Previously, we looked at the 5 useful things to do before a legal job interview. Now, let’s move on to a critical question: What is your interviewer (and potential employer) looking for? Understand this, and you’re far more likely to make a good impression! (And, hopefully, to get the job.)

3 Things Every Legal Employer is Looking for in a New Hire

You might think that the most critical skills a legal employer is looking for are the hard ones: legal writing, research, public speaking, etc.

While these are undoubtedly important, employers are really looking for a good fit, trainability, a solid work ethic, ability to get along with others, and other soft skills. Why? Because you can teach the fine points of legal writing more easily than you can teach a lazy person to work hard!

When you interview for a legal job, you want to convey:

1. Enthusiasm. A job interview isn’t the place to play it cool. Every employer wants to feel wanted, so you want to display at least two types of enthusiasm. First, show enthusiasm for being a lawyer. Sure, there are lots of unhappy lawyers out there, but no one wants to hire an unhappy lawyer. Why would you? Life is too short. Even if you have to fake it, try to display some enthusiasm for the legal profession in your interviews. If this is difficult for you, think about times you were able to do good as a lawyer (pro bono work, for example). Connecting to the more noble parts of your professional identity can remind you why you set off down this path to begin with. Second, show some enthusiasm for the job and the organization. (To do this, it’s helpful to research both, of course.) If it’s clear to the interviewer that this particular job wasn’t important enough for you to research, your odds of being hired are low.

1. Humility. As an interviewer, there’s little that’s more annoying than having some clueless law student or young lawyer come in and explain why they’re the greatest thing since sliced bread. There’s a fine art to promoting your strong points without coming off like a total twat. Say, for example, that you argued a motion in a law school clinic, and won. Your interviewer asks about it. You could say something along the lines of, “This was a great experience, and I learned so much about civil procedure and the underlying law. My professor was amazing, as were the classmates who helped me prepare. I’d be happy to talk more about the substantive details of the motion, if you’d like.” This answer makes you look like a team player (always a good thing) and lets the interviewer control the dialogue, by giving them the option to hear more if they’re truly interested. Alternately, you could say, “This was a great experience, and I got to use my highly-developed public speaking skills to convince the judge to rule my way. I decided the key issue in the case was [whatever] and I developed a novel theory of law, which no one had thought of before. Let me tell you about it. {Followed by a lengthy discourse on the substantive law.]” The problem here is that a) I don’t believe you and b) it’s tedious to listen to you drone on about details of a motion that’s already been decided. Own your accomplishments, of course, but tone down the self-aggrandizement and make it clear you’re willing to learn and grow within an organization. 
2. Curiosity. One of the most compelling traits of any good lawyer is genuine curiosity. What’s going to drive you to track down that final witness, or re-read a deposition in the wee hours of the night? Curiosity about the facts. Similarly, curiosity about the law will drive the best legal researchers to track down one final case, or read one more Law Review article. In a legal job interview, display curiosity by asking about your interviewer. What are they working on? How do they like their work? Even these basic questions show that you’re interested in others, and not totally self-centered. 

As you undertake legal job interviews, keep these three traits in mind and you’ll go far.

Next up, what questions is your interviewer likely to ask, and how can you be prepared with compelling answers?