If you are successfully invited to attend an assessment centre then you will find they are generally split into three key parts: a written task, a group task and an interview. In the wake of apprenticeship week, I have written this article to provide all future applicants with some tips that will help you ace the interview aspect of your Assessment Centre.
1. Do Your Research
The key to any good interview is one that is well researched and the difference between an interviewee who has done their research and one who hasn’t will be picked up. Research can be split into two key types:
a) Research into the firm. This should not just be on the firms website, you should look at the wider level i.e. what awards have they won, how do others view them such as The Lawyer, Legal Cheek and Roll On Friday and what are some of the key deals they have worked on recently.
b) Research into the wider legal and socioeconomic global landscape, otherwise known as commercial awareness. For more information on this please read the article written by my Colleague James here.
2. Make Your Answers Firm Specific
When I was applying, making sure my answers were specific to the firm was the one thing I would constantly hear. One specific quote that stood out was this 'if two firms were to ask you the same question and the answer you give would make sense if you swap the firms names, then your answer is likely to be too generic.'
It is your job to prove to whichever firm you are applying to, that you want to be there and the best way to show your passion for the firm, is to bring back every answer you have to a characteristic of the firm.
3. Practice
Practice makes perfect. This can be done in many ways and I recommend you practice both real life interviews and online interviews as you are likely to come across both in your application process. Practice helps build up confidence which is necessary as how you present yourself is as important as what you actually say within the interview and the more questions you practice the more prepared you will appear. Give a family member or a teacher a set of questions and ask them to test you.
That said don’t practice to the point where your answers begin to feel robotic, finding that balance of where you feel you are confident but also passionate about your answers is key. The way I did this was by initially writing up a 'perfect' answer and responding in my practice with these answers. Then I would pick out three key points and practice it from there as opposed to trying to recite the perfect answer every time.
4. Use Your Experiences
You can list any amount of skills you have to an interviewer but ultimately if you cannot back this up with evidence or experience to demonstrate how you have learnt and implemented these skills, then you may struggle to standout. Simply saying "I have good organisational skills" is far less impactful than saying "Through taking a leadership role in my debate club I delegated roles to other attendees and planned out each weekly debate helping develop my organisational skills."
What is key to note is that your experience doesn’t have to be particularly ground breaking but rather should accurately reflect the skill you are trying to convey. This could be something as small as being in a school sports team, as long as you can show it is relevant it will be effective.
5. A Good Night Sleep
Finally, as basic as it sounds make sure you get a good night sleep. The day will be long and most Assessment Centres will consist of two other tasks, the last thing you want is a lack of energy, wasting all the effort you put in to prepare for your interview.
Above all else make sure you enjoy the experience! I hope all of the future apprentice applicants have found this to be useful and I wish you the best of luck with your application journey.
This article was written by Ibrahim Issa a Solicitor Apprentice in our M&A, Corp Finance and PE team.
To find out more about our Solicitor Apprenticeships click here.
