Preparation and Practice Are Key to a Successful Job Interview
10.27.2025
Attorneys looking for a new role should go into interviews with a plan to show how they can fulfill the needs of their prospective firms. Attorney Rena Barnett Matthews, a career coach, shared this advice and more in a free seminar hosted by the New York State Bar Association.
“You are essentially marketing your skills as an attorney,” said Barnett Matthews. “You are selling a business. That business is you – the attorney. You want them, the buyer, to want to hire you… It’s not unlike when you’re a partner and you’re pitching your firm or your personal legal skills to a potential client.”
To that end, Barnett Matthews recommended that interviewees prepare answers and anecdotes to show why they are the right person for the role. The most important part, she said, is creating a memorable, concise answer to what she calls the “Tell Me About Yourself” question.
“It is basically the crux of why you’re interviewing,” Barnett Matthews said. “When someone is interviewing you, what they really want to know is, ‘Who the heck are you? Why are you sitting in front of me? What in your life experience brought you to the point of you sitting in front of me? Why are you interested in this job? What skill sets and experience do you have that can help me do my job better?’ They may not ask the question directly in the interview, but the totality of the interview is that question. It’s your job to frame in your mind an answer to that question – which you will sprinkle throughout the interview – to get that picture out to your interviewer, and set in their mind who you are.”
Barnett Matthews advised practicing answering questions out loud, and with another person who can give feedback. She also said it is important to research a potential employer and its current attorneys to find information about who will be conducting the interview.
“You should darn well know the details of the company, and where the legal department sits within the company,” said Barnett Matthews. “You need to come armed with that information… But especially in the instance where you’re talking about a small firm – or a law firm that has practice groups – my advice is always to go through the practice group, go online, look at the attorneys’ profiles. And at least have an overview of all the attorneys in that group. That helps you also know the people you are interviewing with, where they sit in the food chain, and how their practice area connects with the other practice areas in the group.”
Noting that a lot of interviews are conducted over Zoom, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, Barnett Matthews also shared advice on body language, eye contact, and dressing professionally – at least from the waist up.
“I tell my candidates, ‘You can wear bunny slippers and pajamas on your lower half, but the upper half needs to be dressed professionally,’” said Barnett Matthews.
The program was sponsored by the association’s Young Lawyers Section.
