Are you using examples to highlight your strengths and achievements?  

Whether you are a junior LAA or a seasoned Paralegal, the best way to highlight your skills and accomplishments in an interview is by supporting what you say about yourself with an example. 

In interviews, most people just say things about themselves – “I’m a hard worker” or “I go above and beyond for our clients”.  While it may be true, these phrases are so over used, they have now become empty statements, fluff words.  In order to have what you claim about yourself really sink in to the person you are speaking with, you need to use examples.  The example makes your claim concrete and also provides evidence on how you will act in that situation. Also, your example will be unique to you! Therefore, while the claim “hard-worker” may be overused, your example is yours!

When framing examples, we go with the commonly used Star Technique.  Frame your example in the following way.  What is the situation you were in?  What tasks were you given?  What actions did you take?  Finally, what was the result? Always highlight the result and when using these examples, talk about what you did specifically – don’t be afraid to use the word “I”.  This is your time to really shine the spotlight on yourself.

Next time you are going in to an interview, prepare 3 or 4 examples that really show-off your skills and expertise.  Use them to anchor any claim you make about yourself. 

Thanks for reading! If you have questions about this or would like to bounce your examples off us, feel free to give us a call or send us an email.

Happy Job Hunting and Good Luck!