Interviewing: Sample Questions and Answers
There are a multitude of questions that you can be asked on an interview and we cannot cover them all. However,
below are a few typical questions that you should be prepared to answer for a typical interview. Otherwise, know
your resume and learn as much as you can about the target firm/company and the person(s) interviewing you.
- Tell me about yourself. Tell me about your background. Have a short (2-3 minutes) summary ready
for this very typical interview question. You need to be able to account for any gaps. Keep it in chronological
or reverse chronological order – whichever works in your favor. Focus on highlights but consider the
following: employer, title, years there, major responsibility and accomplishments; and
education/credentials for more junior lawyers.
- Why did you choose to interview with us/this firm/company? What do you know about our
firm/company? Make sure you have done your research on the target firm/company so that you can
answer this question more knowledgeably by explaining what you know about the firm/company’s
accomplishments and how the firm’s/company’s specialty or industry fits with your experience or goals or
some aspect of their practice or business that you admire. You can end the answer with an expression of
interest to learn more.
- Why do you want this job? Why do you think you would be good at this job? Why do you want to
work for us? First, familiarize yourself with the job description so you can integrate this information into
your response. Then, take inventory of your skills set and describe 3 key skills (with examples ready just
in case you are requested to provide examples) that support your opinion that you would be well-suited for
the position. Sometimes skill sets or industry background may not be exactly on point, but you can
extrapolate from your background to create a profile of a person that is adaptable and a quick learner. The
ideal answer will show how you can help achieve the firm’s/company’s objectives. You an express what you
admire about the firm/company from what you have learned about the company, its policies, goals and
management: “I have researched the company and people tell me it’s a good place to work or I would enjoy
working in this type of environment.”
- Why do you want to leave your present position? Generally, do not answer with negative aspects of
your current position but refer to the positive aspects of the job, advancement opportunities, and what you
learned. Then focus on the reason for exploring other opportunities. A sample could be: “I enjoy working at
my current position and have acquired and developed a great many skills, but I’m now ready for a new set of
challenges and greater responsibilities.” There are many circumstances why employees leave their
positions that are part o larger organizational changes. Some companies have financial or other problems
which may be public knowledge or which impact your ability to remain in the same position. Frame your
answer positively by answering why you want to move to the target firm/company rather than why you left or
want to leave your current job. Try and make it a general response and not personal to you. Make sure that
your answer is consistent with all your interviews. Do not get caught in gossiping about your current or
former employer.
- What experiences have taught you about managing and working with people? Whether you have
formally managed others or not, you must have experiences where you managed resources and/or staff.
Focus on aspects of your experience that show some or more of the following management skills/style:
- Your Management/Leadership Style. Are you people or task focused and where do you stand on the
autocratic-democratic continuum? What is your preferred style and what are its strengths and
weaknesses?
- Show that Motivating Others is important to you. How have you made the working environment as
motivating as possible for your staff, and increased their productivity and ability to work as a team.
- Show your Emotional Intelligence Quotient is High. Some studies have found that EIQ
competencies have more effect on the bottom-line than IQ competencies. Managers need to be
competent in self-awareness and self-management as well as social awareness and relationship
management to get the best from their staff. Click here to read an article on EIQ.
- Give examples of your Delegation Style. Provide examples of effective Performance Appraisal/Giving
and Receiving Feedback.
- Provide examples of Managing Organizational Change.
- Provide examples of Promoting Diversity.
- What goals have you set for yourself? How are you planning to achieve them? This is a very
personal response. Start by discussing the job for which you are applying. Your career goals should be
consistent with the target firm’s/company’s goals. Make sure that your stated career goals can be achieved
at the target employer.
- What is your most significant accomplishment to date? Restrict yourself to work-related
accomplishments.
- What has been your greatest failure? What are your weak points? Avoid admitting to failures or
weaknesses. Instead, provide an example that has a positive twist to it, such as: I have a difficult time
delegating and sometimes do too much work myself when we are working against a tight deadline.”
- What motivates you? We are all motivated by different things, but some common factors for you to
consider in your answer include examples of situations that reflected positive motivation such as one or
more of the following - in all cases, give examples that show your enthusiasm and work ethic:
- Responsibility/autonomy;
- Working conditions;
- Relationship with colleagues;
- Opportunities for advancement;
- Opportunities for development;
- Collaborative/independent working;
- Opportunity to be creative in your field.
- Avoid financial rewards as an answer.
- How would you or your former boss describe you? What three words best describe you? Describe
yourself in one or two words. Be honest and focus on your professional strengths.
- Describe a time in any job you have held when you were faced with problems or pressures which
tested your ability to cope. What’s the most difficult situation you ever faced on the job? What did
you do? When answering these types of questions, remember that you are being interviewed. Do not
describe significant failures or catastrophes that resulted in a personal or corporate failure. Make sure that
the example you use has a positive ending. Avoid discussing personal or family problems or problems with
managing partners, peers or clients. You may discuss a difficult situation with a subordinate, provided that
you resoled the issues favorably.
- Give an example to a time when you were unable to finish an assignment because you did not
have enough information or time. This is generally a fairly easy question for most lawyers who are
accustomed to work under time pressure and with little information. However, the key is to focus on your
problem-solving skills and not on giving them an example that did not turn out well in the end.
- What do you do when one of your peers or junior attorneys is performing poorly? Give an
example. Give a generalized answer that shows how you provided training and feedback. Try and give an
example that ended well. However, if you are a senior lawyer being interviewed for a senior position, you
may have to show your ability to follow appropriate procedure before terminating someone.
- Describe what would be an ideal working environment? Show flexibility in working in diverse
environments but you can focus on teamwork and firm/company support or training, or client contact
depending upon your seniority.
- What types of people do you find it difficult to work with? This is a tricky question. Make sure that
your answer shows your teamwork and features your focus on company values. A sample answer could be
something similar to the following: “The only people I find more difficult to work with are those who are not
team players, who just don’t work hard, who complain constantly, and who fail to respond to any efforts to
motivate them.”
- How much do you expect if we offer this position to you? What are your salary requirements? Try
and avoid answering this question for as long as you can – preferably until after you first receive an offer
from the hiring firm/company. If you don’t know the salary for the target position, answer the question by
indicating that you expect a competitive salary based on the job responsibilities, your experience and skills
and the market value of the job. Express your interest in the job because it fits your career goals. A sample
answer could be: I am flexible or I am open to a competitive offer. If you are using a recruiter, you could
punt and indicate that you would prefer to discuss the position and defer salary negotiations to your
recruiter.
- If you were fired, click here to read an About.com article on the best answers to offer under the
circumstances.
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