Strategies for Interviewing for a Paralegal Job

Less than 10 percent of interviewing success is based on your educational background. Interviewing success is more likely to be linked to the first impression you make on the interviewer, the interviewer's perspective on how you will fit into the firm, your body language, facial expressions, and how you answer the interviewer's questions.

In order to prepare yourself thoroughly for each job interview, there are some important preparations you can make in order to ensure success. Successful job interviewing does not necessarily mean that you will get the job offer.


Successful interviewing means that you were able to regard the interview as a means of finding out about the firm or corporation and whether or not the particular job is the right one for you. If you find that the available job is just what you are looking for but you get no job offer, then use that job as an example to recall when you interview the next time.

If you get a job offer, but you decide that the job is not right for you, then use that same criterion when evaluating other job offers. It is important to remember that an interview is a two-way process: the interviewer wants to find out about you, but you want to find out if the job is right for you.

The request for you to interview comes either in the form of a letter or a phone call. When finding out about the interview, make sure that you know the name of the interviewer, the exact address (including room number, suite, or floor, such as is the case of the larger firms or companies), and the time of the interview.

Write all of this information down as it is given to you so you can avoid a phone call back to check on the information. Once you have the appointment, get busy with finding out about the employer. If it is a law firm, go to the public library or paralegal school library to check it out in Martindale-Hubbel  Find out how big the firm is, the kind of law that is practiced, and, if you are interviewing with one of the attorneys in the firm, check his/her biographical data. From these listings you can find out birth date, college, law school, publications, and areas of law that the attorney has specialized in.

All of this information can be used by you in the interview to assure the interviewer that you are interested in him/her and in the firm itself. If the interview is with a corporation, use a corporate directory to research the company. Public libraries" and your paralegal program should have such directories. You will find the company's assets, products, subsidiaries, and divisions. You might also see if the company has a public relations department which publishes brochures about it.

Annual reports are another source of valuable information about corporations. It is extremely important to know something about the law firm or company, because inevitably you will be asked what you know about the employer during the interview. Once you know something about the firm or company, dress the part of an employee there. In other words, there is probably a different way of dressing in a law firm, corporation, bank, insurance company, and public sector job in your part of the country.

A rule of thumb is that generally dress in the private sector is more formal than in the public sector. Part of the interviewing process, remember, is to see whether you fit into the structure of the office, so dressing the part of the job while on the interview will put you in good stead. In the private sector's large law firms, banks, and insurance companies, conservative dress is the rule.

It is recommended that a man be clean shaven, wear a dark suit (gray or navy blue), a white shirt, and a muted-toned tie. Shoes should be polished. A woman should wear a skirt-suit or a blazer and skirt, plain blouse, neutral-colored stockings, closed-toed shoes, and a simple hair-do. A minimal amount of jewelry and no perfume are the rule.

To complete these "uniforms,'' a briefcase is a necessity, it symbolizes that you are a professional. Lawyers carry briefcases and so should paralegals. You may not have much to carry in your briefcase at first, but you should have extra copies of your resume, writing samples, and the names of your references with you for an interview.

Women may find it handy to keep their purses in their briefcases or use their briefcases as purses in order to eliminate carrying around extra items. Do not arrive more than ten minutes early for your interview.

Walk around the block a few times to relax if you arrive at your destination with more than ten minutes to spare. The reason for this is that by arriving too early for your appointment and having to wait around in the reception area, you are bound to attract attention to yourself from either the receptionist or other employees of the firm or company.

Of course if you are going to be a few minutes late, you call to let the interviewer know. When you arrive at the reception area, or office, give your name, and reason for your appointment, and the name of the person with whom you are interviewing. You might also want to give the time of your appointment to make it easier for the receptionist.

The receptionist will usually ask you to take a seat and contact the interviewer for you. When the interviewer comes over to greet you, stand up and shake hands with him/her. The interviewer will lead you into an office where the interview will take place. Most interviewers have a definite idea of how they want the interview to proceed, so allow the interviewer to take the lead. He/she will tell you which chair to sit in, for instance.

There is usually more than one chair in an office, and on occasion the other chair will be used by another interviewer in a "group interview." Your briefcase goes on the floor next to you within easy reach. Never put anything on the interviewer's desk!

See the following articles for more information:
 

• 21 Major Interview Mistakes to Avoid at All Costs
• The Best Way to Prepare for a Job Search and Interviews
• How to Talk About Other Interviews in Your Interviews
• How to Answer the Tell Me About Yourself Interview Question
• How to Answer the Do You Have Any Questions for Me Interview Question