3 Tips For Answering “Why Do You Want to Be a Solicitor?”

One question that firms routinely ask to decide who to reject at interviews is “Why do you want to be a solicitor?”.

The bad news is many candidates aren’t able to figure out how to answer it well. The good news is that you can gain a competitive advantage if you do.

In this post, I’ll give you 3 tips on how to craft an answer firms will be impressed by.

Tip #1 – Demonstrate your understanding of a solicitor’s work by highlighting specific factors in your reasons

To answer the question well, you must show the firm that you understand the role of a solicitor.

The majority of candidates aren’t that clear on what solicitors do – firms know this and will be looking for tell-tale signs. A clear sign is when a candidate gives generic factors in their reasons. These are usually the obvious high-level things that everyone knows, such as the intellectual challenge.

Whilst these factors don’t mean your answer is wrong, the problem is it won’t read as if you have a deeper understanding of the work of a solicitor.

This is what each firm is looking for

And it will make you stand out in a sea of generic answers.

So, you need to think more deeply about generic reasons and elaborate on them to make them more specific. For example, what specifically do solicitors do that is intellectually challenging and is a key reason for you wanting to become one?

You also need to stress-test your reasons by asking yourself whether they could easily apply to other careers too.

If so, you’re usually focusing on generic factors and need to get more specific.

Additionally, however tempting, you need to avoid adapting others’ answers in an attempt to show a deeper understanding.

Whilst this may help you be more specific, it’s usually spotted by recruiters as the same wording used and adapted by multiple candidates. Recruiters will sense when an answer is not a candidate’s own reasoning and wording

And that will count against you.

So, the key to a good answer is to reflect more deeply and articulate more specific factors about the career in your reasons. And always do this in your own words, not others’.

You then need to explain why those factors motivate you.

Tip #2 – Explain why the factors you specify motivate you to become a solicitor

The other essential part is explaining why the factors you’ve specified motivated you to pursue the career.

So many candidates fail to do this well.

And it’s a core reason why they often don’t progress at the interview stage (or the application stage for that matter).

A common misconception is that this question is all about showing your understanding of the career. However, the question is more about you than the career. It’s asking you about YOUR motivations – and to do this you need to clearly articulate your genuine reasons why.

You need to consider and explain why each factor you give as a reason is of interest to you.

Spend time considering the question: Why is that factor important to you?

You also need to consider and explain how you know that.

You do this by relating your reasoning to things you’ve done and learnt in your journey so far. These are the experiences that have influenced your motivations and career choices to date.

This is the all-important evidence that supports your claim to be interested in the career factors you specify.

Without evidence, it’s hard for a firm to be convinced about your genuine motivations.

The final piece of the “why” jigsaw is ensuring you write from a motivational standpoint.

There’s no point in stating your interest in a factor about the career and then describing an experience you’ve had without linking the two to explain your motivation. Often, it’s as simple as stating how you felt about a specific experience

For example, what you “particularly enjoyed” about a previous experience that has motivated you to pursue a career as a solicitor.

There are also some common mistakes you will need to avoid if you want to progress.

Tip #3 – Avoid the 3 biggest mistakes that lead to rejections

Grad recruiters say the same mistakes lead to rejections every cycle.

The good news is that many candidates still make them so knowing them will give you a competitive advantage.

The big mistakes are:

1. Explaining what the role of a solicitor is – the focus is too much on trying to show off knowledge of what solicitors do, a bit like an essay on the topic. The answer fails to get to the heart of the question and explain the candidate’s genuine reasons why they are motivated to pursue the career.
2. Focusing on experiences and skills – the answer reads more like a “why you” answer as it describes experiences and seeks to demonstrate skills. Without tying the skills to motivations for the career, it will fail to answer the specific question.
3. Explaining why they’re applying to the firm – candidates bring in reasons for why they want to train at the firm and/or why they’re a good match for the firm. Unless the question explicitly includes this, it shows a lack of attention to detail. It also uses up valuable word count that could be used to answer the exact question asked.

Your advantage

So, if you follow the tips in this post and spend time on refining your reasoning you will have a competitive advantage over others.

You should therefore see this question as an opportunity, not as a challenge.

It will need plenty of thinking time and work to evolve your reasoning. If you do this, however, recruiters will notice and you will stand out from the crowd.

And outside the crowd is exactly where training contract offers live.