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Aspiring Lawyers - Interviews & Vacation Schemes
Interviews Discussion
James's Weekly Interview Insights
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<blockquote data-quote="James Carrabino" data-source="post: 115424" data-attributes="member: 16764"><p><strong><u>Week 6 - Improving Between Interviews</u></strong></p><p></p><p>For the final instalment of my thread on 'Weekly Interview Insights' I thought it was important to discuss how I took lessons that I learnt from interviews and applied them to my preparation going forward, so that I could improve before the next interview. Being self-reflective is incredibly important during the interview process, because it enables you to rapidly discover what works and what does not.</p><p></p><p>First of all, I am going to focus this post primarily on interviews, but many of the same principles apply to video interviews, case studies, group exercises and written exercises as well. In relation to video interviews specifically, I would invite you to review my <a href="https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/forum/threads/jamess-weekly-interview-insights.5197/post-109375" target="_blank">first post</a> in this thread. I explain that I was unsuccessful with a video interview for a firm and was offered the opportunity for feedback, which I duly took on board and was successful in my next VI with the firm. In relation to case studies and/or group exercises, reflect on how well you were able to address your key points and make concise conclusions from them, and with written exercises, just continue to practise writing and making arguments in as clear a way as possible. Think about the kind of issues you addressed in your previous written exercises and be prepared to possibly address similar issues in subsequent ones.</p><p></p><p></p><p>For <strong>actual interviews</strong>, you should take as much time for self-reflection as you need after each one. I found that the majority of the time (but not always), I was able to successfully predict how my interview had gone. I had a sense for whether I had built rapport with my interviewers and whether they had given positive reactions to the comments I made, or whether they acted as if I had not quite answered their questions or they were not particularly interested in my answers.</p><p></p><p>Usually, this is as good as you are going to get in terms of insight as to how you did in an interview - it will come down to that intangible self-reflection of your performance that gives you an inkling of whether you will pass to the next stage. Think about the times where you felt that an answer had not gone down as well as you would have hoped, or where perhaps you wished you had mentioned something that you did not, and make note of them.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Indeed, there are some tangible things that you can do after an interview which will help you get yourself ready for the next one. I have compiled a list of steps you should take in the aftermath of an interview, starting with those which you should do within the hours directly after the interview and moving onto those that you can think about closer to your next interview:</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Make a note of every question you got asked right after your interview<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I always made sure to do this, especially for any questions that were tricky or caught me off guard. It is great to use resources like TCLA's <a href="https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/175-training-contract-interview-questions-2/" target="_blank">training contract interview questions</a> but I also found it really helpful to build up my own list of questions that I had actually been asked, because then I was able to make note of what I actually answered!</li> </ul></li> </ul><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Make a note of your answers and how you thought your answers were taken by the interviewers<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The benefit of noting down all the questions that you were asked is not only so that you can prepare for the same questions arising in future interviews. By doing this, you are also able to reflect on how comfortable you felt giving your answer (did it come naturally, or did it feel like you were searching for an answer in a panic on the spot?) and how well this answer was received. I would note down all the questions asked and the answers I gave, with a note next to each one as to whether or not I thought my answer was good enough to use again. Obviously this is not fool-proof as I may have thought some answers were great which the interviewers didn't, but on the whole I think that we tend to have a fairly good sense for these things.</li> </ul></li> </ul><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Note down where rapport was good<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">This is another area where you can assess what 'worked' in your interview. This is more general and comes down to which topic of conversation made things very natural for you and your interviewers, and which aspects of your background did the interviewers take particular interest in? Having an idea of these things can help you to direct the conversation towards such topics in future, where it is natural to do so.</li> </ul></li> </ul><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Give yourself general feedback<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Bearing in mind the above points, jot down some notes with overall feedback for your own performance in the interview. After doing this, begin considering which areas of your commercial knowledge you need to brush up on, or which aspects of your motivations you think you need to express more clearly. Perhaps spend more time thinking about good competency examples from your past, if you think that that is the area where you need to improve. This exercise can be really helpful to consolidate your interview preparation and build on it for the next one!</li> </ul></li> </ul><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Get feedback if you can, whether from grad rec or anyone else you interacted with<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Finally, this is the best way to find out how you <em>actually</em> did in the interview. Even if you are successful in a vac scheme interview, then I would recommend asking for feedback so that you can apply it in advance of your final TC interview - many firms will oblige you. Not all feedback will be incredibly insightful, but it will usually point you towards the general things you need to work on and this can be incredibly helpful if you did not identify some of these areas in your self-reflection.</li> </ul></li> </ul><p></p><p>Finally, gain confidence from the past interviews you have done, whether or not they were successful. Practice makes perfect and once you know that you are at least able to hold your own in an interview environment, you will be able to loosen up for future interviews and start thinking about how to refine the answers you have given and make them more eloquent. Experience will help you stay relaxed, which will allow you to think more clearly on the spot and build up a dialogue with your interviewers.