totallylegal

When a chat is not just a chat in the legal world

By Richard Flexer

Richard Flexer is a director of Brunel Professional Recruitment, a consultancy specialising in the recruitment of IP and Legal Professionals throughout the UK.  Richard has a wealth of experience in recruiting senior level candidates for a number of the UK’s leading IP and legal practices. 

We are often asked, especially for the more senior level roles that we recruit for, to arrange ‘informal chats’ between candidates and clients to discuss potential opportunities in a more relaxed setting than a formal interview would allow.

CV & Interview Advice for Legal professionals

By Nadim Baig

Nadim Baig has a wealth of recruitment experience spanning over a decade within the legal sector. He specialises in the recruitment of permanent and locum legal professionals in the South West and South Wales, Thames Valley region, North and West Wales, the Midlands and the North West.

Here at Bewley Recruitment we understand that searching for that perfect role can often be a difficult and daunting task, particularly when you are aiming to successfully market yourself to potential employers, and stand out from the many others who are trying to do the same. 

With this in mind, we have created a CV and Interview preparation guide to assist you along the way. 

 

CV Guide

Present a clear and concise CV containing relevant information laid out in a logical manner

Remember that the reader will tend to scan the document at first and will want to find the important information easily and quickly. 

At the head of the CV give your personal details including full name, address, telephone numbers and email. Below this should be inserted your academic achievements, where they were obtained and the grades achieved. Follow this with experience gained at work in the legal profession with the latest/current employment first, name of employer, position(s) held, duties and responsibilities. 

It is important that you give the reader a clear impression of the range and variety of work that you have handled and an insight into your actual legal experience. You will appreciate that people doing similar sorts of jobs for similar lengths of time may well have handled very different cases in very different circumstances and so their actual experience will not be the same. 

Identify achievements and successes in each role and give an indication of the types of client you dealt with. Be positive in tone. 

If you have been involved in marketing, business development and promotional activities these should be recorded since they are often of great interest to a prospective employer.

If there are any gaps in employment give a brief explanation in the appropriate place. 

As a guide, we suggest a CV should be 2 - 4 pages long.

 

Interview Guide 

An interview is an occasion when your personal presentational skills are as important as your knowledge and experience. 

Make sure that you arrive punctually, that you are smart and well turned out. 

You must prepare carefully and well. Research the firm. Bewley Legal Recruitment will provide basic information about the firm, provide maps to the location and give the names of the people with whom the interview will take place. However, you, the candidate, must make yourself familiar with their size, profile and reputation so that you are clear in your own mind as to how you view the firm. Much information can be gained from the traditional directories or by using the internet. Put yourself in a position to ask and answer questions about the firm and how it works. Review and know your C.V. and be able to discuss it confidently. 

Think about questions that you may be asked to establish your technical knowledge relevant to the position for which you are being interviewed. Be prepared also to answer technical questions of a general rather than specific nature. 

At the interview itself, try to be at ease. Remember that the interviewer needs to fill the vacancy successfully and so should be prepared to answer your questions and provide information. Take time to think about the question before answering. Try to be concise. If possible and appropriate, try to illustrate your answer with a related and successful instance in your experience. 

You must be completely honest. 

At the end of the interview, establish the next stage and the timescale.

 

 

About Bewley Recruitment 

Established for 20 years, Bewley has never sought to be the biggest recruitment company, instead we have focused on delivering excellent service whilst assuring confidentiality throughout. As a result we are proud to be one of the most respected legal recruiters.

We serve candidates and clients in the South West and South Wales, Thames Valley region, North and West Wales, the Midlands and the North West. Our ethos is that by investing time in getting to know our candidates and clients, we can make the best introductions. 

For further information, please visit our new website www.bewleyrecruitment.com

 

 

 

 

 

Personality has the power to open many doors......

....but character must keep them open.

By Naveen Tulli

Global Managing Director, Laurence Simons International Legal Recruitment. With over 20 years experience within the global in-house market at Laurence Simons, Naveen has gained unrivalled expertise and experience working with some of the world’s best known multinationals. 

There are so many opinions about what the right questions are to ask during an interview, some say they should be competency based, others think they should be structured according to the candidate’s personality and others just conduct interviews in a reactive ‘gut-feel’ way. Laurence Simons recently conducted a survey asking legal professionals across the globe what they consider the most important factor when deciding between candidates at the final stage of an interview. Interestingly 49% said personality and 15% said cultural fit - only 22% answered skills and knowledge.

Interview preparation

First, the good news. The fact that you have an interview means you are almost there. You may be feeling anxious and nervous. It's only natural. But the important things to keep in mind are:

• Interviewers do not waste their time. An interviewer's time is expensive. You deserve to be on the shortlist. You have a realistic chance of getting the job.
• By being on the shortlist the odds of winning the job have been significantly reduced in your favour.
• An interview is a golden opportunity to illustrate your enthusiasm and passion for the role.
• Be positive!

Performance

The interview is the forum within which you will need to answer three questions:

    * Do you have the technical skills and experience to do the job?
    * Will you have the right attitude and commitment to do the job?
    * Will you fit in?

Skills and experience

The fact that you've been asked for interview shows your potential employer believes the answer to this question is 'yes'. However, the majority of the interview will probably be spent confirming this. Avoid monosyllabic responses and volunteer supporting information whenever possible.

Frequently asked interview questions

Questions you could be asked

    * Tell me something about yourself.
    * What brings you to the job market at this point in your career?
    * Why would you like to work for this company in particular?
    * What attracts you to this role?
    * What are your key strengths and weaknesses?
    * Describe two major achievements in your career.
    * If you could change anything about your career so far, what would it be?
    * How would members of your team describe you?
    * What important points came out of your last appraisal?
    * Describe your management style.
    * What do you look for in a manager?
    * Describe your toughest client.
    * What do you want from your next role?
    * What does success mean to you?
    * What are the key things that drive or motivate you?
    * What really winds you up in the workplace?
    * Describe your greatest challenge so far.
    * Describe a difficult work scenario and how you managed it.
    * Where do you see yourself in two to five year's time?
    * What are your career aspirations?
    * What would you say about your current and last employers?
    * Describe your preferred company culture.
    * If you could have your time again, what career would you choose?

Questions to ask the interviewer

    * How has this vacancy arisen?
    * How would you describe the firm/company culture?
    * What do you see as the key challenges of this role?
    * How do you differentiate yourselves from your competitors?
    * What are the organisation's major business objectives in the coming year?
    * How are employees measured in terms of performance?
    * What processes exist to support employees in their career development?
    * How would you describe the firm/company's values?
    * What key issues currently face the organisation?
    * What can I expect to be involved in during my first six months of joining?
    * What are the department's priorities during the next six months?