Topics to Avoid During a Legal Job Interview
As you prepare for your interviews, it’s important to understand that — although the legal industry has embraced change in some respects — there is a great deal of risk when it comes to negotiating the interview process in a non-standard manner. Though humor and relatability is always a plus, many attorney-candidates hurt their candidacy by attempting to go “off the beaten path” and discuss matters that could have a negative impact on the way that the employer perceives them.
Simply put: some topics are best avoided outright. Consider the following.
Religion, Politics, and Other Potential Conflict Areas
In the United States, it’s a well accepted truism: religion and politics are not to be discussed at the dinner table, or in the job interview context. As with any sensitive or potentially controversial issue, your opinion could be inapposite to that of the interviewer — though they may not intend to form a negative bias against you, the opinions you express on such topics could arguably hurt your candidacy, even if the rest of your interview went extremely well in objective terms.
Negativity Towards a Previous Employer
It’s quite common for attorneys to move on from a position due to various negative aspects of their firm environment. For example, perhaps you’re looking to make a transition to a different firm due to general negativity towards your colleagues and supervising attorneys. Perhaps you feel as though there is too much of a focus on “office politics” at your firm.
In any case, though your negativity may be justified, it’s critical that you avoid speaking poorly of a previous employer during your interview. Prospective employers want to see that you can be professional about your work arrangements, and that you will not amplify any wrongdoing in a sort of emotional theatre — they have no basis on which to judge whether your perception of the previous employment situation was accurate, and as such, they can only really judge you harshly on your willingness to speak negatively about a firm in the professional context.
Out-of-Work Commitments
As a general rule, most firms do not particularly care about your “out-of-work” interests except insofar as the hiring manager (and others involved in the hiring process) might relate to one of your hobbies and form a positive bias towards you on that basis.
It’s worth discussing your out-of-work interests, activities, and hobbies to make yourself a more memorable candidate, and to further “humanize” yourself in comparison to other candidates. That said, it’s important not to go overboard by discussing additional out-of-work commitments. Out-of-work commitments could be perceived as a burden that will distract you from your commitments to the employer.
Concerns Relating to the Working Environment and Lifestyle
Though many employers position themselves as “lifestyle” firms that are committed to work-life balance and a health workplace environment, it could hurt your candidacy if you appear to be hyper-focused on this aspect of the work culture. Many lifestyle firms are looking for hardworking attorneys who are willing and able to take on additional responsibilities when necessary. They might not intend to burden their attorneys in the same way as a Biglaw firm that prides itself on its aggressive and demanding work culture, but they expect that new hires will be capable of handling a spike in activity every now and again.
If you’re interested in learning about what it’s “really like” inside a particular firm or in-house department, we encourage you to contact a legal recruiter here at Garb Jaffe & Associates for more information. Our legal recruiters have networks that we can access to plumb for details and insider information — this enables us to build profiles of each employer that can help guide attorney-candidates.
Contact an Experienced Los Angeles Legal Recruiter at Garb Jaffe & Associates for Guidance
If you’re an attorney interested in making a job transition — whether to a different practice industry altogether, or to another firm or in-house legal department for a simple change in your working environment — then it’s worth considering the services of an experienced legal recruiter. Legal recruiters have specialized knowledge concerning various employers, and understand the trends shaping the industry at-large. This affords you a significant informational advantage when it comes time to explore new opportunities.
Here at Garb Jaffe & Associates, our team of legal recruiters has decades of experience assisting attorneys throughout the hiring process, from early identification of potential “landing spots” to interview coaching and more. We have a proven track record of success helping attorneys secure ideal positions in the California legal industry, in both Biglaw and prestigious in-house legal departments.
If you’d like to speak to an experienced Los Angeles legal recruiter at Garb Jaffe, call (310) 207-0727 or send us a message online.