</p><p></p><p></p><p>I hope that this is helpful along with the rest of my posts in this thread! I really enjoy being able to provide my insights from a very difficult application process of my own, and in concluding this thread I hope that I have addressed many of your concerns about interviews.</p><p></p><p>Please reach out if you have any queries, and look out for a new thread of mine in the future 😊</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="James Carrabino, post: 115424, member: 16764"] [B][U]Week 6 - Improving Between Interviews[/U][/B] For the final instalment of my thread on 'Weekly Interview Insights' I thought it was important to discuss how I took lessons that I learnt from interviews and applied them to my preparation going forward, so that I could improve before the next interview. Being self-reflective is incredibly important during the interview process, because it enables you to rapidly discover what works and what does not. First of all, I am going to focus this post primarily on interviews, but many of the same principles apply to video interviews, case studies, group exercises and written exercises as well. In relation to video interviews specifically, I would invite you to review my [URL='https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/forum/threads/jamess-weekly-interview-insights.5197/post-109375']first post[/URL] in this thread. I explain that I was unsuccessful with a video interview for a firm and was offered the opportunity for feedback, which I duly took on board and was successful in my next VI with the firm. In relation to case studies and/or group exercises, reflect on how well you were able to address your key points and make concise conclusions from them, and with written exercises, just continue to practise writing and making arguments in as clear a way as possible. Think about the kind of issues you addressed in your previous written exercises and be prepared to possibly address similar issues in subsequent ones. For [B]actual interviews[/B], you should take as much time for self-reflection as you need after each one. I found that the majority of the time (but not always), I was able to successfully predict how my interview had gone. I had a sense for whether I had built rapport with my interviewers and whether they had given positive reactions to the comments I made, or whether they acted as if I had not quite answered their questions or they were not particularly interested in my answers. Usually, this is as good as you are going to get in terms of insight as to how you did in an interview - it will come down to that intangible self-reflection of your performance that gives you an inkling of whether you will pass to the next stage. Think about the times where you felt that an answer had not gone down as well as you would have hoped, or where perhaps you wished you had mentioned something that you did not, and make note of them. Indeed, there are some tangible things that you can do after an interview which will help you get yourself ready for the next one. I have compiled a list of steps you should take in the aftermath of an interview, starting with those which you should do within the hours directly after the interview and moving onto those that you can think about closer to your next interview: [LIST] [*]Make a note of every question you got asked right after your interview [LIST] [*]I always made sure to do this, especially for any questions that were tricky or caught me off guard. It is great to use resources like TCLA's [URL='https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/175-training-contract-interview-questions-2/']training contract interview questions[/URL] but I also found it really helpful to build up my own list of questions that I had actually been asked, because then I was able to make note of what I actually answered! [/LIST] [/LIST] [LIST] [*]Make a note of your answers and how you thought your answers were taken by the interviewers [LIST] [*]The benefit of noting down all the questions that you were asked is not only so that you can prepare for the same questions arising in future interviews. By doing this, you are also able to reflect on how comfortable you felt giving your answer (did it come naturally, or did it feel like you were searching for an answer in a panic on the spot?) and how well this answer was received. I would note down all the questions asked and the answers I gave, with a note next to each one as to whether or not I thought my answer was good enough to use again. Obviously this is not fool-proof as I may have thought some answers were great which the interviewers didn't, but on the whole I think that we tend to have a fairly good sense for these things. [/LIST] [/LIST] [LIST] [*]Note down where rapport was good [LIST] [*]This is another area where you can assess what 'worked' in your interview. This is more general and comes down to which topic of conversation made things very natural for you and your interviewers, and which aspects of your background did the interviewers take particular interest in? Having an idea of these things can help you to direct the conversation towards such topics in future, where it is natural to do so. [/LIST] [/LIST] [LIST] [*]Give yourself general feedback [LIST] [*]Bearing in mind the above points, jot down some notes with overall feedback for your own performance in the interview. After doing this, begin considering which areas of your commercial knowledge you need to brush up on, or which aspects of your motivations you think you need to express more clearly. Perhaps spend more time thinking about good competency examples from your past, if you think that that is the area where you need to improve. This exercise can be really helpful to consolidate your interview preparation and build on it for the next one! [/LIST] [/LIST] [LIST] [*]Get feedback if you can, whether from grad rec or anyone else you interacted with [LIST] [*]Finally, this is the best way to find out how you [I]actually[/I] did in the interview. Even if you are successful in a vac scheme interview, then I would recommend asking for feedback so that you can apply it in advance of your final TC interview - many firms will oblige you. Not all feedback will be incredibly insightful, but it will usually point you towards the general things you need to work on and this can be incredibly helpful if you did not identify some of these areas in your self-reflection. [/LIST] [/LIST] Finally, gain confidence from the past interviews you have done, whether or not they were successful. Practice makes perfect and once you know that you are at least able to hold your own in an interview environment, you will be able to loosen up for future interviews and start thinking about how to refine the answers you have given and make them more eloquent. Experience will help you stay relaxed, which will allow you to think more clearly on the spot and build up a dialogue with your interviewers. I hope that this is helpful along with the rest of my posts in this thread! I really enjoy being able to provide my insights from a very difficult application process of my own, and in concluding this thread I hope that I have addressed many of your concerns about interviews. Please reach out if you have any queries, and look out for a new thread of mine in the future 😊 [/QUOTE]
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