Application Process & Interviews at MinterEllison

Pleasant and friendly

Very well explained and assisted all the way through. Video interview, psychometric testing and in-person interviews.

The majority of the graduates were hired after completing an 8-week clerkship. The clarkship application process was in stages and involved providing cv and academic transcript, participating in cognitive testing, pre-recorded interviews and in-person interviews.

Video interview, psychometric testing and in-person interview.

Minterellison has 2 interviews and tests to apply for a clerkship.

Graduates recruited from the clerkship, with every clerk receiving a grad offer. One interview and a cocktail night.

Our interview process was a five step process: first we did an online psychometric and aptitude testing; secondly we had an online interview we were recorded responses to questions; third we had an information evening prior to interviewing where we learned more about the firm; fourth we had an interview with two partners and a hr representative; finally we enjoyed a networking evening with both other applicants and firm representatives.

My interviews were performed at peak covid and was all done on zoom and remotely, which has changed dramatically since.

I was referred for this position, i was contacted promptly and was invited for a zoom call with the head recruiter who was lovely. I was actually then due to unforeseen circumstances going to be out of the country during the time of my interview process, which the company happily accommodated and worked with me to find the best time to have online interviews. To the best of my understanding i then got to the final 2 and unfortunately did not get the job, but when another opportunity came up a few months later was reached out to the same recruiter who offered me my current position.

Best interview process i ever been through. It started off with a call from a friendly recruiter, who set me up with my first interview. There were two interviews in total. Before and after each interview i got a call from the recruiter who talked me through how the managers were feeling and even asked how i felt. There were so many frequent phone calls that i did not feel like i was waiting long for a response. I did not have any assessments; it was based off my prior experience and personality.

To get my job here, i had to undergo a pre-recorded interview, psychometric assessment, two in-person interviews and a 'coffee catch-up', as well as an information evening/cocktail night.

The clerkship requirement process proves to be effective each year as a high quality of clerks and graduate lawyers are selected each year. The buddy process also provides a wonderful opportunity for students or soon to be lawyers to connect with members from the firm to gain an inside understanding of the firm

Interview process was very good.

Interview process was great, no further interviews for grad roles.

I didn't know that the offer was a combined clerkship/ grad until i attended the first clerkship event (as in after i had submitted my cover letter/ cv). But apart from that it was great. i really liked having two interviews - but obviously i can't compare as i only ever did one clerkship.

Very thorough but well explained process. There was the initial psychometric testing, online interviews and then in-person interviews. Each stage was well-explained, and i felt comfortable throughout.

The interview process and assessments relating to securing a clerkship position were relatively challenging but i always felt supported by hr. The interviewers were very professional and enjoyable to talk to.

My interviews were years ago - my recollection of details of the process is not the strongest. There were psychometric tests, an online pre-recorded interview and an in person interview.

2 interviews, information evening, coffees with grads, psych assessment

Really engaging interviewers that made me feel comfortable and at ease and seemed to take a genuine interest in me on a human level, beyond my academic achievements or potential.

About myself, my goals, previous experiences, why minterellison

Mostly standard interview questions. A few industry-specific ones but nothing too out of the ordinary.

The questions were generally scenario based, e.g. "what would you do if you were asked at the last minute to attend a networking event on behalf of the firm", "how would you approach a situation where an urgent issue has come up which you need senior assistance on but everyone is busy", etc.

Mostly conversational questions about my experience/interests.

I was asked questions about myself rather than my knowledge of the law. Given that culture is a big part of minterellison, it was more about can i work with this person.

What my interests were (in and outside the law). Why i wanted to work at minters. Range of behavioural/ situational questions.

What specific areas are you most interested in law? do you have any experience at an adjacent firm? why are you interested at working at minterellison? provide as an example of a situation in your life when you received feedback and how did you react? when have you received difficult communication in the workplace and how have you approached that situation? what was your favourite subject so far in law school and what areas did you find most interesting? what do you think about the current situation in relation to the closing the gap indigenous report?

I was asked about my interest in commercial law and the firm, where i saw myself working within the firm and about my work experience to date.

I was asked about my experience, my ability to apply what i know from uni and work into the current position, i was asked about my personality, my problem-solving skills, my organisational style as well as other in-depth and questions targeted at getting to know me, my working style and my capacity and ability to do the job.

What i am looking for in a role and manager? what my last job entailed? how i deal with stress? alot of it was small talk and they even took me through what a day in the life would look like. They were very casual and not at all intimidating.

Mainly behavioural-based questions, but also some ones about my interests and experiences unique to me.

Why do you want to work at minterellison? how do you feel your previous employment will assist you in this role? outside of work what do you spend your time doing? what is something in the industry you found interesting recently?

A mix of the standard interview type questions and some more personality-based questions; nothing particularly out of the ordinary.

