1. Know your application

Before your interview, revisit your CV, cover letter and any other documents you submitted with your application.

Interviewers will often refer to information you’ve included and may ask you to expand on specific examples. Reviewing your application beforehand ensures the details are fresh in your mind and helps you speak confidently about your experience and achievements.

2. Research the role and organisation

Take the time to understand the role, the organisation and why you’re interested in working there.

Review the position description, explore the organisation’s website and LinkedIn page, and familiarise yourself with its work, values and areas of practice.

Employers aren’t only assessing your technical capability – they also want to understand your motivation. Be prepared to explain what excites you about the opportunity and why you believe you’d be a good fit.

3. Prepare your personal introduction

One of the most common interview questions is:

“Tell me about yourself.”

Prepare a brief introduction that highlights your education, relevant experience, key skills and career interests. Rather than repeating your CV, focus on the experiences that are most relevant to the role.

You should also be ready to answer questions such as:

• Why did you apply for this role?
• What interests you about this area of law?
• What are your career goals?

Employers understand that graduates are still exploring their career paths. They’re looking for curiosity, self-awareness and a genuine willingness to learn.

4. Use real examples to answer behavioural questions

Behavioural interview questions ask you to describe a time when you’ve demonstrated a particular skill or handled a specific situation.

For example, you may be asked about a time you managed competing priorities, solved a problem, worked as part of a team or learned a new system.

Where possible, use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action and Result) to structure your response. This helps you provide a clear, detailed example rather than speaking in general terms.

Don’t worry if your examples come from university, part-time work or volunteering. Employers are interested in how you approach challenges and what you’ve learned from the experience.

5. Prepare thoughtful questions

Most interviews finish with an opportunity for you to ask questions.

Having a few questions prepared demonstrates genuine interest in the role and helps you decide whether the organisation is the right fit for you.

Consider asking about:

• what a typical day in the role looks like
• training, mentoring and supervision
• what success looks like in the first few months
• the organisation’s culture
• opportunities for learning and development

If your questions are answered during the interview, simply acknowledge that they’ve already been covered and ask the interviewer to expand on a topic that interests you.

It’s generally best to leave questions about salary, leave entitlements and benefits until later in the recruitment process, unless the interviewer raises them first. At this stage, your priority is to learn as much as you can about the role and demonstrate your enthusiasm for the opportunity.