Is there an interview on your horizon? If so, make sure take a common sense approach to making a good impression by utilizing three essential P’s: preparedness, positive attitude and professionalism.
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Interview Tips
Going into an interview there are some things you can control and others you cannot. You cannot control how much or what type of experience you have. You cannot control your prior educational background or work history.
Borrowing from the Boy Scout motto, a job applicant should always be prepared heading into an interview. You’ve worked hard on your resume, networking, and chasing job leads and now you are faced with your first interview for the position – don’t blow it due to your lack of preparedness.
This is not an illusive way of blogging about how to deflect work – it is actually about the consumption of alcohol in public.
Tendering your resignation is awkward at best and can get downright ugly in some situations. Whether you are leaving for money, career advancement or personality differences – offering a polite, professional resignation is always the best course of action.
Although sometimes a move is necessary solely for career advancement, it is more common for people to consider new employment due to some negative experience with their current employer. However, it is never a good idea to dwell on this too much in an interview.
Going into an interview there are some things you can control and others you cannot. You cannot control how much or what type of experience you have. You cannot control your prior educational background or work history.
Most people say “um,” “like” or some other sort of filler word when they speak. It’s just a way to fill time while we craft our speech in our heads (or it is just a bad habit).
In the job search context, bad news can come in many forms. While news that may seem bad is often just a statement of reality, it still can sting. The key is to understand how it will be perceived by the audience so the delivery can tempered appropriately.
This warmer weather has a lot people thinking about our national pastime. Some would say the national pastime over the past few years has been finding employment, but historically we are talking about the country’s passion for baseball! In fact, there are similarities between the two.
When applying for a legal job, undoubtedly there will be a lot of other attorneys who are also applying for the same position. There are several ways to stand out.
This was a post from several years ago, but in reviewing the old posts, the exact same thing holds true – that I’ve received only four messages of thanks from people who I have met with or helped.
The decision to switch firms or go in house is often a difficult one to make. You know what your colleagues at your current firm are capable of (for good or for bad) and you are pretty comfortable there. But you know something is missing.
The vast majority of resumes we see are consistent with the way most of us were taught to write a resume – provide a chronological summary of your employment history and education. There is nothing incorrect about this format but is it really your best tool for marketing yourself to a potential employer?
Every law firm or company has aspects that are less than desirable for some people. In fact, this may be the reason that someone is considering a move. However, it is never a good to dwell on this too much in an interview.
It seems like such a simple concept but it is one that frequently gets lost in the hiring process: understanding the other side’s needs. Whether it is the employer or job candidate, both sides tend to focus a little too much on their own needs and not addressing what the other side wants.
Do you have an upcoming interview? If so, make sure take a common sense approach to making a good impression by utilizing three essential P’s: preparedness, positive attitude and professionalism. There won’t be much you can add to your skills and experience prior to the interview but you can control how prepared you are coming into the interview, the attitude you convey, and your appearance and demeanor.
Attorneys are generally conservative by nature when it comes describing their practice. Whether it is the idea of promoting your skills and abilities or the potential value of your practice, most attorneys will take a modest approach. Yes, managing expectations is important but being too conservative can really be to your detriment.
While it may be impossible to literally prepare for any and all interview questions or scenarios, you should do your best based on available information and at least be mentally prepared for the rest.
With an upcoming interview, your first priority is to do your homework. Thoroughly review the job description, any available information about the firm or company posted on the web, and bios on the people key to the job and interview process. You should also review your own resume and any supporting material you provided so you are ready to address specific questions about the material you provided. These are things within your preparedness control and the employer often is aware of it, which means your interview process could end quickly if you are not up to speed on easily accessed information.
The trickier part of interviewing is preparing for questions or scenarios for which you have no or limited access to information or control. This might be a case study posed to you by an interviewer regarding something you may or may not have experienced in the past. It might be dealing with a quirky interviewer who keeps going off-point during the interview. While you may not be able to prepare a well thought out response for everything, you can prepare for how you respond in terms of your demeanor. The key is to anticipate difficult questions or scenarios mentally so you are not completely caught off-guard when one comes your way. Often times, the interviewer is not as interested in the answer itself, but how you process information and your composure in responding.
Congratulations! You have just received a job offer and are poised to make a great career move. You are excited to transition your practice to the new firm and have given notice to your current firm that you will be leaving. Unfortunately, conflicts haven’t been cleared with your new firm and, if there is an insurmountable conflict, you are going to be left without a job. That’s a big mistake. Don’t give your notice too soon. It is a pitfall that far too many attorneys ignore.
Client conflicts are rare, but they do occur. The best advice is to wait to give your notice until you have officially cleared conflicts at the new firm. Never give notice until this process has been completed.