Why commercial law; why minterellison; tell us about a case that interests you and why; due to an interest i expressed in privacy law, i was asked about my opinions on the telecommunications privacy breach.

I think the first one i was asked pretty 'interview style' questions as in tell us a situation where you have shown leadership skills/ or achieved a goal you set out to complete/ or overcome a challenge - something like that. There was nothing about substantive law. I also got asked why i wanted to be at minters. i the second interview was more conversational.

Questions about me, not behavioural

Usual questions such as demonstrating times where i worked in a team, or how i balance competing priorities during hectic periods.

Tell us about yourself a time you displayed initiative time you had to change your style of doing things to accommodate other people tell us about the jobs you've had how do you handle stress / what do you do outside of law discussed my volunteering at clcs

Tell us about yourself - why minterellison? - why law? - time you worked with a difficult team member

The questions in the clerkship interview were more of a conversation - 'what i liked to do with my spare time' 'what extracurricular activities i did' 'what i did at my previous job' etc. There were no hard or technical legal questions, and no weird 'if you were a fruit, what fruit would you be' questions. I think the toughest bit was going through my academic transcript and explaining some of my worse marks.

Be yourself

No different to any other job interview. Practise standard interview questions and ensure all documents submitted are professional.

Applicants should prepare well for interviews, but also remember that the interviewers are wanting to get to know them beyond just their academic ability and work experience. Things like areas of interest, enthusiasm for the kind of work, personality and general ability to communicate are important.

Be yourself and know about the values that minter's values.

Have a well-rounded cv, ie strong academics, volunteering and extra-curricular.

I practiced responses regarding two key areas i was interested in at law school that the firm specialised in, and i could talk about two cases that i enjoyed reading and learned a lot from during law school. i would also encourage you to balance your responses with other experiences that demonstrate your personality outside of your studies. Work experience, extra-curricular activities, sporting participation, music and travel are all important to us. we want candidates who bring their whole self to work, individual strengths and diversity is what builds our teams in our pursuit of excellence and collaboration. it is also important to consider the following skills and be able to demonstrate them in the interview: • good communication skills and a great attitude; • willingness to learn; • high levels of emotional intelligence; • dependability and composure; and • strong relationship building skills.

Be yourself and realise that all interviewers are just human and want to genuinely connect.

Know what you are talking about. Every person has their own unique set of skills that they can bring to the table, ensure you know how to convert your experience into applicable skills for the job you are applying for. Be kind and friendly, but profession and present yourself well. Everyone i have met from recruiting and the company itself are lovely, they want to get to know you, but they can only know what you tell them. So be open and honest let them get to know not only what you can bring to the company but who you are as a person.

Study the company. When in the interview, talk about how your skills and previous experiences relate with exactly what they advertised. I also looked at my interviewers linkedin profiles and asked about their experiences within the firm. ask lots of questions to show initiative.

Really understand why it is that you want to work here, and what unique parts and strengths of yourself you can offer.

Minterellison values attitude very highly. Both towards work and on a personal level. It is best to be yourself and to have a clear idea of why minterellison is the firm for you. There is no need to be specific, but a research response of as to "why minterellison?" is often well received as it shows a genuine interest.

Research minters as a firm and consider why you would want to work here - what makes it different and why would you be a good fit

Nothing really company specific. Go to the job fair-type events, research the firm a little bit before applying, and practise the standard interview questions.

Be able to converse about your cv, have knowledge of your academic interests and be confident talking about them, show you are a cultural fit, rather than purely a talent-fit.

Be interested and be honest! i honestly did not know anything about minters before i started the application process, and i didn't know anyone that worked there. But i tried my best to find out about the firm and the people in the perth office - not necessarily what they worked on but mostly how they worked, what systems were used, how the teams operated, what the structure was like etc.

Any work experience is valuable - don't filter yourself and your life experiences because they're not mainstream. It doesn't matter if you don't have legal experience - many grads don't. Find out which partner is interviewing you, and think of some questions to ask about their experiences (mine was rehired after he went overseas, so we chatted about the support provided by the firm and what he did overseas). Think about what practice areas you may be interested in so you can find out more about them.

I think undergraduates often go into interviews thinking that academic output is everything. What i have learnt from working at minters (and being hired) is that, while academic capability is important, they genuinely care more about you as a person and what individuality and personal skills you can bring to the team. At the end of the day, legal skills can be taught and improved over time, but being a nice, friendly, easy to work with person is more innate and matters more in the long run when it comes to team atmosphere.

Be yourself and be genuine.

Be yourself and know exactly why you are applying here specifically. Tailor your answers to the firm where possible.

In my experience minter ellison look for candidates with practical experience in the legal industry or other business areas relevant to the work of the firm.