As a rezooming attorney you will be going on interviews. How do people see you? Will you be the person they hire? These five tips may help you be judged correctly by the interviewer and assist you in judging them.

In the April 2016 Real Simple magazine an article titled, “5 tricks to being a better judge of character,” by Rebecca Webber seemed interesting and on point for something we rezooming attorneys face often on our path back into the law. The article discussed the impact you have on an interviewer and the reciprocal impact the interviewer has on you.
Darren Cardoza, author of the book, The Bitchy Waiter, shares how he has seen many interviewers take their interviewee out to lunch. He believes they want to see how the candidate treats the staff. He said this can be seen as, “A good indicator of how they will treat their coworkers.” It can also be a way for an interviewee to see how their future boss treats their employees. As the rezooming attorney you will see if this is a person with whom you would like to work.

The next tip from Annemarie Drooling, head of growth and audience correspondence at Vocativ.com, is to watch the words being used by you and your interviewer during your interview. Drooling believes that the use of the words actually or right to start or end a sentence can be an indicator of a person who wants to debate. Debating the interviewer on a rezooming interview may not be a bad thing; however, it is less than optimal. You want to work for someone who doesn’t challenge you at every turn. They may not want to hire you if you do the same. Indicate your willingness to be decisive without being argumentative and contrary.

Jessie Kay, founder of Real Matchmaker, offered the third piece to the judgment puzzle. She advised interviewers and interviewees to ask someone to tell their story twice. If you talk about what you did while you were away from the law, make sure you have your story straight over and over and over again. Telling a consistent story without embellishment may be in your best interest. If the interviewer talks about the firm, ask them a question that will elicit a similar response from them to see if their story stays true and the job they are promising you is consistent.

Jury consultant, Leslie Ellis, was very wise with the fourth piece of judgment/being judged advice. She felt you needed to listen for a straight answer. If you are interviewing or being interviewed and the response given goes around and around and around before getting to an answer, the credibility of the speaker is not strong. Work on providing clear and succinct answers that you can give to typical questions. Observe the same response style in your perspective employer’s answers to your questions. If they speak directly about the job you will be doing and how they see your role in the firm, you can feel comfortable with their credibility.

Finally, Dr. Stephen, Camarata, author of the book, The Intuitive Parent, encourages interviewers to ask interviewees, “If they have ever broken a bone.” This may not seem like a question for a rezooming interview; however, as Dr. Camarata further explains, it can be an indicator of whether or not the candidate is, “Aggressive and daring,” or “Contemplative and deliberate.” You may be asked a similar question meant to help the interviewer decide if you are thoughtful or rush in. How your answer impacts the interview depends on what they are looking for in a candidate.

These 5 tricks to being a better judge of character can be very important to the rezooming attorney as we interview to re-enter the law. Evaluate the person interviewing you as carefully as they are evaluating you. Now you will know how not to place yourself in one of these 5 spots. Take the time to present yourself in the interview in a way that reflects who you are while exploring the value of the offered position. Learning people reading skills, on both sides of an interview, will make the rezooming process less of a challenge. Now get out there and rezoom.