Interviewing: What to look for

This summer, I have spent a good amount of time traveling the country teaching interview skills to attorneys at major law firms before they went on campus to recruit new talent. Conducting all of this training has caused me to think a lot about what characteristics, regardless of whether you are hiring legal talent or business, are most important to focus on when interviewing.   

Over the past 20 years, I have conducted interview training for 65 law firms and have interviewed thousands of candidates. Here are five key things I believe we should be looking for when interviewing:

1. Self-motivation: people who are internally driven to do a great job and believe in their ability to accomplish goals.
2. Grit: candidates who know how to persevere and have a long-term perspective.
3. Practical Intelligence: individuals who know how to apply the knowledge they have to solve problems and make decisions.
4. Results-Driven: people who focus on results, not just the process. They use their intelligence to produce useful end products. They also invest their time and skills wisely and do not procrastinate or distract themselves.
5. Accountability: candidates who take responsibility and don’t blame others when things go wrong.

I hope you find these key success factors to be of value and I welcome your thoughts on this topic.