The battle

I decide on the way to the interview that I actually didn't want the job. I couldn't see how it would advance me professionally and was annoyed that I'd have a commute in traffic and that the salary probably wouldn't keep me in decent holidays.

I get there an hour early and decide to call a friend, who is incredibly wise and always knows exactly what I need to hear, even if I didn't know it myself. "Come on Little Lawyer, isn't this just to ride out the Armageddon?"

So I walk up the stairs to the offices and the first thing to hit me is the smell of hot food. Lunch was 4 hours ago. I sit in the small reception where there were clients waiting to be seen. They must have already been there a while. I'm seen 20 minutes late and they were still sat there.

"So Little Lawyer, I'm going to give you 30 files and by the end of the month you'll have another 20. Is that going to be a problem for you?"

This was obviously an attempt to intimidate me, so I told Mr Partner that if I wasn't intimidated on day 1 in a ridiculously busy department handling my own case load where the files were piled up on my desk when I was a trainee, why would he think that keeping me with a constant stream of work would be a problem for me.

"You do pro bono work. What's in it for you?"

"So Little Lawyer, I guess if the firm you trained with really wanted to keep you they would have made arrangements so that could have happened..."

I interrupted. I told Mr Partner that if he wanted to know why I wasn't kept on, he could ask me straight rather than insinuate all sorts of things about my capability without even knowing me. This was turning out to be more of an argument than an interview.

At the end of the interview, I left, thinking that if this place thought they were going to get blood from me they had another thing coming. I'm hardworking, conscientious, and worth every penny, but I wont be taken the piss out of when the wages don't match my new qualification.

So I thought it went really badly. I was on the defensive to the point of being rude (which isn't me at all) and must have made a really bad impression - the last thing I wanted to do. I called my recruitment consultant and gave him the bad news and was suprised to hear that they really liked me. I think I may have got the job, and all I have to do is negotiate a suitable package, but I'll know more this week.

An Interview!

I should be happy right? If for nothing else, it was my first and it would be good experience.

I make a few calls to rearrange my day, so that I can “prepare”.

The importance of preparation was drummed into me at a course I attended aimed for out of work professionals. Not only should I look the part and wear a suit (who would turn up for an interview in anything else?!) but I should practise.

I look up my course notes and start to jot things down.

1. Prepare adjectives that describe you.
Approachable, adaptable, cooperative, capable, credible, determined, discreet, diligent, efficient, responsible, sincere, trustworthy…gosh I sound boring…
2. List your strengths and weaknesses – weaknesses must be turned into positives.
Strengths: Approachable, adaptable, cooperative, capable, credible...... (you get the jist right?)
Weaknesses: Erm...hmmmm...dislikes having to make lists? Will that do?
3. Think up examples to demonstrate core competencies.
Core competencies are VERY important for anyone applying for jobs and attending interviews. I found this very helpful website http://www.interview-skills.co.uk/competency-based-interviews.aspx

Anyone who is preparing for a job interview, knows that preparation in advance is a good way to practice what you will say so that you don’t feel like you are suddenly being put on the spot, and this will help keep those nerves at bay.

So I continue my prep, but after about an hour of thinking about what I wanted my prospective employer to know about me, I had a reality check and realised that I wasn’t interviewing for a position at Linklaters. This was an interview with a little place in suburbia which dealt purely with publicly funded work. They just wanted to know that I could keep the machine well enough oiled to have the LSC cash pumping in.

Was I right? Well this is how it went…