Tips for interviewing In-house (offering tips from interviewer perspective) Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hi everyone,

Long time lurker and infrequent poster. I want to share some basic things you should do and should not do when interviewing in-house. I've been interviewing a lot of candidates lately and it amazes me how clueless some very accomplished, bright young lawyers can be. I realize some of these reflect my own and my company's bias, but these are good general rules of thumb that should be obvious, but I've seen most candidates screw this up...

DO:
-Be able to answer why you want to move jobs: Focus on why you want this job rather than why you don't like old job - better to avoid much negativity about your old job)
-Be able to describe why you are interested in the company and this specific position: Some overlap with the first point, but digging into the details a bit more and demonstrating some knowledge of the company/industry/role. It is okay to admit what you don't know but do your homework and ask questions to dig into why you would want this position (e.g., what is the breakdown of how much time the responsibilities will take?)
-Suit up! (Sorry ladies - I'm a guy and don't notice proper attire for women as much as I do for men. Pants suit or blouse/skirt works I think.)
-Have a conversation and be yourself (well, your professional self): Don't be too stiff or uptight unless that is your nature personality and you want to work with people that like those types of interactions.
-Have questions that show you are interested in what it would be like to work at the Company: Have lots of questions. Dig into the day to day, the challenges, why they were drawn to the company/department, favorite parts of their job, characteristics of an ideal candidate, etc. You want to do this to show interest and thoughtfulness, but also so you can evaluate whether it will be a good fit for you.
-Know your resume: Be ready to speak to items on your resume. If you say that you negotiated commercial agreements and this role involves negotiating commercial agreements, be ready to speak to the types of agreements, the industry of the company, the pain points of the negotiation and your role.
-Make eye contact and smile naturally when appropriate. Try to reflect warmth.
-Speak with confidence. We will be evaluating you on whether you exude confidence and will be able to
-Get sleep the night before. I've seen interviewees who showed up exhausted and looked like crap. I felt bad for them, but it impacted my view of them because they weren't as articulate and it was difficult to know if it was their natural state or if they were just tired.
-Speak with friends/contacts at the company ahead of time to do some info digging.

DON'T:
-Ask about money/hours in the early rounds of the interviews. It is okay to dance around this by asking about a typical day and to ask about this very explicitly after you receive an offer.
-Forget the name/industry of the company (it happens).
-Lie/Exaggerate. It is painfully obvious to interviewers when a candidate is exaggerating their experience. Sell yourself, for sure, but if you should be within the realm of honesty (where you will not be embarrassed if this person speaks with colleagues of your's).
-Show up late. Leave extra time to sit in your car while you wait.
-Look at the clock, check your phone, close your eyes while talking.
-Be smelly/sweaty. Leave extra time so you aren't stressed getting to the interview. Don't walk for 30 minutes outside in the summer to get there or take a hot bus ride. Appearance matters.

Feel free to ask questions. I went through this process not too long ago, so would love to help those going through it. It's a stressful experience to look for a new job but well worth it if you move for the right reasons to the right job. It is also worth taking the extra time to find a good match - don't settle.

[Anonymous User]

What are you mainly looking for from candidates in terms of experience?

[Anonymous User]

OP here. My familiarity is mostly with corporate because that is my practice, but I can speak a little bit to other practices too because our in-house department has a wide variety of backgrounds.

It varies position to position. Generally, we want candidates with big law firm background. The "sweet-spot" is 3-5 (though we tend to hire more in 4-6) years for most in-house positions. If you go in-house at a more junior level, you may not have the skill set to perform well without much supervision and/or it may be harder to climb the ladder. It is really position-dependent so it is difficult to really generalize, though.

Some people go in-house straight from law school and are very happy and successful. If I were faced with the two options of going in-house right out of law school and a job at a big firm, I would choose the firm training, even as painful as it was.

[Anonymous User]

OP here. My familiarity is mostly with corporate because that is my practice, but I can speak a little bit to other practices too because our in-house department has a wide variety of backgrounds.

