LawCareers.Net’s 10 tips for training contract interviews

Reading time: 11 minutes

The largest deadline for training contract applications falls at the end of July. So, if you’ve not already started making applications, now is a good time to get the ball rolling. After a successful application, you’ll be invited to an interview with the firm and for this, preparation is key. So, read our 10 tips to help you ace your interview.

 For those at the application stage, read our Feature on acing online training contract applications.

1. Research the firm

It may sound obvious but researching a firm means more than just reading its website and regurgitating the information back to them.

You should conduct research into various aspects of the firm, including its practice areas, recent deals, clients and geographical reach. You can use LawCareers.Net's Practice Area Profiles to research a given area by reading or listening to what solicitors working in that area have to say. For example, if you’re interested in  technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) law, make sure you listen to one of our latest podcast episodes with  Womble Bond Dickinson where managing associate  Katie Simmonds discusses the issues she works on and what skills aspiring TMT solicitors need to be successful. 

Understanding which practice areas the firm specialises in is essential but it’s also important to consider the trends impacting these practice areas – for example, what are lawyers currently thinking about? You can use LawCareers.Net’s Commercial Question section to support you with this. Another great way to see what the firm is up to, is to put its name into Google, select news and hit search. This is likely to bring up recent stories relating to the firm’s commercial movements that could trigger further research and topics to discuss at the interview.

Of course, you won’t be expected to know everything about the firm and the profession. But being able to show that you’ve conducted thorough research and have a solid understanding of the firm and its operations will stand you in good stead.

2. Dress the part

Knowing what to wear to an interview can sometimes be a little daunting – but what does the phrase ‘formal/business attire’ actually mean? Our advice is to dress as though you’re already doing the job or, in the words of bestselling author Austin Kleon, “dress for the job you want”. This also applies to video interviews as dressing for the part will put you into the professional mindset and environment.

For more advice on what to wear to a training contract interview, read this Oracle.

3. Reread your CV/application form

Your application was obviously great because it landed you an interview. The firm will likely review your application ahead of the interview with the intention of basing some of their questions on your experiences and achievements. So, make sure you review your application and remind yourself what you wrote. You might want to think about the following:

• What do your experiences say about you?
• What key skills have you developed over time and where’s the evidence for these skills in your application?
• What makes you you? This could involve looking at the extracurricular activities you outlined in your application – did you have an important role (eg, captain of the netball team or president of the university’s law society) and what transferable skills did you pick up via this role?
• What other questions might they ask you based on the information you provided in your application?
• What skills are you potentially missing and what do you plan to do to fill this gap?

Be honest with every answer you give – don’t provide the interviewer with a response because you think it’s what they want to hear. This is your chance to get to know each other and your chance to show them that you’re a good fit for the firm.

Read this guide to training contract applications for advice on putting together an excellent application.

4. Prepare answers to questions

There are definitely a few generic questions that'll likely crop up during your interview, including “Why law?” and “Why X firm?”. These are questions you can spend time preparing answers to before your interview – it shouldn’t come as a surprise when an interviewer pulls these out of the bag. Of course, you want your answer to be well-researched, but it also needs to be authentic and unique. You don’t want to repeat what previous candidates have said because interviewers will see right through any answers that have clearly been pulled from a template on the internet or the firm’s website.

To answer these questions successfully, it comes back to being honest. Why did you pick law? Has it been a life-long ambition? If it hasn’t, don’t say that it has! Maybe you didn’t realise this was a career you were interested in until the second year of university, or even partway through your career as an accountant, for example. Did you meet a law firm representative at a law fair who sparked your interest? Or perhaps you have a keen interest in the firm’s specialist practice area or the fact that it’s a global/small high-street firm. Conveying your unique story and how it’s suited to the career and firm will ensure you stand out and be remembered for the right reasons.

On the other hand, a training contract interview isn’t going to be full of questions you can easily prepare for. Interviewers want to test your knowledge and understanding, so are likely to throw some tricky questions onto the table, offering you the chance to think on your feet. If you don’t know the answer, it’s ok to say so. Also, many of the answers you have prepared can often hold relevant information you can use for scenario-based questions so don’t be intimidated.

Read ‘How to handle a scenario-based question at a training contract interview’ for more advice.

Remember, your university’s careers service can help you practise your answers, so ensure you’re making the most of them.

Read ‘Five ways your university careers service can help you ace the law recruitment process’ for some more tips on making the most of this service.

5. Prepare a topic to showcase your commercial awareness

By this point of your journey, the phrase ‘commercial awareness’ probably haunts you in your sleep. You all know by now that it’s the key skill that all law firms look for in their future lawyers and it requires an understanding of the environment in which law firms and their clients operate. If you’re not sure where to begin, look out for the trending commercial issues of 2024 Feature as a starting point.

You can read LCN’s ultimate guide to commercial awareness for our top tips on developing and using this skill.

This is certainly not a skill that you can pick up the night before your interview by reading the Financial Times. Your commercial awareness is something you need to build up from the start of your journey as a lawyer. We all know reading the news can be a little dry at times but making it part of your daily routine is a great place to start. There are also lots of podcasts and YouTube channels you can engage with as well.

