Customer Reviews

Nail Your Law Job interview: The Essential Guide to Firm, Clerkship, Government, In-House, and Lateral Interviews

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a mid-level associate at a large international law firm, I strongly recommend this book to anyone trying to get the law firm job you want, whether you are a prospective or current law student or a recent graduate. I did not attend a top 10 law school, nor was I at the top of my class when interviewing for a summer associate position. As a result, my prospects of getting the big law job I wanted boiled down to my ability to truly nail my job interview. In the end, I was fortunate enough to succeed, but only after I learned the hard way from all the interviewing mistakes I had made along the way. If I had had this book when I interviewed, I know I would have received a lot more offers than I ended up getting. It is an excellent toolkit for selling and distinguishing yourself in the best way possible, which these days will prove more important than ever -- Ivy League or not.

As the former hiring partner for a conservative AmLaw 100 firm, I found certain advice in this guide to be ridiculous. In 2009, women do not need to wear a skirt to an interview at the risk of not appearing professional in pants. Nor is it necessary for any interviewee to follow the overly-formal dress code and talking points included in this book. Guerrilla Tactics for Getting the Legal Job of Your Dreams is a MUCH better book.

Law job interviews ARE different from any other type of employment interview. I have been in the non-law work world for some time and have done plenty of successful interviews. Still, this book helped me tailor my style to match legal job interviewers expectations. The book has excellent and specific advice that your career services office may be too shy to tell you. The advice is practical; based on feedback from lawyers who regularly interview prospects from top law schools nationwide.

As a law student, I found two chapters most helpful: 1) How to Research your Interviewer. One of the hardest questions to nail in a law job interview is, "What do you want to know about our firm?" To answer well, you have to have done your homework. The book gives you great advice on how to research the firm so you can ask intelligent questions and get meaningful answers. 2)On-campus Interviews. Understanding the OCI process--and what the interviewers have to endure--is critical to creating your interviewing strategy. The book gives give a look a the OCI process from the interviewers perspective, and gives you tactics you can use to make an impression on a tired, possibly disinterested interviewer.

It is a quick read and well organized so you can easily find the specific info relevant to your situation. I highly recommend it to anyone with a law job interview in their future--regardless of experience.

I used the information in this book to successfully prepare for clerkship interviews. This book gives detailed and insightful tips on how to research your interviewer, what to bring to the interview, and how to dress. It also explains how to answer questions during the interview, what questions to ask and not to ask, and what to do in case of an awkward silence. What makes this book really fun to read are the real-life examples that describe other students' experiences while interviewing. It is obvious that the authors took the time to interview many lawyers and law students to create such a thorough resource. This book is a great source of information for both students and attorneys intending to make a move to a different firm, and I highly recommend it.

From the prospective of a law student who recently finished summer associateship interviews (and got a job at a large regional firm), this book does a fantastic job of introducing you to the basic structure that is the legal job interview. I headed into interview season not really knowing what to expect, but this book helped to prepare me for what kinds of things I should be prepared to discuss, what to wear, and how to handle myself in a legal interview. Most importantly, knowing what to expect boosted my confidence, which cannot be overestimated. Once I had gotten past the initial interview stage, the book also helped alert me to what to expect on the callback interview.

I think the most important thing this book helped me to do was engage in some serious self evaluation prior to heading into interviews... if you can't articulate why you are the best candidate in a very limited job market for new lawyers, you simply will not interview well.

That said, I would recommend this book to anyone thinking about doing on campus interviewing at a law school. It accurately sets the parameters of what you should and should not do and/or discuss during the interview. However, it shouldn't supplant speaking to career services and/or other law students who have gone through OCI. If you just read the book you might picture the interview as something overly formulaic rather than what it is, or at least, what a good one feels like... an enjoyable conversation. Get information from as many sources as you can for the best picture!

I, too, read this book in one sitting.

I really got a lot out of this book, so much useful advice! Yes, some of it was "common sense", but sometimes we need to be reminded of it. Overall, this is a must read for all law students.

I would have rather had this book than most of the advice I got during law school. I was lucky to see an advance copy of this book while I was hunting for a job last Spring and it really made a difference. Also, having been on the other side of the table in interviews, I can say that it definitely provides accurate insight for law students who want to nail their job interviews. That said, a good chunk of the information in here is obtainable from other sources, so I can't give it 5 stars. But it is nice to have it all in one place, and without any of the bad advice mixed in that you often find elsewhere.

Amazingly accurate and completely accessible - this book offers useful, practical advice for finding, preparing and excelling at law job interviews. Whether you're in law school just beginning your career, have been recently laid off, or are an experienced attorney who has practiced for years but is looking to move, mastery of the skills and lessons given in this book is essential. As a practicing attorney who has been both the interviewer and the interviewee, I know that I would have benefited greatly had this book been available years ago, and can safely say that certain interviewees would have been best served reading this book before interviewing. From providing general principles of proper etiquette and dress, to detailed examples of what, when and how to say the right things in almost any situation, this book is an absolute necessity. Funny and surprisingly insightful, it is evident that the authors have done their research and know what they are writing about.

As someone who interviews and hires people on a regular basis, I can't praise this book enough. It offers balanced advice from a perspective of a generation of young lawyers who must meet the expectations of a more formal generation. Call me old-fashioned, but I would NOT hire a woman wearing a pantsuit to her interview, unless she was truly exceptional. Just like I wouldn't hire a man who was anything less than formal during his interview. I am looking for people who will follow my guidance when they work for me. In short, if you want an offer from a hiring partner who is 20+ years your senior, you better act and dress in a way that partner expects. I like this book because it shows that the author obviously spent a great deal of time finding out what the employers want and expect. It tells you exactly what your interviewers expect from you - not what your competition erroneously thinks they expect.

In today's economy and state of unemployment this is a must have book. It provides a great incite into getting an interview, preparing for it and going through an interview. Authors describe the smallest details that you must consider in preparation for the interview and give great tips on how to land a job. The greatest part is that the book not just generally describes how to behave during interview, but gives specific examples of responses and questions that you need to ask. Nail Your Law Job Interview: The Essential Guide to Firm, Clerkship, Government, In-house, and Lateral Interviews