It varies position to position. Generally, we want candidates with big law firm background. The "sweet-spot" is 3-5 (though we tend to hire more in 4-6) years for most in-house positions. If you go in-house at a more junior level, you may not have the skill set to perform well without much supervision and/or it may be harder to climb the ladder. It is really position-dependent so it is difficult to really generalize, though.

Some people go in-house straight from law school and are very happy and successful. If I were faced with the two options of going in-house right out of law school and a job at a big firm, I would choose the firm training, even as painful as it was.

Thanks for the great interview tips and for taking questions. I have two:

(1) I'm starting at a big firm next year, but I'd like the option go in house eventually. What practice groups would give me a good foundation? M&A? Capital markets? Real estate? I'd like to build a skillset that opens up a good number of in-house opportunities.

(2) When interviewing candidates 3-5 years out, do you look at their law school transcript? Any coursework or other things you like to see?

Thanks again!

[Anonymous User]

What do you think is the best way for interviewees to handle addressing lack of experience in one of the job responsibilities/requirements (assuming they fulfill some of the other ones)? Which responses have impressed you the most?

[Danger Zone]

OP here. My familiarity is mostly with corporate because that is my practice, but I can speak a little bit to other practices too because our in-house department has a wide variety of backgrounds.

It varies position to position. Generally, we want candidates with big law firm background. The "sweet-spot" is 3-5 (though we tend to hire more in 4-6) years for most in-house positions. If you go in-house at a more junior level, you may not have the skill set to perform well without much supervision and/or it may be harder to climb the ladder. It is really position-dependent so it is difficult to really generalize, though.

Some people go in-house straight from law school and are very happy and successful. If I were faced with the two options of going in-house right out of law school and a job at a big firm, I would choose the firm training, even as painful as it was.

Thanks for the great interview tips and for taking questions. I have two:

(1) I'm starting at a big firm next year, but I'd like the option go in house eventually. What practice groups would give me a good foundation? M&A? Capital markets? Real estate? I'd like to build a skillset that opens up a good number of in-house opportunities.

(2) When interviewing candidates 3-5 years out, do you look at their law school transcript? Any coursework or other things you like to see?

Thanks again!

Also curious

[Phil Brooks]

Do you also like it when candidates use the phrase "dig in" throughout their answers?

Don't abuse anon.

[zot1]

Hi everyone,

Long time lurker and infrequent poster. I want to share some basic things you should do and should not do when interviewing in-house. I've been interviewing a lot of candidates lately and it amazes me how clueless some very accomplished, bright young lawyers can be. I realize some of these reflect my own and my company's bias, but these are good general rules of thumb that should be obvious, but I've seen most candidates screw this up...

DO:
-Be able to answer why you want to move jobs: Focus on why you want this job rather than why you don't like old job - better to avoid much negativity about your old job)
-Be able to describe why you are interested in the company and this specific position: Some overlap with the first point, but digging into the details a bit more and demonstrating some knowledge of the company/industry/role. It is okay to admit what you don't know but do your homework and ask questions to dig into why you would want this position (e.g., what is the breakdown of how much time the responsibilities will take?)
-Suit up! (Sorry ladies - I'm a guy and don't notice proper attire for women as much as I do for men. Pants suit or blouse/skirt works I think.)
-Have a conversation and be yourself (well, your professional self): Don't be too stiff or uptight unless that is your nature personality and you want to work with people that like those types of interactions.
-Have questions that show you are interested in what it would be like to work at the Company: Have lots of questions. Dig into the day to day, the challenges, why they were drawn to the company/department, favorite parts of their job, characteristics of an ideal candidate, etc. You want to do this to show interest and thoughtfulness, but also so you can evaluate whether it will be a good fit for you.
-Know your resume: Be ready to speak to items on your resume. If you say that you negotiated commercial agreements and this role involves negotiating commercial agreements, be ready to speak to the types of agreements, the industry of the company, the pain points of the negotiation and your role.
-Make eye contact and smile naturally when appropriate. Try to reflect warmth.
-Speak with confidence. We will be evaluating you on whether you exude confidence and will be able to
-Get sleep the night before. I've seen interviewees who showed up exhausted and looked like crap. I felt bad for them, but it impacted my view of them because they weren't as articulate and it was difficult to know if it was their natural state or if they were just tired.
-Speak with friends/contacts at the company ahead of time to do some info digging.

