How to fail your training contract interview in five easy steps

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I’m aware that there are millions of articles, podcasts, online workshops and videos that would pop up if you simply type into google this magic combination of words: "training contract interview tips". We are certainly overloaded with information. You might find some of those resources helpful. They helped me when I was in my second year of university trying to juggle exams and frantically preparing for my final training contract interviews.

If you’ve just started university and you want to know what you should be doing, read LCN’s first-year university checklist to get you started.

However, the more you go down that rabbit hole, the more obvious it becomes that those tips are repetitive. "Dress smartly", "maintain eye contact", and "shake hands firmly" – all suggestions that are useful once you get your foot in the door.

If you’re unsure whether a City firm is for you, read LCN’s advice in this Oracle: Is a career at a City law firm for you?

Be prepared for the virtual interview scenario, which has become way more prominent in this market after the covid-19 pandemic switch to flexible working.

For advice on what to wear to an interview, head to LawCareers.Net’s Oracle!

Virtual interviews are slightly different in structure and could be unusual to people who have never done them before. It goes without saying that you cannot turn on your camera wearing pyjamas.

It’s also important to be prepared that the interviewer might not always be looking at you because they might be typing something in order to capture your responses.

To get a better idea of how to perform your best in a video interview, watch this YouTube video.

Some candidates will benefit from the fact that it’s almost impossible to read their body language through the camera (another added bonus, which didn’t exist when I was interviewing years ago). So a little smile and nodding from time to time goes a long way. The existing secrets to a successful interview are not necessarily applicable and sometimes presented so generically that it becomes too difficult for candidates to take them onboard, which later transpires through interview horror stories.

LawCareers.Net has put together this guide to training contract interviews, featuring 10 tips to help you ace your interview.

This guide is meant to be a concise and digestible plan of what NOT to do, if you’ve secured a place on a training contract or vacation scheme assessment centre and have been fortunate enough to reach the interview stage. Having interviewed a ton of candidates for vacation schemes and training contracts at Ashurst LLP, I’m confident that these five tips are going to prove useful.

Step one – Say everything you think the interviewer wants to hear

I have seen numerous candidates fall into this trap. Trying to say or think what the recruiter wants will only make you sound rehearsed and ingenuine. I’ve seen candidates reading from a script that they’ve conveniently placed on their computer screen and saying things that didn’t particularly sound true. Trust me, it doesn’t create a good impression when you talk like a robot. Graduate recruiters want to see humans; so let your personality shine through!

Of course, I should say that when you analyse an interview question, you should mentally be planning an appropriate response. My tip – use the STAR (situation, task, action, result) approach. The STAR method is a “structured manner of responding to a behavioural-based interview question.”

However, this doesn’t mean that there’s only one correct answer or only one way of approaching things. Try to be yourself and answer the questions as honestly as possible so the recruiter can see your personality. Your potential employer doesn’t want any big surprises later down the line (and this includes your personality type)!

To find out what graduate recruiters look for in applicants, read our Meet the Recruiter profiles.

Step two – Mention a deal on your application form that you know anything about

This is probably my favourite one because quite often I read application forms and see some high-profile deals being mentioned (especially when they relate to a different area to the one the applicant has mentioned as their main area of interest).

Also, I hope I’m not surprising anyone by the fact that somebody reads those application forms before the interviews – yes, we know them inside out. The chances are, nine times out of 10 you’re going to be asked what’s so interesting about this deal that you’ve referenced.

Some will claim that it’s not fair and prospective candidates are not legal experts so cannot explain to the interviewer(s) all the intricacies of a particular transaction. This is going to be groundbreaking but I bet your interviewer isn’t going to be an expert in that field either, so don’t worry.

Therefore, in order to prepare for this question, all you have to do is read about the industry in question, brainstorm why this deal is important to the firm that you’re applying to and explain why it sparked your interest. The latter doesn’t have to be rocket science either – it might be your personal interest (maybe you’ve been following this company/client's history for some time) or it’s a major development in the market (eg, the environmental, social and governance is very popular right now).

There’s also another side to this coin – there are some candidates who over prepare and, as a result, end up overwhelming the interviewer with the relevant applicable law. These candidates are very impressive but their tendency to offer too much detail and financial aspects of the transaction can end up boring the interviewer. So, if you do decide to mention a deal on your cover letter, try to keep your interview concise, relevant and explain your reasoning with confidence.

