In-House Counsel

How To Stand Out When Interviewing In-House

You can never have too much advice on this.

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It’s no secret that it’s a hot market right now for in-house counsel — at least based on all the activity I’m seeing on LinkedIn in my area. After being on the interviewing side in-house through numerous rounds over the years, here are a few tips on how to stand out when interviewing for an in-house opportunity.

Be Authentic

This is huge. You can say all the “right” things, but if you come across as inauthentic or disingenuous, that can be a deal breaker. While it’s important to be prepared, avoid sounding too rehearsed or having a canned answer. While one part of the evaluation is always whether a person has the experience to do the actual job, you cannot avoid the other part — which is the fact that every person interviewing you is asking, “Do I want to work with this person?” And usually no one wants to work with a legal robot, no matter how qualified and “right” they are.

Show Enthusiasm

Notwithstanding my advice above on being authentic, if you are not naturally an enthusiastic person or high energy, please, muster all that you have for the interviews. Even if a recruiter contacted you and you weren’t actually looking. While it’s true that you are evaluating the company and position as much as they are evaluating you, you still want them to pick you, and to do that, it’s important to show enthusiasm for the position and company. Please don’t take this as trying to be an extrovert when you’re not. There are ways to show interest for the work and the company that are beyond trying to be charming or bubbly.

Ask Questions

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One way to show interest is asking questions.  Canned questions are better than no questions, but going back to the top, the more authentic they are, the better for you. Points if your questions demonstrate that you did some research on the company beforehand. Speaking of which …

Do Your Research

While this may seem like a super-obvious way to show interest and stand out, not everyone does it — which is why it still made this list. Now, I don’t think it’s super relevant to look deeply into the company’s public filings (unless you are applying for a securities or compliance function), but it may be worth your time to peruse the company website for the size of its operations, what it does, and what its core values and culture are.

Answer The Question (Succinctly)

This may also seem like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised at how many candidates are so keen on filling the silence and saying something immediately — so they can have any answer — that they actually miss answering the actual question altogether. The last thing you want your interviewer to think is “objection, nonresponsive” and that you aren’t really listening or like to talk too much. And considering that lawyers tend to be a less patient bunch, it is also important to get to the point. While not all companies engage in behavioral interviewing, which usually asks for a specific example, it’s actually a great way to stand out because you are providing evidence for what you’re saying.

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Hopefully, these tips will help you on your next opportunity — best of luck!

Meyling “Mey” Ly Ortiz is in-house at Toyota Motor North America. Her passions include mentoring, championing belonging, and a personal blog: TheMeybe.com. At home, you can find her doing her best to be a “fun” mom to a toddler and preschooler and chasing her best self on her Peloton. You can follow her on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/meybe/). And you knew this was coming: her opinions are hers alone.

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