DON'T:
-Ask about money/hours in the early rounds of the interviews. It is okay to dance around this by asking about a typical day and to ask about this very explicitly after you receive an offer.
-Forget the name/industry of the company (it happens).
-Lie/Exaggerate. It is painfully obvious to interviewers when a candidate is exaggerating their experience. Sell yourself, for sure, but if you should be within the realm of honesty (where you will not be embarrassed if this person speaks with colleagues of your's).
-Show up late. Leave extra time to sit in your car while you wait.
-Look at the clock, check your phone, close your eyes while talking.
-Be smelly/sweaty. Leave extra time so you aren't stressed getting to the interview. Don't walk for 30 minutes outside in the summer to get there or take a hot bus ride. Appearance matters.

Feel free to ask questions. I went through this process not too long ago, so would love to help those going through it. It's a stressful experience to look for a new job but well worth it if you move for the right reasons to the right job. It is also worth taking the extra time to find a good match - don't settle.

This is so ridiculously elitist. Shit happens. Your car breaks down. You walk or take the bus. Thanks for restoring my faith in humanity...

[legends159]

This is so ridiculously elitist. Shit happens. Your car breaks down. You walk or take the bus. Thanks for restoring my faith in humanity...

Get over it dude. You take one thing OP says out of context and criticize it? This is why TLS can't have nice things.

If your car breaks down get an uber. Appearances matter no matter where you go or what you do.

[zot1]

This is so ridiculously elitist. Shit happens. Your car breaks down. You walk or take the bus. Thanks for restoring my faith in humanity...

Get over it dude. You take one thing OP says out of context and criticize it? This is why TLS can't have nice things.

If your car breaks down get an uber. Appearances matter no matter where you go or what you do.

I've been over it, but thanks for the advice. I might not have gotten over it otherwise.

I hope you get your nice things back.

[Anonymous User]

OP here. My familiarity is mostly with corporate because that is my practice, but I can speak a little bit to other practices too because our in-house department has a wide variety of backgrounds.

It varies position to position. Generally, we want candidates with big law firm background. The "sweet-spot" is 3-5 (though we tend to hire more in 4-6) years for most in-house positions. If you go in-house at a more junior level, you may not have the skill set to perform well without much supervision and/or it may be harder to climb the ladder. It is really position-dependent so it is difficult to really generalize, though.

Some people go in-house straight from law school and are very happy and successful. If I were faced with the two options of going in-house right out of law school and a job at a big firm, I would choose the firm training, even as painful as it was.

Thanks for the great interview tips and for taking questions. I have two:

(1) I'm starting at a big firm next year, but I'd like the option go in house eventually. What practice groups would give me a good foundation? M&A? Capital markets? Real estate? I'd like to build a skillset that opens up a good number of in-house opportunities.

(2) When interviewing candidates 3-5 years out, do you look at their law school transcript? Any coursework or other things you like to see?

Thanks again!

On #1, I recommend M&A, but it depends on what you want to do. M&A provides a broad skill set of solid drafting, project management, negotiating, managing others (once more senior) and some familiarity with businesses. People go in-house from all walks of life, though, so if you are passionate about real estate, you can go with real estate. If you are trying to maximize in-house options down the road, I'd go with M&A.

On #2, my company does not request transcripts and no in-house gig that I applied to/interviewed for asked for one. Some places ask for GPA, but I'd often leave blank and it didn't hurt me. If you go to a firm, most firms ask for transcripts.

[Anonymous User]

What do you think is the best way for interviewees to handle addressing lack of experience in one of the job responsibilities/requirements (assuming they fulfill some of the other ones)? Which responses have impressed you the most?

