CMS Video Interview

Harvey

Distinguished Member
Nov 11, 2018
53
199
Hi, just received the news that I have been invited for CMS Academy Video Interview. Was wondering if anyone had any insight into video interviews in general?

  • What type of questions should I expect?
  • How do you act in a video interview?
  • Any other tips for preparation?

If you have CMS-specific knowledge ever better!!

Thank you
 

Shahil

Star Member
Dec 11, 2018
26
42
Hi Harvey,

I recently did a CMS video interview for the CMS First Steps programme (for first years). These were the questions I remember they asked me (not exact wording just something along these lines)

1) Something general about what would you do when confronted with a difficulty in your work.
2) What differentiates CMS from our competitors
3) Describe a situation where you faced a problem and had to use extensive communication to deal with it.
4) Imagine you think you will struggle with meeting a deadline for a piece work a partner set you. What do you do?

I would recommend firstly practicing answering questions in the 1 minute they allow as I found this difficult! Make sure you don't spend too much time waffling on one point and neglecting/rushing others. Practice whilst looking at a camera as I found this slightly distracting in mine.
Think about some examples beforehand and ones for specific skills! I had thought of one example previously but was caught off guard by the question asking for a situation specifically using communication.
For the competitor question I spoke about their innovative approach with things like CMS by design, their in-house innovation hub. If I had more time and preparation I would have maybe discussed the vision of their 3-way merger and perhaps named their specific competitors in specific practice areas.

Good luck :) generally if you prepare for it well I think it will go smoothly.
 

Mohammed

Star Member
Junior Lawyer
Oct 30, 2018
37
46
Hi,

So I did the video interview last week. It consists of 4 question. You are given 1 minute thinking time and 1 minute to answer.

The questions were a mix of competency, strength and motivational questions. The questions are different for every time so I would prepare for general competencies, strengths, why (commericial) law and why CMS. If you do research and draft answers, that would go a long way. However, be cautious with this and DO NOT just memorise and read off a script. Make it natural. One way I did this was by using virtual post it notes on the computer screen (you can download apps online or from the stores). I wrote key words (only a few) for the points I was going to make during the thinking time and since it was next to the camera, it did not look like I was looking away. Other people use physical post it notes instead or even normal paper on the side, so choose whatever method you find comfortable. Practicing this first, would help.

Do the interview somewhere quiet that you won't be disturbed. Make sure the background is clear and the room has good lighting. Make the background as professional as possible.

Act natural in a video interview. I realise it is difficult but maintain eye contact by looking at the camera. Be careful to not stare too strongly, so look away occasionally aswell. Make sure to smile. Smile at the start of the recording, and try to hold it if you can. If you can't, then don't worry too much. The important bit is to act natural and remain calm.

Speak loudly and clearly. The time limit can be tight and intimidating but do not talk so fast that the recruiter will not understand you. Additionally, do not waffle and speak extra for the sake of meeting the minute if you do finish the answer under the limit. Just click the stop button. I did do this for one question and believed it was better to than waffling. This all takes PRACTICE.

Dress smartly and make sure your appearence is clean as you would in a physical interview.

For preparation, you should research as you normally would for any interview and practice speaking to the camera. So video record your answers as though you were doing the interview. This will help a lot as you may realise issues with your speech, video quality (camera positioning), timing, appearance etc.

It may seem like a lot to consider when interviewing, but the main thing is to act natural and remain calm.

Best of luck with the interview!
 

Alice G

Legendary Member
Future Trainee
Forum Team
M&A Bootcamp
Nov 26, 2018
1,731
4,183
How quickly do you hear back from CMS? My VI went terribly and I am gutted about it, would love to know my fate sooner rather than later!
 

Alice G

Legendary Member
Future Trainee
Forum Team
M&A Bootcamp
Nov 26, 2018
1,731
4,183
Hi Alice,

Took my video interview on Tuesday, found out the result today! So 3 days total for me!

Good luck!
Hi Harvey,

I hope it was good news for you and best of luck with the rest of your apps! Mine went terribly - I froze in the first question and couldn't recover myself but luckily managed to answer the others. I feel today might be the day but it will probably be a rejection unfortunately! Thank you for letting me know, I really appreciate it :) All the best!
 

rn7

Active Member
Premium Member
Apr 13, 2019
15
20
Hi all,

Thought I'd share my experience with the CMS video interview for this year. Had some technical difficulties, but it went well aside from that. I know it's been said, but make sure you have a stable connection while doing it.

Questions were pretty much as described above - one for motivation (why the firm), two competencies (give an example of X) and one hypothetical (what would you do if you fell behind on a piece of work?). One minute to prepare and one minute to answer.

Good luck to everyone who is yet to take it!