Step three – Avoid answering questions that aren’t trying to trick you

There’s a classic question that probably comes up in every interview, which requires you to answer what your role is within a team environment. The number of times we’ve heard candidates coming up with random roles such as a ‘mediator’, time-keeper’ or ‘note-taker. Not every question asked in an interview is out to trick you. This is a scenario where you’re either a follower or a leader. Yes, it’s that simple. Let's break it down for people that are still cautious about this type of question. It’s not bad to be either – a law firm or any other organisation cannot have too many leaders or followers, it has to be a balance! So, it’s absolutely fine to be either.

All we want to find out is your personality type and how you perform in group exercises. There are of course various types of leaders as well, so you can be an active leader, which is a person that volunteers to lead the team and takes charge immediately, or a born charismatic leader, who doesn’t come forward but people still naturally gravitate towards. Try to be as real and authentic about your character and don’t be afraid to give a wrong answer – because there are no wrong answers.

Watch this webinar which fleshes out exactly how candidates can prepare for and craft successful law firm applications.

Step four – Know nothing about the competitors, leading practice areas and market strategy

You must have some sound knowledge about the firm you’re applying to. If you have an interview with a silver circle law firm, for example, simply saying that their competitors are some really niche boutique firms or the Big Four won’t cut it. Your answer must be well researched and will likely carry a lot of weight for the outcome of the interview.

So, try to be logical about how you answer and check who the competitors are before the interview. Research the leading practice areas, office locations, business strategies – and then compare that against the rest of the market.

Another nugget of wisdom would be to read the Chambers’ rankings and check what the firm in question specialises in. For example, don’t be the interviewee that says they wish to join the firm because its pensions practice is particularly strong, when the firm only has one person in that department. Another hot topic that you should keep on top of is technology – keep up to date with LawCareers.Net commercial news round-up everyThursday to digest trends in technology and other hot topics.

This might sound like a useless tip but don’t suggest for the law firm to get in the game and develop its technology offering, when the law firm in question already has an entire team developing legal tech. This shows the firm that you haven’t done your research thoroughly enough to pick up on it.

To find out why technology might actually be detrimental to law firms, read this LCN Says: ‘A different view on law firms and technology’.

Step five – Keep mentioning the same example for different scenario questions

This should be the most obvious one but it might not be apparent to everyone. Law firms typically deal with a sea of impressive candidates and everyone has something exciting to share. Please don’t overuse one good example for all the scenario-based questions.

Firms understand that you’re the captain of the cricket team so try to think of something else on your application form that could be applicable or outline your transferable skills. Don’t be afraid to be creative by thinking outside the box.

Some candidates can get really stressed and forget about their other work experience, that could be as impressive as your captain role on the university team. It does not have to be a law-related experience either, you just have to sell it in the right way. It is all about presentation – another skill that all future lawyers should possess.

Make sure that you also get to the point with your example (ie, have you really demonstrated the skill that we are asking about?). A good idea would be to make a list of skills and qualities that the law firm you are applying to is looking for and prepare a couple of examples in advance that demonstrate those skills.

Watch this LawCareers.Net Podcast episode with a future trainee at Linklaters LLP, about her journey to a training contract, how to navigate work experience and preparing for interviews.

Final thoughts

Obviously the five tips above are meant to be humorous and this is my attempt at being funny, but in all seriousness, interviewing for a vacation scheme or a training contract can be very stressful (I’ve been there!).

The most important advice I can give you is to maintain your cool. Be enthusiastic and confident but not arrogant – it’s all about finding a balance. If the interview doesn’t go well first-time round, don’t give up. Instead, use it as a learning curve to improve your resilience or interviewing style. The fact that you’ve made it that far is already extremely impressive. If this is really something you want, then fight for it.

For more advice on what to do if you don’t secure a training contract, head to this Oracle – ‘I wasn’t offered a training contract this summer – what now?’.

My father-in-law always says to me that “Success follows the hard-working ones” so try to keep that at the back of your mind.

Kseniia Samokhina (she/her) is an associate at Ashurst LLP. You can connect with her via LinkedIn.