or talk in circles. Of course you don’t want to sound too rehearsed, but being able to start your interview and talk about yourself and your accomplishments confidently will really engage the interviewers and show them that you are prepared.
I recommend practicing your answer out loud! You may think you know in your head what you want to say, but saying it out loud really helps you iron out any kinks before the actual interview. Practice saying it to a friend and get some feedback, or record yourself on phone voicenotes. Listen to it back and critique yourself on where you could improve, and keep repeating your answer until you feel comfortable and can nail it every time.
Your ‘tell me about yourself’ should include your past academic background and mention about 1–2 of our most significant career or professional accomplishments. You want to give the interviewers just enough information to keep them wanting more, and set them up nicely to ask a follow up question on one of your points.
2. Match the interviewers energy.
You will quickly realize that each firm and even the people within each firm differ greatly in energy and demeanor. Some interviewers will be extremely cheery and energetic, while some will be much more serious. Although it is important to be yourself and present as a positive and engaged person, it is also important to match the energy of the interviewer. Take their cue and follow suit, especially with more serious interviewers. It may feel uncomfortable to be overly outgoing and bring in a lot of energy when some interviewers do not reciprocate. I found that the conversations went much smoother when the energy in the room was cohesive. This is not to say that you should dull down your personality, but it is just a reminder that different firms look for different types of students, and not to be discouraged if you feel that your authentic personality doesn’t seem to fit in with a certain firm.
3. Have thoughtful questions prepared.
This is something I wish that I would have spent more time and effort on before interviews. Many firms will give you A LOT of time to ask questions because they want that time to sell themselves to you! So think long and hard about what you actually care about and ask those questions. Although there are some generic questions that still land well and can be a great starting point, try to have at least one question that will stand out and show that you are thoughtful and care about the firm as well as your future.
For example, if you are someone who intends on having kids and a family someday, ask about how lawyers at that firm balance their roles at work and as a parent. If you are interested in a certain area of law, ask about how students can get involved in that area. A question I asked and found very insightful was “what does a successful student or lawyer look like at your firm?”. Interestingly, I got a large variety of answers from different interviewers and it really reflected how each firm measures success and values their employees. Pay close attention to how each firm sells themselves to you and if you feel that your values align. Not only will this help you narrow in on which firms you want to continue giving your energy too, but it will also give you some solace if you end up not moving forward with a firm and realize it probably wasn’t the right fit anyways.
4. Prepare your thank you emails ahead of time.
In all honesty, I have no idea if these emails have any impact on your success as a candidate, but it is proper etiquette and has to get done. DO NOT waste your precious time writing out a bunch of emails from scratch when you are super tired at the end of the day.
To make things easier for yourself, especially if you have multiple interviews, draft a skeleton of your thank you email beforehand. You don’t need to think too long and hard about these emails, just make sure that you: (1) thank the interviewer for their time, (2) remind them of one thing you spoke about, and (3) state your continued interest in the firm (if that is the case). You will already know the interviewers names and firm, so all you have left to do is add in a line or two about something interesting that you spoke about during the interview to remind them of who you are. If there is a firm you really liked and want to continue moving forward with in the interview process, feel free to tell them that and make it quite obvious. They want to know how you feel about them, just as much as you want to know if they liked you. The only thing that you should spend time on is proof reading the emails for any typos or grammar mistakes!
In sum, all you can do at this point is put your best foot forward. The interview process is a numbers game and your success is not defined by the number of interviews you score. Keep your head held high and know that if you don’t land a job through this process, there is something better waiting for you. Be confident and have fun — good luck!
