Your Job Interview: “Run the Court, Play YOUR Game and DON’T Get Distracted”

   
    The other day, I received a telephone call from an alumna who needed to talk about what she called “some really bad” legal job interviews that she had just gone through.  She was frustrated, angry and quite indignant at some of the tactics and questions that she had to endure during recent interviews in a major metropolitan city.

                “What happened?” I had asked.  … Here is a flavor of various employer questions and experiences that she had just undergone:

·         “So, as a young woman, I was wondering what you thought about getting married and whether you might have any plans in that area?”  (These are all paraphrases but on point); 

·         “This is ONLY your third interview? Well, you really can’t be all that serious about your job search. …You should have had more than ten interviews by now.”

·         After an exhausted fifty-five minute interview of mostly irrelevant (to the job, anyway)  and sophomoric  questions by a younger associate,  she was asked the “If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?” question;

·         At one firm, she was kept waiting for her interview over one hour past the appointed time with no explanation or apology;

                More examples, but let’s stop here.

                So what should she have done?  How should a law student or young lawyer response? Hang in there with the interviewer? Walk out of the interview? Write a letter to the managing partner afterwards? Perhaps all are options, when situations warrant.

The Interview as a “Game Day” Metaphor

When I played high school basketball, our coach would always warn us before a road game not to get distracted with crowd noise, taunting, or any other unpleasantries that might come our way when we took the court. We were to stay focused on executing the game plan that he had laid out for us. . . “if you lose, I want it to be because you just  missed your shots, NOT because you lost your focus!”

                I would pass on similar advice to law students and young lawyers during the interview process. You need to prepare a “game plan” for your interview. Do some research and know as much about the firm, agency or non-profit as humanly possible (not just the website). Try and identify who your interviewer is (call and ask), and have good questions ready (never ask anything that can be found on the website or you have already “fouled-out” of the interview).

                Take your game plan in with you for your interview and do not get distracted or lose your focus if you find yourself confronted by an inexperienced or rude interviewer. It will take but a few questions to realize if you have indeed entered into “interview hell.” If you have, do an immediate internal “gut check” and tell yourself that you are NOT going to let this person distract you from accomplishing what you set out to do – execute your game plan and give yourself the best possible opportunity to land this job, or get yourself to the next round of interviews. Be pleasant, smile when appropriate, stay focused, answer each question and find the opportunity to turn the interview into a conversation.

                Admittedly, this may not be the easiest advice to follow. This is especially true given the pressures that law students and young lawyers are experiencing in the current job market.  However, you need to find the self-confidence to engage any type of interviewer. If you anticipate the possibility of the “interviewer from hell” you will be prepared to execute your game plan no matter what he/she throws your way. Here are a few tips on how to proceed in such situations:

·         Don’t get angry or start to lose your temper. You will lose your ability to remain professional;

·         Deflect the question. Take control and move the discussion to “safer” territory (i.e. any question that borders on the family/marriage question, can be handled light heartedly and then moved to an ancillary topic (i.e. a “work/personal life” balance discussion);

·         Redirect the discussion with a question of your own asked for clarification. It will give you time to think of where you want to go with the question (careful here: don’t be snarky yourself!)

·         Regroup and get back to some of the points that you have prepared to make as if you were an appellate attorney who has been taken off point by a judge’s question. Get back to topics like your skill set, your prior experiences, your academic record . . . all the things that you have prepared to say on your behalf.  Don’t leave the room before you say all the positive things that you had planned, no matter how far afield the interviewer’s “adventurous” questions may go;

·         Relax and be yourself – you’ve come this far and you, no doubt, earned this interview. You may not get the position but never let anyone – even a prospective employer – intimidate you and/or make you cower or get defensive.

I will say again that during the course of a stressful job interview, it may be difficult to follow this advice and to “perform” well in the light of a barrage of snarky questions by your interviewer. I still am of the opinion that if you have prepared properly for your interview, you will have sufficient information and the wherewithal to get through it as best you can. Even the worst of interviews are a learning experience and provide you with experience to use in the future, so all is not lost.

For those rare interviews that become simply “intolerable” due to comments and questions that cross the line on a personal level, you may simply excuse yourself and politely indicate that you are taking yourself out of consideration for the position with a thoughtful recourse (i.e. a letter to the firm or agency) considered afterward. I have not encountered such a situation. However, I am not sufficiently naive to believe that such an interview would never occur to someone.

Be positive, and have energy during each of your interviews. May you never run into a “rough crowd” on the road. But, if you do – be prepared, stay focused and execute the game plan. Even if you don’t get the job, you are still a winner!

Philip A. Guzman, Esq.