CANDIDATES
At legal-route we are mindful of the importance of a lawyers career and recognise the determination it takes to succeed in the legal profession. We help candidates by providing career-enhancing opportunities that will add value and maximise future prospects for legaljobs.
We are on hand to discuss your career and advise on the best course of action to achieve your goals. General enquiries are always welcomed, particularly prior to registration.
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Central to the confidential service that legal-route offer is an unequivocal promise that your CV will not be sent to any of our clients without your express permission. In order to secure your consent, we will provide you with a full job description, details of our client and any additional information that may be relevant. This is only possible once we have completed a full and in-depth registration process, which includes the analysis of your CV and a full discussion of your requirements.
Interview Checklist
CV DO'S AND DON'T
DO
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Succinct sentences are easy to scan, especially given many employer's have just 10 seconds to read it.
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Use standard typefaces such as Arial, 11 or 12 points.
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Check and re-check spelling donot rely on spell check.
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Ensure your personal details are printed by all printers – not in the header/footer.
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Dates and employment should be easily found and consistent
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Lead with achievements, use active verbs and positive language.
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Follow up all claims with proven examples, be quantitative as well as qualitative
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Use email addresses where referees are abroad.
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Include awards or recognition received for work well done, together with professional memberships and relevant training.
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Keep your CV honest, factual and to two pages.
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Ensure everyline sells you at your best
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Prioritise relevant content.
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Ensure you send your CV witha covering letter ideally to a named individual.
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Take ownership and use words such as Determined, Implemented, Created, Devised, Coordinated and Conceived.
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Include figures i.e number of staff you managed or budget size of projects or contractual dealings.
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Focus on what you have to offer the employer rather than listing what you have done.
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Ask your consultant at legal-route or trusted colleagues and friends if this is an accurate representation of you.
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Seek feedback if you are not achieving any interviews and if you feel your CV is not reflecting you at your best seek external advice.
DO
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Date your CV
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Put your irrelevant personal details first i.e. date of birth and nationality.
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Mention salaries.
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It is not necessary to put reason for leaving.
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Include negative or irrelevant information.
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Lie.
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Use Reverse Chronological format if you have many gaps between employments.
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Put education first if its 10 years out of date.
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List every employer if your have been working since the seventies.
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Allocate the same space to all positions, prioritise the content.
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Quote unsubstantiated superlatives.
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Modify your CV for every application unless you have a foolproof method of remembering to whom you sent which edition
Here are a few typical questions that you may encounter during the interview.
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Remember when you are asked a question mentally count to three before answering, plus if you really need to think about your answer you can buy some time by asking the interviewer to repeat the question. Only do this once or twice during the interview as this could leave the interviewer with the impression that you are not a good listener.
Interview Questions
Here are a few typical questions that you may encounter during the interview.
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What motivates you?
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Give me an example of a recent success?
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What are your strengths?
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What are your weaknesses?
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What can you contribute to our organisation? - based on the appointment applied for.
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Why do you want to work for us?
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Describe you personality.
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Have you ever dismissed a member of staff?
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How did you feel about this situation?
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What is the quickest way to make you angry?
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What are you looking to gain from your next career move?
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What do you like most about your current role?
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What do you like least about your current role?
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How do you resolve conflict within a team environment?
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Why should we offer you the position rather then the other candidate?
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What has been one of the most difficult decisions you have recently had to make?
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This is just a small selection of questions you could be asked during the interview process, again the key to success is preparation.
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What should you do if you don't get the appointment?
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Although disappointing, there is still something positive you can gain from the interview and that is feedback.
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After the interview legal-route will call the interviewer, tell them how disappointed your were at not getting the appointment and ask for their feedback why you were unsuccessful. It may have been due to salary or a weakness in a specific area of your experience relating to the job description. But listen positively and use the information to enhance your interviewing skills.
Get There On Time
Allow plenty of time for travelling to the interview allowing time for possible traffic delays.
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Remember when you are asked a question mentally count to three before answering, plus if you really need to think about your answer you can buy some time by asking the interviewer to repeat the question. Only do this once or twice during the interview as this could leave the interviewer with the impression that you are not a good listener.
This is your moment of glory or failure
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If you have prepared for the interview and registered with legal-route we will already have let you know who will be interviewing you, the interview format, if any testing is involved and the requirements of the appointment. You may also have some additional background information about the company, for example there is a new overseas office opening in Milan in the next three months. This maybe very useful if you are going to be involved in any of the property aspects for the new builiding for example or if you are fluent in Italian etc.
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Listen! Listen! Listen! this is 70% of the interview process. Think and mentally count to three before answering a question. This helps to ensure that you do not say anything that you may regret.
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If you do not understand a question ask for it to be repeated.
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Remember the interview is a two way process you are looking at them just as they are looking at you.
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Do make some brief notes of the interview but be polite and ask the interviewers if they do not mind if you make a few notes during the interview.
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Any questions - always have at least one question but no more than three as a 30 minute question time at the initial interview will not leave a good impression.
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At the end of the interview ask the question, “'is there anything that I have said that may give you reservation regarding my ability to perform in the role on offer.” This gives you the opportunity to redress any initial concerns that the interviewer may have.
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Ask the interviewer how long will it be before a decision will me made and confirm your interest.
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Beware of the “lunch interview” refrain from drinking alcohol, if you relax too much you may say something you will regret!