NALSC Nuts & Bolts
ANKUS CONSULTING, INC.
HOW TO PROFESSIONALLY INTERVIEW A CANDIDATE
25 years of “hands on” attorney recruiting and training recruiters has proven to me that the first time I speak to a candidate to learn about their background and experience is one of the most crucial times of the entire recruiting process. To this end, I have developed a sequential manner of asking questions, some simple and some complex, to gain as much relevant information as possible. I have shared some of these questions below.
To conduct a basic phone interview- once you have decided to work with a candidate- should take no more than 30 minutes and, with candidate cooperation, it can actually be less. Remember to stay focused and keep asking questions until you feel you have gotten the information you need to understand your candidate’s needs so you can intelligently present them to your client. The factors covered in this article are not intended to be exhaustive and I encourage you to add your own ideas. In addition always make sure you are in compliance with all federal, state and local laws and ordinances when you interview a candidate- including all relevant salary ban jurisdictions. This column is only provided for general information only and is not to be used, or relied upon, as legal or professional advice.
Practice Description: It is important to understand what your candidate does on a daily basis as specifically as possible. I try to understand a candidate’s entire 100% practice breakdown so I can tell a client, in the candidate’s own words, what their practice entails. It is very professional to say they do 45% commercial litigation, 25% securities arbitrations, 20% tax litigation and 10% bankruptcy litigation. Don’t leave this to chance or guesswork.
Reasons For Leaving: This arguably is one of the most under-explored area of candidate interview. You need to understand complete and specific reasons why a person would make a change or leave their firm ESPECIALLY IF THEY ARE HAPPY. You can’t take generic answers like “more lifestyle”, “more money” or “better hours” because you can’t always correctly interpret what that means TO THE CANDIDATE. Each time you get a reason to move you need to probe and ask both why they say it and how important is it to their overall decision. Get the person to prioritize the reasons to see what is most important to them. At the end of the interview process, they won’t tell you this information so NOW is the time to get the information.
Is the Candidate Ready To Move Now?- A modified version of the pushy car salesman who asks, before anything else, are you ready to buy TODAY? Similar theory- don’t waste time on candidates only to find out they are going to move in a year. Just say “Are there any personal or professional reasons why you couldn’t accept an offer, resign from your current firm and start within 2-4 weeks?” Watch for vacations, weddings and upcoming trials that may delay a start date. If you don’t ask, they won’t remember to tell you.
Next Salary Review: Critical to know when and how much raise will be to help negotiate an offer. If person is at $100K but goes to $120K in 3 months, it could affect negotiations.
Hours Billed: Gives you an idea of their work ethic and tells you their average day. I also ask “what time do you get in and what time do you leave”, How about “weekends or holidays”? Find out if their hours are too much or too little for their lifestyle.
Known Conflicts: Never asked and can end a deal prematurely. You must try to establish this up front to avoid legal and other problems.
Rank: be specific as possible. Back up w/GPA and/or transcript.
Law Review: be specific- and ask which Law Review. Schools have many. Find out if you don’t know what the top 3 reviews are. If they were published- it should be noted. Most clients want to know if they were on the main Law Review vs. on the Journal of Buttered Toast. Finally, being EIC of the law school newspaper is commendable but not the same as EIC of the main Law Review.
Member In Good Standing Of Their State Bar: Don’t forget to ask and verify. Print out from official Bar website and file with candidate paperwork. If there is disciplinary history, you need to about it and the final disposition. Disclose public disciplinary history to your client- even if minor.
General Question Coverall: “Is there any thing else you haven’t told me that you think I or my client would want to know about background or experience for this position that you haven’t shared?”
Firms Approved By Candidate: Protect yourself. Send them email with list of approved firms and ask for a reply confirming that you may contact these firms and send the candidate’s resume and other related information. This avoids conflicts w/firms and other recruiters. When it is not done, it can have disastrous consequences. Email confirmation is your best friend. Don’t neglect to do it.
Firms or Jobs Already Sent To: Lets you keep your records straight.
Counteroffer Prep: Starts at first phone call. MUST BE DONE!!!!!!!! If you haven’t been trained in counteroffer preparation, talk to your manager NOW.
Closing Loyalty Builder & Role Clarifier: We want to be our candidate’s friend but we shouldn’t be. Treat the relationship partially like you treat the relationship with your accountant. We respect and follow what advice our accountant says but we don’t get much beyond basic social courtesies. You should view your job the same way to the extent that if you don’t you may lose control because we don’t ever like to push our friends around. Tom Cruise said it in “A Few Good Men”- “I’m not your friend, I’m your lawyer”. This DOES NOT mean to be rude, aloof or non-empathetic.
Script For End of First Call: “Tina, my job is to try to understand your background and career goals to assess them against the market. Hopefully, after our work together, I will be able to locate a job that you will want to accept and that will satisfy your criteria. I will work hard to help you and my clients in this regard. Of course, as you know, when you are dealing with a changing market, it’s difficult to promise that I will find your ideal job right now. Despite this, always remember that I am, from this day forward, going to be your CONFIDENTIAL eyes and ears in the marketplace. I also want you to know that if you don’t hear from me, that doesn’t mean I have forgotten you, it just means I don’t have any interviews yet or a job that meets your requirements. Is that okay? (or) Does that make sense?”. This script is continued below:
“Now, Tina, working with me requires some help from you. Please confirm, once more, that you have accurately shared your background, experience and career goals with me. If there is anything you may have forgotten, or left out, now is the time to tell me because surprises in the search process are not helpful. You also need to agree that you will return my calls quickly, be available to interview on short notice, and provide me with honest feedback about your career status. Finally, please keep my client’s information and positions confidential. I earn my living by making placements and the information and advice that I share with you are my biggest assets. Does this all make sense? Do you have any questions?”.
About the author: Joe Ankus is the legal recruiting industry’s first dedicated legal recruiting trainer. He has trained hundreds of recruiters over the last 20 years ranging from private one one one coaching to leading 100+ attendee seminars. His students enjoy his entertaining and informative style along with his proven training materials. Joe was the former Executive Director of NALSC, a past NALSC Board Member and a past Chair of Ethics For more information about training services, please contact Joe directly at info@ankusconsulting.com.
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