Interviewing With Public Service Employers

Interviewing with Public Service Employers

Although most interviews are in-person, phone interviews are also acceptable to most public service employers if you are unable to afford travel costs. The winter holiday break is one of the best times to schedule interviews with public interest organizations. Because they are generally unable to pay travel expenses, most public service employers are willing to schedule an interview whenever you are going to be in the local area. If you are spending the holidays in a city where you would like to work, take ad-vantage of being in town to interview. Your goal for any interview is to convince the employer of your enthusiasm about the position and your ability to get the job done--this is your moment to shine! Talk openly about your interests, goals, and activities and have something substantive to say about all items listed on your resume. In addition, keep in mind the "high points" that you want to cover during the interview and bring them up yourself if the interviewer fails to ask you directly. The goal of the interview is to convince the employer to hire you, so wait until receiving an offer to ask questions about more controversial issues such as parental leave policies, vacation time, and salary ranges.

Interview questions may include: Tell me about yourself. How do you handle stress? Who is your favorite author? Where do you see yourself in five or ten years? What is your greatest strength? Your greatest weakness? What classes did you like best and why? Why don’t you have better grades? What contributions can you make to our organization? What would you like to know about us? It is important to have several questions to ask the employer as a way to demonstrate your interest and preparation. If you are interviewing with prosecutors and public defenders, you should be prepared to answer substantive criminal law questions, as well as hypotheticals designed to assess your ethical judgement.

Public service employers cite the following as negative qualities in an interviewee:

• an arrogant or conceited attitude (treat all clerical staff respectfully);
• timidity or a lack of confidence;
• interrupting the interviewer or not listening carefully;
• giving one word answers or not speaking except to answer questions from the interviewer;
• pretending to know more than you do or giving naive answers to questions;
• lack of clear career goals;
• complaining about a prior employer;
• inability to articulate why you are in law school or why you want to practice law;
• poor personal appearance (e.g. dressing informally because they are a public service employer);
• inability to articulate how to compensate for a lack of relevant experience;
• lack of eye contact;
• lack of preparation-no idea of who the employer is or what they do; and
• lack of law school involvement (e.g. no clinics, journals, or pro bono activities).