Edit: the interview was for the CMS Academy.
 

mlaw1234

Active Member
Jul 19, 2019
13
6
Hi guys,

I just had a Q in regards to the CMS application. In the Qs

What do you think will be the impact on law firms of the continuing advances in technology over the next few years? (200 words)

What are the key skills and attributes you will need to possess as a future facing lawyer? (200 words)

What do you see as the key drivers of the business of law? (200 words)

Did you relate the Qs back to yourself specifically at all, with any examples?

There isn't a Q for extra curriculars etc so didn't know if it is best to put a bit in about personal experience or not.

Any advice would be appreciated :)
 

Alice G

Legendary Member
Future Trainee
Forum Team
M&A Bootcamp
Nov 26, 2018
1,731
4,183
Hi guys,

I just had a Q in regards to the CMS application. In the Qs

What do you think will be the impact on law firms of the continuing advances in technology over the next few years? (200 words)

What are the key skills and attributes you will need to possess as a future facing lawyer? (200 words)

What do you see as the key drivers of the business of law? (200 words)

Did you relate the Qs back to yourself specifically at all, with any examples?

There isn't a Q for extra curriculars etc so didn't know if it is best to put a bit in about personal experience or not.

Any advice would be appreciated :)

I would say relate the second one to you. Draw on examples that are not in your work exp. They could be examples drawn from your work experience which you mention but try to offer an example you haven’t discussed elsewhere in the app to substantiate the skills you choose and how you exhibit them.

the first and third I would link back to CMS :)

hope this helps!
 
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mlaw1234

Active Member
Jul 19, 2019
13
6
I would say relate the second one to you. Draw on examples that are not in your work exp. They could be examples drawn from your work experience which you mention but try to offer an example you haven’t discussed elsewhere in the app to substantiate the skills you choose and how you exhibit them.

the first and third I would link back to CMS :)

hope this helps!

thank you for your response! That is helpful, thanks very much :)
 
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Reactions: Alice G

bronson

Distinguished Member
Nov 23, 2018
65
112
Hi guys,

I just had a Q in regards to the CMS application. In the Qs

What do you think will be the impact on law firms of the continuing advances in technology over the next few years? (200 words)

What are the key skills and attributes you will need to possess as a future facing lawyer? (200 words)

What do you see as the key drivers of the business of law? (200 words)

Did you relate the Qs back to yourself specifically at all, with any examples?

There isn't a Q for extra curriculars etc so didn't know if it is best to put a bit in about personal experience or not.

Any advice would be appreciated :)

Hey,

I didn’t relate anything back to myself OR the firm and got through. I think they are much more geared towards commercial awareness than the firm or yourself. I guess ‘key skills and attributes you will need to possess’ could warrant some reference to yourself, but I would concentrate on the skills necessary for a future facing lawyer over demonstrating you have them.

Hope that helps!
 
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Reactions: mlaw1234

mlaw1234

Active Member
Jul 19, 2019
13
6
Hey,

I didn’t relate anything back to myself OR the firm and got through. I think they are much more geared towards commercial awareness than the firm or yourself. I guess ‘key skills and attributes you will need to possess’ could warrant some reference to yourself, but I would concentrate on the skills necessary for a future facing lawyer over demonstrating you have them.

Hope that helps!

Thank you that is also a great take on the Qs! Thanks v much!
 

Alice G

Legendary Member
Future Trainee
Forum Team
M&A Bootcamp
Nov 26, 2018
1,731
4,183
Seems both application approaches managed to get over the line in terms of apps so go with what you feel is best for yourself and the word count :) :)
 

Shahil

Star Member
Dec 11, 2018
26
42
Hi guys,

I just had a Q in regards to the CMS application. In the Qs

What do you think will be the impact on law firms of the continuing advances in technology over the next few years? (200 words)

What are the key skills and attributes you will need to possess as a future facing lawyer? (200 words)

What do you see as the key drivers of the business of law? (200 words)

Did you relate the Qs back to yourself specifically at all, with any examples?

There isn't a Q for extra curriculars etc so didn't know if it is best to put a bit in about personal experience or not.

Any advice would be appreciated :)

Hey,

Similarly as Bronson I did not link it back to myself or the firm but got through (this was for the first steps scheme rather than the vacation scheme however). If you have the words to it certianly wouldn't harm your application to mention yourself but I found the word limit too stringent as it was. Mainly I think they are just looking to see you understand the business of law and are commercially aware of the future challenges it faces, and that you can write well and succinctly about them. The video interview was much more about yourself and CMS.
 

Nihal Sandhu

New Member
Jan 20, 2020
2
1
Hi Guys,

I was just wondering how long all of you waited before you found out if you passed the online test stage of the application process. I took my test on the 11th of jan and am still waiting to find out if I passed.
 

Alice10

Active Member
Jan 27, 2019
13
1
I am still waiting to hear back from CMS and I submitted my verbal reasoning test on the 20th of December.... i've emailed them today as it seems like a very long time to wait

I think perhaps they are running out of places on the AC. Or they might just be very inundated with applications at the moment
 

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