When a law firm interviews you, they want to hire you. If you do things right, you have a 90% chance of getting the following interview and a job offer. It costs money and time to interview you; they do not want you to screw up. They are losing money without you; they need you. Nevertheless, most candidates screw up their interviews.
Candidates who screw up in their interviews remain underemployed and underpaid. They act in a way that limits their career trajectory. Law firms reject and expel these bad interviewers like the plague. All of this is about something other than what you want. It is about giving others what they want. None of this is about your ego and what you think you deserve. It is about being something different than 95% of all attorneys are. This is why most attorneys do not get the jobs they are interviewing for, never get business, and never have the careers they are capable of having.
If you genuinely care about succeeding, read "A Message to Garcia" and "Your Career" before you go into any interview. Could you read it now? If you feel like you need to improve in your current job, have failed in past jobs, and are failing in interviews, this will tell you everything you need to know.
I want you to be successful not just in interviews but in your career and life. I want to change your perceptions. If I do that, you will succeed in everything you do. If you understand this article, you will know everything you need to know about succeeding in interviews.
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If you get an interview, the law firm only cares about what they need. They have a job to be done. They will hire the person they like the most and connect with, who seems like they will stick around, who looks like they can be managed, and who is committed to the practice area they are hiring for. They expect you to want to work in the city they are interviewing for, know the city, be committed to working there, and go out of the way to make this point. They expect you to know everything there is about their firm, their job, their people, and how you can fit in.
They care about their needs and will hire someone who best meets them. They only care about what they need.
Law firms are interested in something other than whether you want to work remotely or your needs. They do not care if you made more money in your last job. They do not care about your ego and what you think you are worth. They want the best person for the job who will do what they want done the way they want, respect them, and be ready to learn. Lawyers hiring other lawyers want to feel influential and respected, like the person they are interviewing needs them, and want to learn from them. Law firms want to feel like you will work hard and give them what they need.
If a law firm is interviewing you, it is your responsibility to get the position and not screw up. The best interviewees always get the job they are interviewing for. An attorney making $700,000 a year could walk into a job interview for a $65,000-a-year job in rural West Virginia and flatter, convince, and mesmerize their interviewers that they are the best fit. The attorney will be humble, respect the firm, flatter people, seem eager, act like they care about the people there are their job, and get the job.
This is what the best attorneys do. They win cases, win transactions, and they get jobs. This is what winners do. It is not about them and their egos. It is about getting the job done. They see things from others' points of view and win and get offers—they see things from others' points of view and use this to their advantage.
Attorneys who go to good law schools, get jobs at big firms, and think they are unique are often the worst interviewees. They need to realize that the first five years of their career are not about making money or getting prestige but finding someone to train them and give them opportunities. If they involve the ego in all this, the legal profession will have no interest in helping, training, or developing them. Who wants to help a person that thinks they are so special?
I'll tell you what is remarkable: The people who have dedicated 10, 20, or 30 years to a profession, survived, and are still standing there interviewing you. They know a lot more than you—they are employed, knowledgeable, committed, and people like them enough to have kept them around. They are survivors who deserve respect—no matter your opinions on the quality of their firm, size of the firm, law schools attended, or more.
The job of the best attorneys is to convince clients to use them, convince judges of their point of view, convince the other side of their position in a negotiation, and close deals. Selling yourself is the most important sales job—but why do you blow it? What kind of attorney do you think you are with your entitlement issues? Getting a good job once, getting into a good law school—none of this has anything to do with you. You cannot judge whether a law firm is good enough for you until you get the job. You are far from the point.
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- Acing Your Interview Starts with Assessing the Interviewer
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Attorneys who get hired never make it about their needs—they make it about the needs of the people hiring them. No one cares where you went to law school, what you want, why you think you are unique, or what your rewards and accomplishments are—they care about whether you will work for them how they want to. Law firms hire soldiers and not generals. Generals get to be generals by being good soldiers. Soldiers follow orders and give others respect. They want to learn. They give the impression that they would do anything for the cause of their general. Generals appreciate respect, unquestioned loyalty, and more. This is who you need to be to get a job.
Throw your ego out the door. Your ego shows how weak you are. The more visible your ego is, the more employers will reject you.
I work with partners making $5,000,000 or more all the time. They do not have egos. They are servants to their clients, their firm, the legal profession, not flashy, and are all about service to others. They do not try to look better than anyone, act arrogantly, drive ostentatious cars that attract negative attention, overdress, or anything that brings resentment towards them. They are there, treating their clients, judges, and others with respect. It is all about the people they are serving. If you want to be successful in this profession, this is the example you need to follow—unless you want to be cast out for your ridiculous attitude.
I can negotiate whatever you want after you get the offer. However, you need to get the offer first. If the law firm believes you will meet their needs, they will do everything possible to meet yours. You need to get the offer first. That is all that matters. Meet their needs, and they will meet yours. This is how business and the world work. Do this, and you will always be able to get jobs or clients. If you understand the significance of this, your life and career will never be the same.
