The Screening Interview: What To Expect

by Deepa Menon
Career Counselor

Screening interviews can be nerve-wracking, but with a little preparation and knowing what to expect, you can cut down on a lot of the anxiety. Generally, screening interviews are about 20 minutes. In that time, employers want to get a sense of who you are and whether you are a good match for their organization. At the same time, they want to provide you with information about where they work so that you can determine whether you are interested in pursuing employment with them. That’s a lot of information to pack into 20 minutes! Screening interviews tend to consist of similar questions. Here are some questions to expect during a screening interview:

• Why did you decide to go to law school?


• How are you finding law school? What is your favorite class (and why)? What is your most challenging class?


• Tell me more about your experience at [past employer]. What did you like about working there? What did you find difficult?


• What do you hope to do when you graduate?


• Why are you interested in [area of law]?


• Why do you want to work for [type of organization – i.e. small practice, nonprofit, government, etc.]?


• What do you know about our organization?


• What made you interested in applying to work for us?


• What questions do you have for me?

That last question is very, very important. Employers want to see that you have done your homework, and that you are genuinely interested in working with them. Also, be prepared to discuss anything on your resume, including specifics of what you did at previous jobs, as well as any interests you may have listed.

If you are struggling to develop coherent answers to these questions, we encourage you to make an appointment with a counselor at LCS. In addition, remember to consult our "Interviews" handout on LCSonline, as well as the many articles and books on successful interviewing strategies in the LCS resource library.