How to Impress During Your Training Contract Face-to-Face Interview

Aug 30, 2023

Written By Zara Arif

As we have returned to life as we knew it before the pandemic, more law firms have now reverted to conducting their training contract interviews in-person at their offices. This can present opportunities and challenges. It is easier to show your personality and character face-to-face without the technological challenges, but it may also be more nerve-wracking to meet graduate recruitment in person and keep your cool. Here are some tips and tricks to help you impress in your face-to-face training contract interview.

What are the firm looking for in a face-to-face interview?

In order to impress the firm, the most important thing to understand is what the interviewers (typically senior lawyers or graduate recruitment) are looking for in future trainee solicitors.

The best way to gain some insight is by attending legal careers fairs, open days and other insight events organised by careers services, universities and firms themselves. This is important as these are forums which allow you to ask any questions you may have and even speak to lawyers which currently work at the firm.

Some good questions to ask would be about the skills/attributes which the firm looks for in trainees, the type of work/deals the firm does and what the day-to-day life of a trainee might involve. This is only the tip of the iceberg, however, and as you conduct more research and gain further research into specific firms, it should become quite clear what questions will help you in your interview preparation.

In general, in a face-to-face interview, the firm will be looking to see if you have understood what type of work the firm does, its standing in the market, and what makes it stand out from the crowd. It is also good to have a strong idea of why this appeals to you as somewhere you would like to train and what unique qualities and experiences you would be able to bring to the firm.

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How are training contract interviews structured?

Different firms structure their face-to-face interviews differently, so it’s important to carry out some research into what type of training contract interview the firms you are interested in will ask you to do.Some invite you to entire days called assessment centres, which involve a series of face-to-face interviews and/or tasks. These could involve several written exercises and/or group exercises.

Generally, for most top firms you should be prepared to carry out at least two face-to-face interviews. This shouldn't intimidate or overwhelm you, you simply have multiple chances to impress and show all the different parts of yourself which make you the best candidate for the firm.

How to prepare for a training contract face-to-face interview

The main way to prepare for a face-to-face training contract interview is to carry out in-depth and varied research into the firm.

It is important to understand the firm as a business and have a holistic understanding of how it works. This includes knowledge of its practice areas, sector expertise, deals and clients. The best way to prepare for an interview is to keep up with the firm’s news page or Linkedin, in order to be able to create a bank of varied information which you can call upon in an interview. The worst thing to do would be to have a blank when asked to elaborate on what makes the firm stand out.

How to answer common questions

The most common question which you should be prepared to answer are: Why X area of law? Why would you like to train at this firm? Why should we choose you as a trainee?

You shouldn't write up a script for these common questions, as your interviewer will be able to tell that you have simply memorised an answer. Especially in a face-to-face interview, it is easy to see the difference between someone who is reciting something and someone who is speaking with meaning and purpose.

The way to impress in your answers to these questions is to have a specific structure and to always link back to yourself in order to make the answers as specific as possible. A structure which you could follow is:

- Give a reason (such as a firm’s top ranked practice in a certain area)

- State why this appeals to you

- Link this to an experience or skill that you have, to concretely demonstrate why this appeals to you

It is important to give enough detail in your answers, so the firm can see you’ve done your research. You should also be ready to answer any follow up questions.

Top tips to impress during your interview

The best way to impress during your interview is to have carried out varied and in-depth research into the firm. You will leave a good impression if you are able to give a range of deals from different practice areas or cite a niche area or sector which a firm works in, if this is of interest to you.

It is also important to generally keep on top of current affairs and the commercial world. Lawyers are expected to advise clients in context, and interviewers are looking for this kind of knowledge over specific legal knowledge.

Another way to impress is to simply keep your cool and speak clearly and calmly, even if you are presented with a difficult question. The best way to approach this is to take your time and talk through your initial reasoning and thoughts until you do reach an answer.

Finally, in a face-to-face interview, it’s important to keep eye contact throughout and be friendly and approachable. It also shows enthusiasm if you ask relevant and detailed questions.

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