What do you wish you had known before articling interviews?

[sunshinecoast]

Please share anything you wish you had known before doing articling interviews! Anything from questions that surprised you to tips for managing anxiety. All tips and stories are welcome 🙂

[123sueme]

So I feel so passionate about this question that I legit made an account just to answer.

These things apply to both Articling and OCI recruits. These are things I have learnt both from participating in recruits as an applicant and on the firm side. I know some people think the below is common knowledge, but from what I have seen a lot of people still don't know some of these things so some of it bears repeating. Here we go:

• Thank you notes: they are MANDATORY! Send them to everyone you interview with and send them quickly. They don't need to be fancy, and they don't need to be long, but they NEED to be sent. THEY ARE ALSO MANDATORY AFTER ALL SOCIAL EVENTS. The number of students who forget to send thank you notes is shocking.
  • Bonus point: Send them to articling students who you socialize with/have coffee chats with/etc. They may put in an extra good word for you that gives you a leg up over someone else.
• Dress Code: Wear a full suit and tie. Don't try and stand out by wearing something just to be different, because everyone will talk about it (I have seen this happen over odd colour/pattern shirts and weird accessories). For women (and I say this as a woman) it is best to show up in a blazer/suit and nice shirt rather than a dress for two reasons: (1) it reads better via zoom and (2) sometimes it is harder to gauge if a dress fits the dress code of the event, so a suit is a safer bet. Also no one cares if you wear heels so just make sure whatever shoes you wear are comfortable!
• Interview Questions: Google "OCI/Interview questions" and find a list of 100 questions and practice answering 5 each day. You likely won't get asked many of those questions, but it will get you comfortable talking about yourself. Also, just go with the flow of where the interviewers lead you. If they are asking very substantive/resume questions then pitch yourself. If they are asking just general conversation questions, they likely want to see what your personality is like and if it would fit. I remember in my interviews talking a lot about crazy camping stories that had nothing to do with law, and the most memorable candidate (who got the job!) I remember speaking to talked about their love of meatballs. It's weird but it's true.
• Your Questions: Have at least 5 questions prepared per interview. You can have 1-2 generic questions for all firms, but make sure to have at least 3 firm specific questions. Firms can tell if the question is generic or if it shows you looked into the firm. If you can find the answer to your question online, don't ask it.
• Firm Knowledge: Look into the firms and know what they do and what you are interested in. If you screw up and say that you are interested in X area of law, but firm actually practices Y, it will be the reason you aren't given an offer/asked back. This includes within practice areas. For example, a firm website may say they do Real Estate law, and then you may say you have an interest in residential real estate when all firm actually does is mortgages. That's enough reason to not give you a second interview.
• Firm Social Events: Be polite and treat everyone nicely. and when I say everyone I mean EVERYONE. Treat Partners, Associates, Articling Students, other interviewees, the waitstaff etc. with the utmost respect. Treating someone poorly will be very clearly seen and will take you out of the running almost immediately.
  • Furthermore, don't assume you know who makes the hiring decisions! Trying to spend all your time at these events with partners because you think they are the ones with the final say is a mistake. There is a good chance that the associates have the same say, if not more say (because there are normally more associates than partners) in the final hiring decision. At the very least, treating an associate poorly or pushing them off to talk to a partner will be viewed very poorly. I saw this be the reason why multiple people did not get the job.
• First Choice: If you have a first choice, say the words, and say them exactly, meaning actually say "You are my first choice". Don't say them until you are 100% sure and only say it to one place. I found the best way to do this is in writing via email on the second day of the process. As well, firms can read through you skirting first choice language so don't think you are outsmarting them or anything. I have seen firms debate between students because they weren't sure their level of interest. Talking to one of them afterwards, we were their first choice they just didn't make it clear.
• Mental Health: The best thing to do for your mental health is not talk to anyone you know in law school/going through the recruit about the recruit. it will psych you out, you may get incorrect information, and it just makes you feel like shit. Keep it to yourself, talk to your family/friends outside law school, but that's it.

I likely missed a lot, ad I know I have other thoughts on this too so I may add another time. But these are the bigs things I can think of at the moment. Cheers!

[reaperlaw]

Thank you notes are not mandatory after social events for every single person you meet. If it's a dinner with only a handful of people, sure. But after a cocktail event with dozens of people? Absolutely not.

After interviews and small dinners—which are effectively interviews—they are mandatory because a lack of an email will infer lack of interest. But no email after a large social event (which I'd say conservatively is any event with 10+ people), I am actually annoyed and view it as smarmy to get emails from someone I met for less than a minute.

[Rashabon]

Conversely I don’t think thank you notes are important and I think lawyers who do or who report receiving or not receiving them to the hiring committee are freaks and weirdos.

[123sueme]

@Rashabon and @reaperlaw, I agree with you both. Maybe I wasn’t clear in my original post so i hope this helps.

 

You have to send them, but you are right that after large social gatherings that you don’t need to send them to everyone. If you have a really great convo with a lawyer you can send an additional one to them if you want cause it will remind them of you when it comes time for decision.

 

I personally agree that thank you notes are weird, however firms still freak out over them so better safe than sorry and send them. Sometime we have to subscribe to the weird customs of our profession but such is life *sigh*

[Mal]

That even if you don't get a job through the articling recruit, as long as you keep at it you will eventually get the career you merit. It can take time, in my case a lot of time, but it is going to be okay.

Edited August 17, 2022 by Mal