Clyde & Co VI

zidoeslaw

Star Member
Aug 17, 2021
27
24
Hi everyone!

I have a strength-based Virtual Interview with Clyde & Co coming up soon but I have no idea what strenth-based questions are and I'm trying my best to prepare.

Could someone give me good examples or perhaps good resources?

Thank you! :)
 

George Maxwell

Administrator
Gold Member
Premium Member
Junior Lawyer 50
Oct 25, 2021
552
1,084
Hi @zidoeslaw,

Congratulations on getting to the interview stage! That's a huge achievement.

So I was unfamiliar with what "strength-based interviews" meant too. I do not think any of the firms that I interviewed with used this terminology when I was applying. After a quick google search, I found this lawcareers.net article. I think that some strength-based questions are what I would call competency questions (i.e., tell me about a time...). They also seem to be scenario-based (i.e., what would you do in X situation). Finally they can be simple and direct: "what is your biggest strength/weakness?" or "how would your friends describe you?".

I will tag other members of the team to see if they can shed any further light on this.

@AvniD @James Carrabino @Jessica Booker @WillkieGemma
 
  • Like
Reactions: AvniD, zidoeslaw and S30

zidoeslaw

Star Member
Aug 17, 2021
27
24
Hi @zidoeslaw,

Congratulations on getting to the interview stage! That's a huge achievement.

So I was unfamiliar with what "strength-based interviews" meant too. I do not think any of the firms that I interviewed with used this terminology when I was applying. After a quick google search, I found this lawcareers.net article. I think that some strength-based questions are what I would call competency questions (i.e., tell me about a time...). They also seem to be scenario-based (i.e., what would you do in X situation). Finally they can be simple and direct: "what is your biggest strength/weakness?" or "how would your friends describe you?".

I will tag other members of the team to see if they can shed any further light on this.

@AvniD @James Carrabino @Jessica Booker @WillkieGemma
Thanks George! That's very helpful, I'll have a look :)
 
  • 🏆
Reactions: George Maxwell

AvniD

Legendary Member
Future Trainee
Gold Member
Premium Member
Oct 25, 2021
1,127
2,095
Hi everyone!

I have a strength-based Virtual Interview with Clyde & Co coming up soon but I have no idea what strenth-based questions are and I'm trying my best to prepare.

Could someone give me good examples or perhaps good resources?

Thank you! :)
Congratulations- such great news! 🥳 I think @George Maxwell has done a great job at breaking down what strength-based interviews are. I would highly recommend checking out TCLA's question bank to practice with- I used these myself while I was making applications and genuinely found them so helpful.

When answering strength-based questions, make sure that you state your strength/result, how you got to developing/achieving it, what your biggest challenges were and how you overcame them. This will help with producing rounded, structured answers that you can add more detail to as appropriate 💪

Let us know if we can help in any other way! All the best! 😊
 
  • Like
Reactions: George Maxwell

zidoeslaw

Star Member
Aug 17, 2021
27
24
Congratulations- such great news! 🥳 I think @George Maxwell has done a great job at breaking down what strength-based interviews are. I would highly recommend checking out TCLA's question bank to practice with- I used these myself while I was making applications and genuinely found them so helpful.

When answering strength-based questions, make sure that you state your strength/result, how you got to developing/achieving it, what your biggest challenges were and how you overcame them. This will help with producing rounded, structured answers that you can add more detail to as appropriate 💪

Let us know if we can help in any other way! All the best! 😊
Thank you so much for the link! I will definitely have a look at it! I am preparing answers before I do it on Monday, and I am struggling a bit with the question "what's your biggest weakness". My current idea is to state a weakness, but how I make sure to tackle it ! I still have to pick which weakness though :')
 

George Maxwell

Administrator
Gold Member
Premium Member
Junior Lawyer 50
Oct 25, 2021
552
1,084
Congratulations- such great news! 🥳 I think @George Maxwell has done a great job at breaking down what strength-based interviews are. I would highly recommend checking out TCLA's question bank to practice with- I used these myself while I was making applications and genuinely found them so helpful.

When answering strength-based questions, make sure that you state your strength/result, how you got to developing/achieving it, what your biggest challenges were and how you overcame them. This will help with producing rounded, structured answers that you can add more detail to as appropriate 💪

Let us know if we can help in any other way! All the best! 😊

Thank you so much for the link! I will definitely have a look at it! I am preparing answers before I do it on Monday, and I am struggling a bit with the question "what's your biggest weakness". My current idea is to state a weakness, but how I make sure to tackle it ! I still have to pick which weakness though :')
Thanks @AvniD. Your point about linking it back to yourself and 'rounding off' the answer is very important too. Giving your answers a clear structure (e.g., the STAR technique) will make them much easier to follow for your interviewers (and for you too!).

@zidoeslaw, apologies if this answer is coming too late(!), however, my advice is to give an actual weakness (albeit one which demonstrates something positive), rather than one which is just extremely negative (i.e., I am hopeless at X attribute which is essential to being a commercial lawyer). I was actually picked up in one of my interviews for giving a "false" weakness, i.e., one which isn't really a weakness (it may have been being a perfectionist but I forget exactly what it was!). I think a lot of interviewers appreciate that it takes bravery to show vulnerability in an interview.

