Jones Day Interview Tips
- Thread starter gricole
- Start date
- Feb 17, 2018
- 4,695
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I've done a few mock interviews for JD recently. Here's some advice I gave a little while back:
"My interview was very informal and one of my favourites. It was mostly about me, my reasons for law, some competencies and a commercial question. They generally bounced off what I said so it was more like a discussion/debate rather than a box-ticking exercise.
I'd suggest you try fit that style too, you don't want to sound very scripted as you'll quickly lose flow. My interviewers wanted to see personality. So smile and be enthusiastic. Getting out of interview mode is tough I know so the more practice you can do for this one the better.
Really know what Jones Day is about. It's a firm that has a very strong personality - so show your interest in their non-rotational system, that you're entrepreneurial (so you would thrive in the system), that you really value their true partnership/one firm model etc.
Go through your app form/work experience because some questions were based on those. You also want a clear idea of why JD as opposed to other firms you've applied to. They don't want to be just an "option".
Some of the questions I received:
"My interview was very informal and one of my favourites. It was mostly about me, my reasons for law, some competencies and a commercial question. They generally bounced off what I said so it was more like a discussion/debate rather than a box-ticking exercise.
I'd suggest you try fit that style too, you don't want to sound very scripted as you'll quickly lose flow. My interviewers wanted to see personality. So smile and be enthusiastic. Getting out of interview mode is tough I know so the more practice you can do for this one the better.
Really know what Jones Day is about. It's a firm that has a very strong personality - so show your interest in their non-rotational system, that you're entrepreneurial (so you would thrive in the system), that you really value their true partnership/one firm model etc.
Go through your app form/work experience because some questions were based on those. You also want a clear idea of why JD as opposed to other firms you've applied to. They don't want to be just an "option".
Some of the questions I received:
- Why law? Why Jones Day?
- What makes a good lawyer/what skills should they have?
- What you do to relax/on the weekends?
- Where you see yourself in 5 years?
- What do commercial lawyers do?
- Why law and not XYZ?
- Competency questions
- Your strengths and weaknesses
- How does JD compare to competitors/other firm you've applied to.
- I had a question on the financial crisis (although this came from something I said in the interview)
- What do you think of the Greek crisis (based on what was going on at the time, more likely to be Brexit now if it comes up)"
- Why law and not XYZ?
Jaysen, how would you approach the 'Why law and not XYZ' question especially if you have a non-law background? I see politics and law as so interlinked that they are essentially the two sides of the same coin. Thus, they aren't mutually exclusive and I don't want to rule out politics as a potential career field following my retirement from the law.
- Feb 17, 2018
- 4,695
- 8,577
Presumably you are studying politics? Even if you may go into politics in the future, it would help to clarify why you chose law for now. The starting point may be to think the differences between a career in politics and a career in commercial law. You can then use your experiences to justify you answer.
