Interviewing Tips
Recruiting season can be a confusing time. There is a whirlwind of activity and little practical guidance on how to prepare for interviews and make one of the most important decisions in your life. We hope these tips — from our associates who have been through the process and lived to tell about it — will help you have a successful recruiting season.
Do your homework. To be fully prepared for an interview, you need to understand the firm, its locations and practice. You don’t want to be talking about your interest in a location or practice area that the firm doesn’t have. (Don’t laugh, it happens frequently). The firm’s Web site is a good starting place for current information. At Foley.com, you can find out all about Foley’s legal practices, industry teams, latest news and developments, and attorney profiles.
Ask around. Law school alumni and summer associates who have actually experienced working at the firm are great sources of candid information about firms. Keep an open mind and evaluate everything carefully. Visit our Alumni Search to see which Foley attorneys graduated from your law school… and shoot them an e-mail if you’d like to ask them any questions.
Know what you want and why you are interested. You are going to work hard wherever you go. Think about what environment you’ll enjoy and where you want to live, and search for a firm that matches those desires. If you can identify these objectives, you’ll sound more focused and prepared during interviews and will gain more meaningful information about the prospective firm.
Get to know your interviewer. You’ll be more relaxed and you’ll enjoy the process more if you ask your interviewer some questions about his or her career goals and accomplishments. Once you know the name of the attorney from Foley with whom you will be interviewing, visit Foley.com's People Search and look up his or her bio so you will know something of his or her background and perspective.
Know your resume. Don’t put anything on your resume that you aren’t confidently prepared to discuss. You don’t want to put yourself in a situation where the interviewer might question your credibility.
Ask about the client base. A firm’s client base determines the work you’ll get. A diverse client base provides a varied professional experience; a limited one can mean high-quantity, low-quality work for new lawyers (and may impact the firm’s long-term stability). Visit Representative Clients to see some of Foley’s big name clients.
Meet as many people as possible. At any firm, there’ll be people you’ll click with and people you won’t. Don’t limit your impressions to two or three. If the firm hasn’t scheduled enough interviews or included people in your area of interest, ask if you can meet more, in person or by phone.
Rely on associates. They’ve been down the same road you’re on, not too long ago, and tend to be candid in their responses. See our list of Recent Hires to find some associates who recently interviewed — and got an offer.
Make it real. Repeating the same corporate platitudes or telling the interviewer what you think he or she wants to hear is boring and doesn’t allow you or the interviewer to learn anything of substance. Interviews are supposed to be a give-and-take process, with both sides participating and learning about the other. Bring the meeting to life by asking your interviewer to describe a matter he or she has worked on, what his or her day is like, why they chose the firm, or other questions you really want to know about. You’ll form a better connection and learn more about the firm.
Look to the future. Ask about the firm’s marketing — what do they do to get their name out there? How does the firm market itself in the community and with its client base? What are the future growth plans for the firm and do they anticipate branching out into new markets? Your goal is to evaluate the potential for the firm to remain successful well into your future.
Expect this question. “Why are you interested in our firm?” Know the answer.
Relax. Be yourself and try to enjoy the process. Don’t just try to make the interviewers like you. Converse rather than wait for the next question. If you’re going to counsel a client, you have to be able to freely and comfortably communicate.
Show confidence. You should be proud of who you are and what you have accomplished.
Keep your eyes open. During a callback interview, observe the interaction between lawyers and staff, partners and associates. Do people look happy? Friendly? Don’t be afraid to toot your own horn.
Follow up. If you think of additional questions after your interview, call or e-mail the interviewer. Follow-up questions show your sincere interest in the firm and help you stand out from other candidates.
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