It is important to remember that your interviewers are not perfect and will have weaknesses too!

I really hope that the interview goes ok. Let us know :)
 
Reactions: AvniD

WillkieGemma

Valued Member
Graduate Recruitment
Nov 4, 2021
106
286
Congratulations- such great news! 🥳 I think @George Maxwell has done a great job at breaking down what strength-based interviews are. I would highly recommend checking out TCLA's question bank to practice with- I used these myself while I was making applications and genuinely found them so helpful.

When answering strength-based questions, make sure that you state your strength/result, how you got to developing/achieving it, what your biggest challenges were and how you overcame them. This will help with producing rounded, structured answers that you can add more detail to as appropriate 💪

Let us know if we can help in any other way! All the best! 😊
I agree with @AvniD - @George Maxwell has done a great job explaining !
 

Alison C

Legendary Member
Gold Member
Premium Member
Forum Winner
  • Nov 27, 2019
    179
    423

    AvniD

    Legendary Member
    Future Trainee
    Gold Member
    Premium Member
    Oct 25, 2021
    1,127
    2,095
    For strengths-based assessment questions, do you think we need to link these strengths back to the firm at the end of each one?
    It wouldn't make sense to do that in my mind unless there was some obvious correlation there. What have you felt about this while answering strengths-based questions? Do your answers feel incomplete unless you link them back to the firm?
     
    • Like
    Reactions: anon123456789

    Jessica Booker

    Legendary Member
    TCLA Moderator
    Gold Member
    Graduate Recruitment
    Premium Member
    Forum Team
    Aug 1, 2019
    13,342
    19,157
    For strengths-based assessment questions, do you think we need to link these strengths back to the firm at the end of each one?
    If the firm is asking you to evidence your abilities/experiences of a specific strength, then no, there is no need to do this. If they are asking you about your personal strengths (eg leaving it to you to identify the specific strengths you personally have and not telling you which strengths to evidence), then you could link it back to the firm but if you do keep it really brief/succinct. The question is about you, not about the firm and therefore the focus has to be on your experiences.
     

    anon123456789

    Valued Member
  • Oct 25, 2021
    121
    346
    It wouldn't make sense to do that in my mind unless there was some obvious correlation there. What have you felt about this while answering strengths-based questions? Do your answers feel incomplete unless you link them back to the firm?
    Thank you! This is a really good point, I just find that the 'relate your answers back to the firm' is always something that is emphasised but I often feel like it is awkward to do so in strengths-based questions.
     

    anon123456789

    Valued Member
  • Oct 25, 2021
    121
    346
    If the firm is asking you to evidence your abilities/experiences of a specific strength, then no, there is no need to do this. If they are asking you about your personal strengths (eg leaving it to you to identify the specific strengths you personally have and not telling you which strengths to evidence), then you could link it back to the firm but if you do keep it really brief/succinct. The question is about you, not about the firm and therefore the focus has to be on your experiences.
    That's really helpful, thank you Jessica :)
     

    AvniD

    Legendary Member
    Future Trainee
    Gold Member
    Premium Member
    Oct 25, 2021
    1,127
    2,095
    Thank you! This is a really good point, I just find that the 'relate your answers back to the firm' is always something that is emphasised but I often feel like it is awkward to do so in strengths-based questions.
    I'd say go with your gut on this- If you feel awkward doing it I'm sure it's for a reason! You are an individual with a life and personality beyond training contract applications and not every strength of yours is going to be related to this process or the firms you apply to. Like @Jessica Booker said there are ways to link your strengths to the firm, but making sure it's concise, relevant and fits in well with the rest of your answer is important.
     

    anon123456789

    Valued Member
  • Oct 25, 2021
    121
    346
    I'd say go with your gut on this- If you feel awkward doing it I'm sure it's for a reason! You are an individual with a life and personality beyond training contract applications and not every strength of yours is going to be related to this process or the firms you apply to. Like @Jessica Booker said there are ways to link your strengths to the firm, but making sure it's concise, relevant and fits in well with the rest of your answer is important.
    It's so reassuring to hear that, thank you! I think its so easy to stress about these things in applications season 🤣
     

    AvniD

    Legendary Member
    Future Trainee
    Gold Member
    Premium Member
    Oct 25, 2021
    1,127
    2,095
    It's so reassuring to hear that, thank you! I think its so easy to stress about these things in applications season 🤣
    You are not alone! I think as aspiring lawyers, one of our best traits is our attention to detail but the drawback of this is that we can obsess over details to the point where it stresses us out. If you feel this is happening again (and understandably so- this process can be very stressful!), please do reach out and share your thoughts here so that we can support you 😇 You've got this!
     
    • Love
    Reactions: anon123456789

    About Us

    The Corporate Law Academy (TCLA) was founded in 2018 because we wanted to improve the legal journey. We wanted more transparency and better training. We wanted to form a community of aspiring lawyers who care about becoming the best version of themselves.

    Newsletter

    Discover the most relevant business news, access our law firm analysis, and receive our best advice for aspiring lawyers.