Corinne Tierney
On Wednesday, September 25, the Labor Relations and Employment Law Society (“LRELS”) hosted a Job Interview Skills Workshop for 17 St. John’s Law students interested in pursuing a career in Labor and Employment Law. The Workshop offered students two 15-minute simulated interviews with practicing labor and employment law attorneys. After each interview, every student-interviewee received personalized feedback on his or her resume and interview skills. After four rounds of interviews, the group enjoyed a catered dinner during a panel discussion with the attorney-interviewers at which best practices for interviews were discussed and general questions were taken from the audience.
The Workshop was generously co-sponsored by Jackson Lewis P.C., one of the nation’s leading labor and employment law firms. Five attorney-interviewers came from Jackson Lewis’s Melville, Long Island office, including Craig Roberts, a principal of the firm and St. John’s alumnus of the Class of 1997, and several firm associates, including Heather Hili, a St. John’s alumnus of the Class of 2013, Ashley Zangara, a St. John’s alumnus of the Class of 2016, Fatima Guillen-Walsh, and Alexandra Faver. Other attorney-interviewers included Courtney Chicvak, a St. John’s alumnus of the Class of 2014, who has her own mediation practice and previously worked in the Labor and Employment law field; Adjunct Professor David R. Marshall, who is Of Counsel at Locke Lord and Director of the Center for Labor Relations and Employment Law at St. John’s; and Kayalyn Marafioti, a retired Partner from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, and Flom LLP’s Corporate Restructuring Department who is an adjunct professor in St. John’s LLM program for foreign law students.
Student feedback about the Workshop was uniformly enthusiastic and positive. Elyssa Cisluycis, a 2L, explained that during the interview, she faced “interview questions particular to the legal field and more specifically labor and employment law that [she] ha[d] never had to answer before.” Elyssa noted that the simulated interviews gave her the opportunity to develop and practice responses to questions she likely will encounter in future job interviews. Michelle Capobianco, a 2L, found the question and answer discussion with the panel of interviewers to be equally beneficial. For Michelle, the opportunity to ask practicing labor and employment attorneys about “their specific legal journey, and gaining insight
[into]
what skills they find the most valuable in their daily practice” revealed valuable insights for a student interested in pursuing a career in this practice area. Sara Salmonson, a 1L, also found the mock interviews provided a valuable real-world experience. Sara explained that “[t]he mock interview was great exposure for a 1L because it gave us an idea of what it would be like to interview for a [summer] position.” Sara also found that it gave her perspective about the end goal of law school; getting a job in a practice field she enjoys.
“I want to thank the LRELS executive board for their efforts, which made this event a success,” said Bill Varade, President of LRELS. “And I’d like to thank the St. John’s Offices of Career Development, Alumni Relations and Development, and Administrative Services, who supported LRELS throughout the planning and execution stages,” Bill continued. “The financial support and time commitment from Jackson Lewis were critical to launching this event,” said Professor Marshall. “We’d like to extend our thanks to Jackson Lewis and the other alumni volunteers,” said Professor Marshall, “and with continued support from St. John’s alumni, we hope to make this workshop an annual occurrence.”
LRELS and the Center for Labor and Employment Law intend to make the Job Interview Skills Workshop an annual tradition at the Law School. We welcome alumni interested in participating as sponsors or interviewers in future workshops to reach out to Professor David Marshall or Dean Brian Woods. Their contact information is available on the LRELS webpage located here.
According to Hunter Igoe, a 3L student-participant who had prior experience interviewing for several clerkships and externships in the labor and employment field: “There’s no such thing as too much interviewing practice.”
