Top 10 Paralegal Interview Questions to Ask Employers
Written Originally for the publisher Wiley’s client: https://www.paralegaledu.org/
Getting called by a law firm for an interview is a great sign you’re on the way to being employed as a paralegal.
Receiving this invitation should lead young legal professionals to consider the next step in the employment process:
What paralegal interview questions should they ask employers on the day of the interview?
Asking interviewers questions empowers young professionals to demonstrate their autonomy and authority without being a show-off.
Additionally, asking questions at an interview is the most reliable way to get information about the role.
Some roles will look like the dream opportunity on LinkedIn or Indeed job descriptions but entirely different in person after asking questions. Asking interviewers questions is a candidate’s opportunity to advocate for themselves during the interview process.
However, there are specific questions young legal professionals should ask on the day of an interview. Candidates should rehearse these questions, as entering an interview unprepared will reduce the odds of getting hired.
Here are the top 10 paralegal interview questions to ask employers on the day of your interview.
1. Who do you see as the best fit for this role?
Not all law firms are looking for identical qualities in a paralegal. Sometimes, employers make decisions based on personality more than formal qualifications. In contrast, other times, employers do the exact opposite of this.
Future paralegals cannot read minds –they can only read job descriptions!
If a job description does not make clear what type of person is best suited for a role, ask the paralegal interview question, “who do you see as the best fit for this role?”
Suppose the employer gives you the impression that your personality will do poorly at their law firm. In that case, you should continue your job search at other firms.
Sometimes there’s just a mismatch in values and expectations between paralegals and interviewers.
2. What is the training process like?
Learning how to become a paralegal requires hands-on experience at a law firm.
In some instances, law firms will throw paralegals into the fray with little training.
In contrast, others will require paralegals to undergo extensive formal training before taking on any work responsibilities.
Job descriptions rarely state whether employers will supply training, so “what is the training process like?” is an excellent paralegal interview question to ask employers.
For young workers, getting trained before starting a job is a reliable means to helping them succeed in their careers.
Young paralegals who share this value that asks employers, “what is the training process like?” aren’t likely to stick around for law firms who respond with “there is no training process.”
3. Are there regular performance reviews?
Employers use performance reviews to measure how well employees perform their tasks.
Paralegals find performance reviews especially valuable because they are in the early stages of their legal careers. Legal careers have a trajectory that generally ends in becoming a lawyer, an occupation with even more stakes and responsibilities.
Law firms that have regular performance reviews that can make clear to paralegal employees whether or not their progress toward becoming a lawyer has been positive so far.
Even for paralegals uninterested in becoming a lawyer in having a successful long-term paralegal career, law firms must assist paralegals in achieving that goal.
Therefore, asking, “are there regular performance reviews?” is a paralegal question to ask employers to determine the degree to which employers value employee career growth.
4. Who will I be reporting to?
Paralegals work at law firms with lawyers and administrative staff.
In most cases, the firm has a CEO, founder, lawyer, and administrative manager.
The CEO and administrative manager are usually the individuals employees report to at law firms, but this can change from law firm to law firm.
When asking, “who will I be reporting to?” pay attention to the qualities interviewers mention. Does the manager or CEO sound interested in their employee’s career growth? Are they attentive to the needs of new employees?
Sometimes, the CEO and administrative manager have created a norm in their law firm, where who to report to –the CEO or the manager– becomes ambiguous.
When who to report to is unclear, that is a red flag for the law firm.
5. Tell me about the organizational structure?
Law firms almost always involve an administrative bureaucracy. What administrative bureaucracies amount to, in simple terms, are organizational structures with a top-down hierarchy of authority among multiple inter-connected office departments.
At the top of these hierarchies are CEOs and managers, and at the bottom are front-desk workers.
Administrative bureaucracies, when appropriately managed, are incredibly efficient and have been used to guide the operations of top companies in the United States.
These bureaucracies delegate roles clearly, and this lack of ambiguity generates immense cooperativeness among large numbers of people.
When mismanaged, however, administrative bureaucracies can be utterly disastrous.
A subtle way to learn how the answer to the question “tell me about the organizational structure?” before even entering an interview is to see how a law firm handles the interview process.
Is a single person corresponding with you about the role, or are endless workers from the law firm responsible for this one task? If the latter, is this making the interview process needlessly long? If so, the law firm likely has a poor organizational structure.
6. What are the biggest challenges the firm is currently facing?
Individual paralegals can significantly impact single law firms, as they can get involved in legal and administrative tasks when working at one.
Paralegals that ask, “what are the biggest challenges the firm is currently facing?” assert their authority and competence to employers.
Showcasing this willingness and interest to dig deep into problems at a law firm is one way paralegals can increase their chances of getting hired.
Employers who respond positively to this question demonstrate a results-driven attitude and honesty that shows a substantial degree of trustability to paralegal candidates.
Furthermore, suppose interviewers are reluctant to share the problems the law firm faces. In that case, paralegals should note this as a red flag.
There are no legal measures preventing employers from telling candidates about broad issues their office is facing. Therefore, they can only have negative reasons to conceal them during an interview.
7. What are the next steps in the hiring process?
Asking employers for the next steps in a hiring process shows them that you are already committed to the role in some capacity.
In some lucky cases –luck made more likely by asking interviewers good questions– paralegals will receive a job right then and there.
The following steps in the process, in that case, would be “can you come in next Monday?”
In other cases, in contrast, there will be further rounds of interviews with other administrative and legal staff and potentially even a trial test temporarily working at the law firm.
8. What does a typical day look like?
Working at a law firm in any capacity and for any employer will be a hustle. Law firms are constantly handling multiple cases at once and juggling administrative responsibilities.
Paralegals are highly involved at all levels in law firms, so even with the best possible management, paralegals have jam-packed days.
However, these busy days can be made significantly worse by poor management practices, such as micromanaging and an inability to prioritize essential tasks over trivial ones.
Because law firms are always pretty hectic, interviewers might be vague when you ask them what a typical day looks like at their law firm.
It might be helpful to mention that, as a paralegal, you expect busy, even hectic days. Still, you’re interested in understanding how independently or collaboratively oriented they will look.
This is a subtle way of evoking more transparent information if asking, “what does a typical day look like?” fails.
9. What should I expect from a typical assignment?
The variety of assignments paralegals are qualified to handle numerous and can involve both legal and administrative tasks.
Legal tasks can involve getting involved in cases with the law firm's legal team, and administrative tasks can even include assisting the manager with managing the firm.
A law firm that is organized and competent should be able to state what a typical assignment will be if hired clearly.
Suppose a typical assignment involves a vast array of tasks to be completed simultaneously, as opposed to single projects with clear bottom lines. In that case, that is a red flag for the law firm in question.
10. What has the turnover rate for this role been for the past five years?
During interviews, employers often ask candidates to describe their most significant weaknesses.
Job candidates find this question difficult to answer because poor phrasing can make them feel vulnerable to criticism in a context where they are trying to look impressive.
The same goes for employers and law firms.
Asking employers what their turnover rate is will make them vigilant, even if it is not bad. At the very least, it will draw their attention to you and make them more likely to remember your interview after it is finished.
Why do you want to be a paralegal?
There are dozens of great reasons to become a paralegal.
Becoming educated in law, skilled at handling paralegal interview questions, and understanding what it takes to be a good paralegal are three pillars of becoming a paralegal.
One of the best reasons to become a paralegal is its spectacular job outlook. Paralegals are always in demand, so finding a job as a paralegal once experienced enough is a highly achievable goal.
For more great reasons to become a paralegal, click here to read more!
