What Makes an Applicant Stand Out, According to Hiring Partners
Tips From Our Recruiters
Law firms receive hundreds, and even thousands, of applications a year. That involves a lot of interviews. How do you stand out? What can you do to get noticed?
It’s a tough question, and there’s no one right answer. So we asked our hiring partners what an applicant can do to make an impact.
If you are a law student trying to land a summer spot—or if you’re a summer associate thinking about how to make a good impression—their guidance will help you get noticed and get hired.
“A candidate who’s applying to Wilson Sonsini can really do one thing in my mind that will set them apart from other applicants, which is to show real enthusiasm and interest in doing well. I always say a young lawyer may make mistakes. A young lawyer may make errors. A young lawyer may not know this or that, or the other case. I can teach all of those things. But the one thing I cannot teach is that sense of enthusiasm and desire to do well. If you’re applying to Wilson Sonsini and you really want to stand out from the rest, the thing you can do to really project that ineffable quality that I’ve described is to show how much you care about your work.”
Catherine E. Moreno Partner Palo Alto
“Demonstrate a clear skillset. Tell me what you are looking for and why we are a good fit. Do this research beforehand, and offer examples: ‘Once, when I was on XYZ team at the Acme widget company, we had to overcome this challenge and how we did it.’
Even if you have to give a different answer to different firms, you should not sound like you have no direction or sense of the firm you’re talking to.
Be able to say something like: ‘I want to do business litigation at Wilson Sonsini because I am interested in start-ups, and Wilson is a leader in that area.’”
Brent Fassett Partner Boulder
“I think what we’re looking for is folks that have done their homework. I want to make sure that you know something about Wilson. Do a little bit of homework about the history of the firm or the practice of the people that you’re interviewing with and really show that you put a little bit of effort in.
I don’t think we have to go very, very deep in terms of the work, but it does often show when there are candidates who I clearly can tell have not done a lot of work on the firm and are just going through the motions in terms of a bunch of different law firms. And so you do want to make sure you’ve got a little bit of polish to your answers.”
Lianna C. Whittleton Partner Palo Alto
“When you take ownership of a project, that makes someone stand out.
This generally entails thinking frequently about how to advance the project and then discussing possible steps with more experienced attorneys—without being specifically tasked.”
Stephen R. Heifetz Partner Washington, D.C.
“Taking initiative.”
Deno Himonas Partner Salt Lake City
“Have passion for what you do (or what you want to do).”
Myra A. Sutanto Shen Partner Palo Alto
“When an applicant can present their authentic self in a natural and engaging manner that demonstrates confidence.
Our best attorneys and other professionals are not just smart and capable at their trade, they are also able to have conversations and build rapport and deep relationships.”
