St.Louis Business Journal
RESEARCH IS CRITICAL TO SUCCEEDING IN HIRING INTERIVEWS

By Anna Navarro

January 2007  

Author's note: Client stories in this column are based on actual situations fictionalized to protect privacy and told with permission.

I am a firm believer in doing research to prepare for hiring interviews. Even if you are great at “winging it”, you’ll do better if you marry your ability to function well on the spur of the moment to some solid information.

The objective of the research is to discover what a specific employer is looking for. This information is a key ingredient to figuring out how to present yourself effectively.

Bill was a young attorney looking for better career opportunities. Through networking, he learned about a large firm that was seeking a senior associate. His contact said that they were accepting resumes for the position for a couple more days. He'd immediately sent a cover letter and resume. Two weeks later he had been called for an interview.

The first research step I suggested was to get back in touch with the person who had told him about the opening, and gently probe for more information. Bill had only met him once, in a situation that did not lend itself to an extended conversation. He had already written to thank him for telling him about the opportunity. Now I coached him to call him, let him know he’d gotten an interview, thank him again, and ask for more details about the position.

From this call he learned that the firm had a large volume of merger and acquisition work, and while they were looking for a senior associate with a general background in corporate transactions, they were particularly in need of someone with experience in the M&A arena.

This was an important clue. Bill had some experience with this kind of work, though it was by no means the bulk of what he'd done. This information alerted us we had to prepare carefully so he could describe his background in M&A for maximum impact, while not over-claiming expertise. I also suggested that Bill thoroughly explore the firm’s website, look up the person who was going to interview him in Who’s Who, research the firm in the archives of the local Business Journal and the daily newspaper, and read the entry for the firm in Martindale-Hubbell, a publication that provides information on law firms.

From this research he learned that the person who was going to interview him went to Notre Dame, as had his father. We agreed he would be sure to mention that he’d gone to Notre Dame football games as a kid. More substantively, he learned that several of the firm’s clients did a lot of M&A business in Latin America. He would make a point of talking about his fluency in Spanish.

I also recommended he send a confidential email to his close friends in the legal profession asking what they knew about the firm from their dealings with it and whether they had any friends who worked there now or in the past.

One person had a friend who had worked there and left. I suggested Bill ask his friend to arrange a meeting. From the conversation he learned that the firm expected young lawyers to demonstrate that they could develop a book of business. The person who left was a shy individual for whom this was difficult. That was why she had decided to jump ship before being reviewed for partner.

Fortunately, business development was a strength of Bill's. He’d been very successful at it in his current firm. We made a mental note that we needed to rehearse some brief and memorable stories about how he had landed clients in the past.

Bill's research had been very productive. He had figured out he needed to emphasize his M&A experience. He also knew that his ability to get clients and speak Spanish were likely to be valuable. And he'd discovered that his Notre Dame connection might provide an opportunity for personal bonding.

Our next step was to translate what he'd learned into a set of "talking points" that would maximize his appeal. Then we rehearsed how to deliver his talking points in a friendly and appropriate way without sounding egotistical.

He went into the interview feeling very prepared and did an excellent job. Three weeks later he got an offer. The partner who made the offer commented, "You were far and away the candidate who best fit what we were looking for." That was exactly what Bill had aimed to accomplish through his research and preparation.