The spring interview season is fast approaching! While we highly recommend that you schedule a mock interview with a member of the Career Center staff, there is a lot of work that can be done independently. Reflect on your skills and experiences and be prepared to utilize the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) when answering questions. One interview question that stumps many students is the age-old “Tell me about yourself” interview opener. A recent article by Leslie Moser, a blogger for The Muse, outlines a four-step plan to successfully answer this question. We will share Moser’s four steps and provide specific commentary related to law school career services.
- Do Your Research
If you’ve been offered an interview, the employer likely believes your skills and experiences match what they are looking for. Use the job description, firm website, and attorney profiles to guide what you will focus on and share. LexisNexis, Westlaw, and Bloomberg can help you do additional, targeted, research regarding individual attorneys and any recent publicity on the firm/employer. Michael Robak with the UMKC Law Library can also assist you in utilizing the Business Intelligence Center to do market insight and competitive intelligence research with LexisNexis atVantage.
- Decide on Three Main Takeaways
Given the research you’ve done to prepare for step 1, the next step is to do the work for them to remind them why you are the best fit. This involves making sure to explicitly highlight those skills and experiences that match what they need. No matter what they ask, your focus should be on strategically framing your experiences to convince them you have transferable skills. It’s important that you not misrepresent yourself by stretching your response too far. The focus should be highlighting your most relevant skills and experiences. It’s also good to give a little personal background – explain why you came to law school, why this position/employer intrigues you, and any connections to the position/employer/employer location.
- Create Your Story
After you do your research and decide on three main takeaways, the next step is figuring out how to translate that narrative and reflection into a succinct elevator pitch. Moser suggests “treating each takeaway as a thesis statement, and then coming up with one aspect of [your] experience to use as evidence of each.” So, for example, if you want to highlight research, writing, and organization skills, your story might sound like this: “I’d like to highlight three relevant aspects about myself. I am a diligent researcher, writer, and organizer. These are skills I honed while working as ________.” The final statement should be a confident summary of why you are a great fit!
- Practice, Practice, Practice
While this advice is sound in theory, delivering a strong response to the “Tell Me About Yourself” question often takes practice and tweaking. You don’t want to sound too rehearsed, but it is important to work out the kinks and have a strong plan of action. Let the Career Center help you formulate a response that allows you to market yourself competitively.
Tagged: applications, internships, interviewing, job search strategy, professionalism, resources
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