Last week we discussed some of the things law firm partners seek when staffing their overseas outposts in Asia. To be a successful associate, you need an entrepreneurial spirit, a high level of maturity for your experience level, and an outgoing personality (i.e., not overly academic). You should should be well put-together, presenting as little obvious risk of being a prima donna as possible. How do you know for yourself whether you cut the mustard under these factors — and how do you make it clear to those who interview you that you do?
Successful overseas lawyers have a high degree of entrepreneurial spirit. Let’s face it: you earn a few points just by being willing to leave the comfort of your life in the U.S. or U.K. and move overseas to Asia. Beyond this, law firm partners try to look at your past to determine your future. Were you a competitive athlete, moot court competitor, or actual entrepreneur at some point in your life? If you were, it’s important to bring this out in your resume and cover letter, as well as in your interviews, because these are experiences common among entrepreneurs. If you had experience prior to law school with scientific research, on the other hand, realize this sort of experience can signal to an astute interviewer that you may be happiest in a comfortable role, without much risk, and the rewards of sticking your neck out in the fast-paced world of Asian finance might not be strong motivators for you.
Depending on the exact practice area you enter in Asia, you may find that there is little or no supervision at times, that your clients are much older than the junior associate who is handling much of the interaction with that client, or that the pace of a transaction is incredibly hectic. There is no substitute for time under fire to create “fire discipline,” as they say. Many law firm partners in Asia, all other things being equal, prefer to hire someone with life experience suggesting that he or she will be mature in handling adversity.
In addition to simply having lived longer (we find that older candidates who had careers prior to law school have a disproportionate amount of success in interviews), it is valuable to send other signs that you are a mature person. Do not fidget. Recognize that the partner you are talking to is just another human being. Be prepared to discuss a variety of subjects, outside of the technicalities of your practice — e.g., economics in Asia, sports, or pop culture. Know something about Chinese and/or Japanese culture and history. We have seen some of the most promising candidates crash and burn due to showing immaturity by seeking to move to Asia with little knowledge about the region itself.
The need to have an outgoing personality and not be too “academic” is best illustrated by the story of an experience we had recently with a candidate who was, frankly, such an incurable nerd that we should have known he was beyond help. While brilliant, and at the native level of both English and Mandarin, this candidate was completely out of touch with how the things he did or said were perceived by others. When discussing some light subject, for example, the candidate would awkwardly turn the subject back to his application by offering to present some of his writings and many different academic degrees and qualifications. While academics and writings are important, even a young associate needs to be able to connect quickly to anyone. This particular candidate also tried unsuccessfully to negotiate his compensation and seniority with firms before receiving offers. Although this candidate could for all practical purposes choose any firm to work at in a major U.S. market, being very marketable there and having received numerous offers to lateral, he was unable to land a single offer in Hong Kong / China.
Finally, one must be well put-together. Remember that you are giving a presentation of yourself, including aspects other than simply your academics and legal background. If you can’t present your own attributes comfortably, even in the relatively stressful environment of an interview, how can you be expected to make presentations to clients about technical services that the firm offers? After all, in Asia you will have a lot more client contact and more responsibility; you’ll be in a smaller office, working more closely with your supervising partner. We are called upon daily by firms to screen candidates, and whether it is with us or a partner of a target firm, it is fairly obvious within five minutes of a conversation whether a candidate has the right personality fit and presentation for a challenging overseas position.
