paralegal interview- tips?

LuLa

Star Member
Future Trainee
Nov 28, 2019
38
79
Hey guys,

I have a paralegal interview tomorrow for a firm's banking department.
I have never done a paralegal interview before and im a bit lost as to how to prep.
eg how technical/motivational are they?
If any of you have any tips/suggestions id be very happy to take them on.
 

D95

Valued Member
Premium Member
Sep 17, 2019
112
406
From my experience, it hugely depends on the firm/company, however questions are generally focused on your experience (virtually every single one of my paralegal interviews started with "Please tell me about your previous experience") . I would also expect a number of situational judgment questions, i.e. how would you react if XYZ happened, have you ever dealt with a stressful situation and how you overcame it, etc.

I don't know how experienced you are in the banking area, but I would get my head around the basic topics at the very least to have a solid understanding of what you might be required to do as a paralegal.

Normally there would be also questions about your plans for the future (because sometimes they are looking for career paralegals), but seeing that you are already a Future Trainee I think it would be pretty self-explanatory so they know that you want to work for them only for a fixed-term.

I generally find paralegal interviews much more relaxed than TC/VS ones (although I may be biased, because I work in-house and it is a totally different, more informal setting).

I hope that the above helps, good luck! :)
 
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Tcapplicant

Legendary Member
Jan 9, 2019
137
179
The best advice I can give is unless specifically asked or the prerequisite is experience they should not expect you to have lots of knowledge on banking - if you can scrub up on certain areas that's an added bonus.
However my main advice is show a willingness to learn. That's what they want from you, that you will be able to do the role and do the role well because you pick things up fast, are eager, ask questions when you don't understand and have a positive attitude.
Be yourself and be personable. I am sure you will do well.
Let me know if you have any more questions.
 
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ComplianceChange

Legendary Member
May 16, 2019
169
421
Some basic tips,

Have a genuine interest and willingness to learn about the area- it will be obvious if you're faking it. Generally the three interviews I've had for paralegal roles have been very conversational. By conversational I mean that we have needed up discussing the area of law broadly and about developments and recent issues that have affected it.

You need to seem happy to do mundane work, because a lot of it will be. So just be willing to learn and interested in that learning.

You also need to be a genuine person, who is likeable and reliable. These are all very simple things- I know it's hard to relax but try not to stress too much.
 
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