Acing Your In-House Job Interview

Interviewing for any kind of job can be nerve-wracking.

Many lawyers who’ve worked in law firms report they feel this way when interviewing for in-house counsel positions.

They’ve got the awareness that in-house roles require a different skill set, and with those new requirements comes an interview process that’s very different from most law firms’.

Keep reading to learn more about how to best prepare for your in-house counsel job interview.

If you’d rather watch or listen, you can view the video “Ace Your In-House Counsel Interview Questions and Land the Job” by clicking here.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Take the time to gather as much information as possible about the organization before your interview.
• Use any gaps in information as an opportunity to ask thoughtful questions during the interview.
• Show employers your genuine interest in their organization by demonstrating your knowledge and understanding of their business.
• Don't just rely on the information available on the organization's website. Going the extra mile to gather relevant information will set you apart from other candidates.

Do Your Research Before In-House Counsel Interviews

Employers want to feel like you’ve taken a genuine interest in their organization.

Moreover, they want to believe that you’re applying because of what you already know about them.

So step one of your interview prep is researching publicly available information about the organization.

Website

You’ll be able to gather lots of low-hanging fruit from the employer’s website. Look for their mission statement, organizational values, and any information or clues about what their culture looks like.

Anything you’re unable to learn from their website on these topics can be the basis of questions you ask of them during the interview.

Financial Statements

If the organization is publicly traded or has non-profit status, you can look up their financial statements. You can gain a deeper understanding of the business side of their organization and will be able to ask well-informed questions that demonstrate your additional knowledge.

Social Media & Press

Check out their social media accounts to gain additional insight into their mission, values, and culture.

Additionally, social media and other press coverage will inform you about recent developments and upcoming events. Being able to reference their current events further demonstrates your interest in their organization.

Court Filings

Being the clever lawyer you are, of course you’ll do a quick search to see if there are any pending legal actions that may be relevant to topics that come up during an interview.

Google

Don’t forget about the magic of search engines! Without being a creep, you can do some additional research into the organization to see if you find anything new.

Expect Behavioral Questions in In-House Counsel Interviews

If you’ve ever interviewed at a law firm—particularly Biglaw—you’re familiar with their perfunctory nature.

Most law firms don’t have a cohesive interviewing strategy, so most interviews devolve into small talk where the interviewers make a decision based on whether they like you or not.

In-house interviews are very different.

When hiring for in-house counsel, organizations are looking for someone who can hit the ground running with little to no training or hand-holding.

One of the ways they ascertain your ability to do that is by asking behavioral questions.

Specific Past Examples

Employers can learn a lot about your problem-solving skills based on problems you’ve already solved.

You’ll know that’s what they’re looking for when you hear the question,

“Tell me about a time when…”

Prepare for these types of questions by culling through your work experience and identifying projects or situations that would be analogous to or very similar to the work you would be doing in the in-house counsel role.

Once you’ve identified 2-3, you can prepare yourself to discuss the relevant aspects of each scenario by providing some brief context followed by the result you got for the employer/client and how you solved the problem.

When you do this effectively, an employer can easily envision you doing the same for them.

Hypotheticals

In-house legal employers will also want to get a sense of how you think through problems in real time.

That’s why they’ll often ask you how you would handle a hypothetical situation they pose to you.

Your answer to this type of question is more about how you approach the solution than coming up with a “correct” answer.

In responding, you’ll want to stay calm and narrate your thought process as you assess and analyze the hypothetical.

Even if you don’t come up with a concrete answer, you’ll have given the employer exactly what they were looking for!

Bottom line: You need to prepare for behavioral interview questions by compiling examples of problems you’ve overcome, projects you’ve successfully completed, and really focus on your soft skills and strengths when describing how you get results.

Why Do You Want to Work In-House?

Because most applicants for in-house counsel roles haven’t worked in-house before , employers want to know why you want to work in-house in general , and why for their organization in particular.

This is where your research about the organization will really come into play. You’ll also want to provide an explanation as to why you want to move in-house that shows you understand how in-house roles are unique from other lawyer jobs.

Employers also expect you to ask questions related to whether or not the organization is a good fit for you.

Culture fit is a huge consideration for non-law-firm employers—which means you need to know what you’re looking for in a job.

Before you can formulate appropriate questions, you’ll need to answer for yourself:

• How do I work best?
• When do I feel most supported in my job?
• What type of work do I most want to do?
• With what type of people do you work best?
• How do I prefer to give and receive feedback?

Click here for a mini-script on how to formulate interview questions for the employer that will help you learn if their culture is a fit for you.

Prepare for Your In-House Job Interview

The key to having a successful in-house interview is preparation.

By following the strategies laid out above, you’ll be well on your way to acing your in-house counsel job interview.

If you're looking to land your next (or first!) in-house job interview asap, you're going to want to see this...

P.S. You can access the original article and accompanying video at https://thejdnation.com/blog/in-house-interview .

Annie Little, JD, ACC is an ICF-certified career coach and former lawyer. After practicing law for seven years, she founded JD Nation in 2012. Since then, Annie has helped hundreds of lawyers land, lead, and succeed in the legal profession and beyond.