Read ‘Three podcasts and influencers you should be following to boost your commercial awareness’ for some inspiration.

The point of this piece of advice is that you can’t pick commercial awareness up overnight. That’s not to say you shouldn’t read the news the night before, or even the morning of, your interview, because you should. But, hopefully, at this point you’ll be able to pull the news you’re reading into your commercial vision and consider how you can apply it within the interview.

‘Trending commercial issues to know about in 2024’ is a good place to start! Plus our News section offers the latest key stories from the legal world. You can also read our latest Wrestle with PESTLE article on cybersecurity and threats in the digital age.

Also, look out for LCN’s Commercial Connect newsletter which will appear in your inbox on the first Friday of every month with a host of content to support you and your commercial awareness journey.

The only way to receive this email is by registering for a free MyLCN account.

6. Speak slowly and clearly, and listen carefully

Again, it sounds obvious but sometimes the nerves get the better of us and we can end up speaking fast or finding it hard to make our point. If this is the case, ask the interviewer politely if you can take a minute to think about your answer. As you regroup your thoughts, remind yourself to speak slowly too. It’s ok to take a pause between the question and your answer – you’re allowed to have some thinking time.

On top of speaking slowly and clearly, make sure you’re carefully listening to everyone else in the room – they’re the ones asking you the questions. Plus, their responses to your question could prompt you to ask further questions at the end.

7. Prepare questions to ask interviewees

At the end of an interview, you’re given the chance to ask questions, which is a fantastic opportunity to stand out However, it’s often easy to forget to prepare for this part.

This is where the research you’ll have done before writing your application will come in handy. At this point, you should know a fair bit about the law firm, how and where it operates and who its clients are. So, think about whether you can ask any specific questions around this. Avoid asking questions where the answer is easy to find with a quick Google search.

Use LCN’s advice on researching firms to help and watch LCN’s masterclass on researching law firms for insights from trainees and recruiters.

It’s also worth checking what the firm has been up to in recent years – for example, has it gone through a recent merger? Who did the law firm merge with? Do you know the reason for the merge? If a firm has gone through a merger, you might want to come up with some questions relating to the process. Don’t try to be too clever though – remember firms want to recruit genuine, engaged and enthusiastic individuals so make sure you’re being yourself and asking questions that interest you.

You can check LCN’s News for up-to-date articles on mergers and more.

In addition, if you know who your interviewer is beforehand, you could always do some research via LinkedIn on their journey to help you come up with questions about the practice area they work in and how they came to be specialising in it? Or maybe you have some more specific questions about the firm’s training contract or programme.

Make sure you have a couple of questions up your sleeve that show you’re engaged with the interview, the firm and the training.

8. Let the firm know if you require any adjustments

Remember that the interview is your chance to demonstrate that you’re a suitable candidate for the training contract. If you require reasonable adjustments for the interview, the law firm must accommodate them under the Equality Act 2010.

Reasonable adjustments could include, but are not limited to, wheelchair access, a sign-language interpreter and extra time to complete assessments. Once you know the format of the interview (if this isn’t provided to you, reach out to the firm’s graduate recruitment team to ask), you should consider the reasonable adjustments that you might require to perform at your best on the day.

Read LCN’s advice on how accessible the legal profession is for lawyers with disabilities in this Oracle.

It might be easier to outline the reasonable adjustments you require and why within an email. Law firms should also be open to having conversations with candidates about adapting assessments, if required, should they be unable to make any of the reasonable adjustments you’ve requested.

9. Be polite to everyone

This brings us nicely to the penultimate tip. This goes without saying but it’s important that you’re polite to everyone. From the person on reception to the employee who comes to collect you to take you to the interview room and, of course, the interviewers.  

LCN blogger John MacKenzie also talks about the importance of this in his blog  ‘Interviewing for vac schemes and training contracts’ in which he offers advice on how to showcase your full potential to interviewers.

10. Reflect on your interview

So, how do you think you did?

It’s natural to leave an interview feeling overwhelmed, you’ve spent a lot of time preparing for this moment! You might also feel frustrated because as soon as the door closes it seems like an entire section of your brain suddenly opens and you remember all the things you wanted to mention but forgot. These emotions are normal, so feel them, embrace them and then focus on moving forward.

Whether or not you have another training contract interview in the pipeline, it’s a good idea to review the interview and your initial application to consider what went well, what didn’t go so well, and how you can prepare better for the next one. This might sound like a tedious task, particularly if the interview didn’t go to plan (that’s ok) but it’s worth doing so you can approach your next application or interview with an idea of the gaps you need to fill.

Read LCN’s advice on asking law firms for feedback in The Oracle.

Most importantly, don’t forget to look after your mental wellbeing during the application and interviewing process.

Elizabeth Rimmer, CEO of legal mental health charity LawCare, offers her advice on establishing healthy habits early on in this LCN says.

Good luck!

Dimitar Dimitrov (he/his) is a content and engagement coordinator at LawCareers.Net.