I'd have a frank discussion. Ask about whether prior experience or knowledge of the subject matter is a prerequisite to the job and be honest about your lack thereof. In most cases, they will know this before they interview you and they are okay with it. In some scenarios, you can justify why it's not a big deal (e.g., for commercial agreements, you may not draft many at a law firm, but you reviewed a ton of them in diligence and you have familiarity with the concepts that will come up like indemnification, termination, etc.). Alternatively, you will want to ask whether it is a difficult subject to pickup. For me, I came in-house in an industry in which I had very little experience and it was not an issue even though its fairly regulated. For some jobs, the industry is critical (e.g., a compliance job for an investment company), in others the regulations are more on the outskirts of your day to day so its not a big deal and you can pickup the high level concepts that you will need pretty quickly.

[Anonymous User]

Do you also like it when candidates use the phrase "dig in" throughout their answers?

I don't like it - I dig it.

[Anonymous User]

Don't walk for 30 minutes outside in the summer to get there or take a hot bus ride. Appearance matters.

Feel free to ask questions. I went through this process not too long ago, so would love to help those going through it. It's a stressful experience to look for a new job but well worth it if you move for the right reasons to the right job. It is also worth taking the extra time to find a good match - don't settle.

This is so ridiculously elitist. Shit happens. Your car breaks down. You walk or take the bus. Thanks for restoring my faith in humanity...

Shit does happen, but everyone will assume you just don't have your shit together. You have not built up credibility yet, so people will assume the worst. They will think if I hire this guy/girl, will they be late when we have a 9am meeting with the VP of Business Development or show up looking like shit? (Or other scenarios in which it would reflect poorly upon them and the Legal group for you to be late.) It's not elitist - it's just a fact of life, especially for a legal job. No one wants to work with someone who is constantly late, makes excuses or just looks like a hot mess all of the time. When you show up late or looking like a hot mess, it does not give a good impression and it will be a huge hurdle for you to overcome. It's not to say that there aren't very good reasons to show up late or looking like shit sometimes. Life will beat the shit out of you and you have no control over it - I get it.

The lesson? Leave WAY more time than you need to get to an interview. It's actually very easy. If it takes 30 minutes to drive to the interview, leave at least an hour (though I would recommend 1:15-1:30) if you really want the job. Go grab a coffee before the interview, chill out in your car and listen to music. In addition to almost ensuring that you will be on time, it ensures being on time will not add stress/anxiety to a process that is already riddled with anxiety. Having gone on a fair number of interviews and interviewed a lot of people, I can personally attest that it makes a huge difference in my stress levels when I don't have to worry about whether construction will fuck up my potential opportunity...and I'm not someone who ever arrives early...it took some painful experiences to come to this realization, though thankfully nothing that lost an interview solely on my tardiness.

If you truly cannot afford to take an uber or other AC ride to the interview and you sweat easily, consider asking a friend if they can drive you if it is a really important interview, or get there extra early so you can clean-up.

Last, no need to attack folks that might say things that you think will offend me. I'm sure that anything they say will pale in comparison to what I've heard in real life, it's hard for me to take anyone on the internet too seriously, and I've got a thick skin.

[zot1]

Because someone not sweaty at an interview has never been late to meetings once hired...

Look, I get your point.

[ruski]

Don't walk for 30 minutes outside in the summer to get there or take a hot bus ride. Appearance matters.

Feel free to ask questions. I went through this process not too long ago, so would love to help those going through it. It's a stressful experience to look for a new job but well worth it if you move for the right reasons to the right job. It is also worth taking the extra time to find a good match - don't settle.

