In our Ask a Recruiter feature, a member of our specialist recruitment team will tackle a topic relating to attraction, recruitment and retention.
This month, Senior Consultant and specialist in the recruitment of legal support and costs professionals Jenny Vickerstaff offers her advice to a law firm looking to improve their interview structure for support roles.
We’re a smaller regional law firm and up until now, we’ve had a standardised interview process in place for prospective employees across the firm.
We’re looking to grow our team of legal secretaries and would like to put in place an interview structure specifically for legal support staff. What should we ask these candidates to make sure we recruit the right people for our firm?
It’s great that you have decided to take this approach and make changes to your interview process. Interviews should always be tailored to the role at hand; interviews involving lawyers should be very different to those for legal secretary, PA and other support roles.
When hiring legal support staff, you want to ensure that they not only have the necessary skills and knowledge that will enable them to add value to your fee-earners but also fit well into your firm’s culture. Here are some questions you might consider asking during the interview:
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Could you tell us about your current role or previous experience working in a law firm? environment?
While not always a requirement, prior experience in a law firm is usually advantageous. The candidate’s response will give you insight into how well their work up until now has prepared them for the opportunity at hand.
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How proficient are you with legal software and technology?
Legal secretaries often need to use legal research software, timekeeping, billing systems, and document management tools. Assessing their comfort level with technology and asking for real-life examples of how they’ve used it can help determine how quickly they’ll get up to speed.
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How do you help the fee-earners and solicitors you support to hit their targets?
This will help you understand not only how the individual perceives their role within the team and the commercial impact of their work.
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Describe a time when you had to handle a difficult situation or client. How did you resolve it?
This question can shed light on a candidate’s problem-solving and interpersonal skills, which are crucial in a law firm setting.
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How do you prioritise your work when you have multiple tasks due at the same time?
Legal secretaries often need to juggle multiple tasks and deadlines. This question can help you gauge a candidate’s organisational and time management skills, which is particularly important if they will potentially be joining a busy and fast-paced team.
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How do you handle confidential information?
Legal secretaries often deal with sensitive information. It’s important they understand the importance of maintaining confidentiality.
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What interests you about our firm?
This question can help identify candidates who have taken the time to research your firm and are genuinely interested in working there.
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What’s the most rewarding part of your current role?
Asking this question will give an insight into what motivates the individual in their work and why they do what they do. This can be really helpful when determining whether they’re going to be a good cultural fit.
Remember, an interview with anyone should be a two-way conversation. Encourage the legal support staff you meet with to ask their own questions to ensure they get a clear picture of your firm and the role they’re applying for.
Could you benefit from more bespoke interview advice?
If you’re looking to overhaul your interview process, using her years of working within legal support recruitment, Senior Consultant Jenny can help you put in place an effective structure to help ensure you attract, recruit and retain the right people for your business. Give Jenny a call on 03300 245 606 or email jenny.vickerstaff@realmrecruit.com to find out more.
