Interviewing and Advising

Now that I have completed the Interviewing and Advising workshops I thought I would write a short post to mark the occasion. 

First, a little break down. Interviewing and Advising is, quite obviously, the skill of successfully interviewing and then advising your client. For some reason though a lot of non-LPC folk seem to think it's sessions to practice being interviewed (i.e. for a job) so I thought I had better clarify. You take 2 workshops and then a lovely mock exam. It's another Competent/Not Competent exam so 50% is all you need. The exam consists of interviewing and advising a client for up to 30 minutes. You need to make notes and they form part of your final mark. 

I went into Interviewing with a slight sense of dread. Having made friends with a few of the "18-monthers" I had been witness to their sheer panic at taking the Interviewing and Advising exam in December of last year. 

The groups of 12 are quite small, especially compared to BLP. You pair off and sit opposite one another on a desk and then act out role plays, alternating between client and trainee. You should feel totally comfortable, surrounded by your friends. But the mixture of acting, trying something new and being critiqued by your friends makes the workshops strangely nerve wracking. It's a steep learning curve and one that most get the hang of fairly quickly. The University of Law interviewing exam involves advising a client about a Partnership matter, covered in BLP, so there is also an element of revision too. 

I have interviewed clients before for the CAB but it was a much more relaxed affair. On the LPC, the interviews follow a basic structure which you are expected to keep to, and this is where I think it becomes complicated. For example, you must cover costs in your opening conversation. If you forget you can't just have a costs chat in the middle of discussing the clients problem - you have missed the boat (until the end, but you will lose out on marks). Other more trivial things to remember include making sure the client sits down before you and having "small talk"... *cringe*. In reality, small talk would be a natural part of an interview but it becomes so much more arduous when it's a necessity. 

All of these things to remember resulted in me not actually listening to the client and instead spending the time trying to figure out what I was meant to be doing next! This obviously becomes easier the more practice you do, so this weekend I am planning to find some willing (or unwilling!) test subjects.

A few little tips:

• Completely go for it. Make a fool of yourself now and avoid doing so in the exam.
• Do allllll the prep. There isn't a lot but do it all because you only get 2 sessions to practice this and you need to get the most out of them.
• Ask questions. This isn't an exam you can blag. With a written exam you get to plan, read through, add bits you forgot. You get one shot at interviewing so straighten out any queries. 
• You are allowed to take in 3 sheets of paper- one blank piece to make your notes, the mark scheme (with the handy interview structure on it) and a list of possible questions/law on Partnerships. Prepare your questions/relevant law sheet in advance!
• You have to dress smartly for the exams so do some practices in your suit. This will get you more accustomed to how it will feel on the day. 

My mock is on the 8th May so I will likely be doing a little blog then. If any of you are doing interviewing at the moment let me know how you are getting on with it. 

Wish me luck!