The lesson? Leave WAY more time than you need to get to an interview. It's actually very easy. If it takes 30 minutes to drive to the interview, leave at least an hour (though I would recommend 1:15-1:30) if you really want the job. Go grab a coffee before the interview, chill out in your car and listen to music. In addition to almost ensuring that you will be on time, it ensures being on time will not add stress/anxiety to a process that is already riddled with anxiety. Having gone on a fair number of interviews and interviewed a lot of people, I can personally attest that it makes a huge difference in my stress levels when I don't have to worry about whether construction will fuck up my potential opportunity...and I'm not someone who ever arrives early...it took some painful experiences to come to this realization, though thankfully nothing that lost an interview solely on my tardiness.

except we're practicing lawyers. not bums who stay at home all day. I once had to run to an interview in between three closings going on. I made it on time, and wasn't sweaty, but LOL at coming an hour early and chilling in the car and listening to music.

with that said, I generally agree with you. I would probably ding candidate too bc you don't really know if it was in their control and theres not much to base a decision during a 30 min convo. but still unreasonable to tell someone to come an hour early and chill in the car. and taking the entire day off is totally out of the questions bc usually you'll have several interview/call backs lined up and you cant just take a day off every other week.

[zot1]

Don't walk for 30 minutes outside in the summer to get there or take a hot bus ride. Appearance matters.

Feel free to ask questions. I went through this process not too long ago, so would love to help those going through it. It's a stressful experience to look for a new job but well worth it if you move for the right reasons to the right job. It is also worth taking the extra time to find a good match - don't settle.

The lesson? Leave WAY more time than you need to get to an interview. It's actually very easy. If it takes 30 minutes to drive to the interview, leave at least an hour (though I would recommend 1:15-1:30) if you really want the job. Go grab a coffee before the interview, chill out in your car and listen to music. In addition to almost ensuring that you will be on time, it ensures being on time will not add stress/anxiety to a process that is already riddled with anxiety. Having gone on a fair number of interviews and interviewed a lot of people, I can personally attest that it makes a huge difference in my stress levels when I don't have to worry about whether construction will fuck up my potential opportunity...and I'm not someone who ever arrives early...it took some painful experiences to come to this realization, though thankfully nothing that lost an interview solely on my tardiness.

except we're practicing lawyers. not bums who stay at home all day. I once had to run to an interview in between three closings going on. I made it on time, and wasn't sweaty, but LOL at coming an hour early and chilling in the car and listening to music.

with that said, I generally agree with you. I would probably ding candidate too bc you don't really know if it was in their control and theres not much to base a decision during a 30 min convo. but still unreasonable to tell someone to come an hour early and chill in the car. and taking the entire day off is totally out of the questions bc usually you'll have several interview/call backs lined up and you cant just take a day off every other week.

Dudes, I never meant this was acceptable in every situation.

If dude comes to interview sweaty and apologizes and says my car broke down and I couldn't get a hold of anybody but I walked here 10 miles, I would hire that person because they're not afraid to go the extra mile. I wouldn't judge them because they had an incident which totally could happen to anyone.

[Danger Zone]

Is this conversation really worth derailing the thread over?

[071816]

Dudes, I never meant this was acceptable in every situation.

If dude comes to interview sweaty and apologizes and says my car broke down and I couldn't get a hold of anybody but I walked here 10 miles, I would hire that person because they're not afraid to go the extra mile. I wouldn't judge them because they had an incident which totally could happen to anyone.

SHUT THE FUCK UP

[zot1]

Is this conversation really worth derailing the thread over?

No. My bad. Done here.

[071816]

I know these aren't interviewing questions, but I'm curious:

what industry are you in?

what's the size of the company? public or private?

are you specialized or more of a generalist?

[Danger Zone]

OP how did you get the lead for your position? Were you recommended by an insider?

[whats an updog]

What kind of in house positions do you see for litigators?

[Anonymous User]

I know these aren't interviewing questions, but I'm curious:

what industry are you in?

what's the size of the company? public or private?

are you specialized or more of a generalist?

I would rather not share my industry because I don't want to be outed. It is a large public company, with a fairly large legal team (more than 25, less than 80). I am a corporate generalist: commercial agreements, M&A, supporting marketing and products, and other general corporate work (excluding SEC filings).

[Anonymous User]

OP how did you get the lead for your position? Were you recommended by an insider?

I was recommended by an insider, but I saw the job posting and reached out to that contact. Basically, I would watch the job postings online and then reach out to my network if I knew anyone at the company with an opening.