PAGE CONTENTS
STEP1: MAKE AN IMPRESSIVE CV
Every recruiter before interviewing you or before short-listing you for an interview will go through your CV. They spend on an average 7-10 seconds per CV and often form a judgement of the student based on the first look of the CV. Your CV is your guide through your interview, so it is very important to make a CV that: looks formal, highlights your most impressive achievements, mentions previous experiences/ internships, mentions your cocurricular and publications, reflects diversity in character. A CV should not exceed 2 pages. It is ideal to have a concise CV and all the achievements must be mentioned in the form of bullet points. By making pointers, you tend to grab the recruiter’s attention. If something on your CV is of utmost importance and very impressive, do not feel shy to write it in Bold or Italicize it to ensure it catches the eye. We will be uploading a draft CV on the website of Legal Maxim, so check it out for more details!
STEP 2: KNOW YOUR CV
Making an impressive CV and knowing your CV are two very different things. One should be mindful not to lie in their CV. Please only mention what you have truly worked on and achieved because your CV will be the basis on which you will be interviewed by your recruiter. You do not want to mention something you do not know or have no knowledge about. It reflects poorly on the candidate if he/she is unable to explain their CV to the recruiter. We work on many matters in our internship and while drafting our CV we tend to write in general words.
For example: worked on matters of family and civil laws. It is advised to not write a general CV and make it as specific as possible because by doing so you can narrow the scope of questions being thrown at you. For example: worked on matters under section 13 of the Hindu Succession Act. Drafting a specific CV will keep you safe in your interview round. If you have mentioned some work done that you have forgotten about, it is advised to brush up on that topic before your interview. Essentially, you do not want to be in a position where your recruiter questions you from your CV and you cannot answer. It would then make them doubt your qualifications. So it is best to study your CV well.
STEP 3: KNOW YOUR RECRUITER
If you know the name of the company/firm that you have applied for, it is advised that you should read up about their practice areas, some major client or cases that they have handled, their recent accomplishments and about the organization and its founders. If you have interned there before, it is an added advantage. If you know the name of your interviewer, you should read up on his/her work and background before the interview – like any recent deals, recent publications or any work of theirs that interested you. Knowing your firm and recruiter gives you an advantage during your interview as you have some level playing field to engage with them more personally by bringing up their work during the interview conversation. Make sure you bring it up while talking about a connected matter or be subtle because you do not want to talk about it abruptly and seem desperate. When you have done your background research about your recruiter or the recruiting firm, it indicates your effort and mindfulness.
STEP 4: ON YOUR INTERVIEW DAY
a) Dress Well: You must look smart on your important day. Wear your best formals and ensure your clothes are ironed, shoes cleaned and hair neatly made. Most importantly, wear a smile! No one wants to hire a snob!
b) Be courteous but do not butter them too much: It is important to be respectful and courteous. You must greet your recruiters and ask them about their day. Be polite throughout the conversation and avoid speaking aggressively or very long sentences. Have pauses, make it interactive, be expressive, be patient and most importantly, be honest. Do not try to be someone you are not; it never works in your favour. Do not try to unnecessarily compliment them or suck up to them too much.
c) Answering the Questions: An interview is generally a mix of Technical questions (about the legal field) and HR questions. The HR questions will revolve around your personality while the technical questions revolve around your knowledge in the field of law. For the HR questions, answer only what is asked and do not give very long monologues. Keep it brief but interesting. For the technical questions, if you know the answers then great! But if you do not know some answers, be honest and upfront enough to tell the recruiter that you are unaware of that topic but willing to learn. Do not beat around the bush and try to take wild guesses and give wrong answers.
d) Concluding the interview: Towards the end of an interview, the recruiter generally asks if “Do you have any questions for me?”. Do not say you have no questions. It shows a lack of curiosity. Always ask a question – it could be about the firm’s rotation policy, or you could ask him/her something about their work or the field. However, never ask about feedback on the interview or how it went. It is not your college viva and you cannot expect them to give you feedback on your interview there and then. It will make both sides unnecessarily awkward.
e) Leave the interview room graciously and thank them for their time and patience. You could also shake hands and smile at the recruiter.
While there are these tips to crack an interview, there are times when the odds are against us! On those rare bad days, we must remember to keep our chin up, walk tall and try again because there is always a next time! 🙂
Written by Rhea Ajmera
Editor
