#1C. And the phone rings...

In the middle of my most busiest day, DirectLink Recruitment Dan called me.

"Tia, I just wanted to let you know that I spoke to Michael this morning. He was wondering when you'd be available to come to the city so that all the partners of the firm can meet you."

I had two settlements to worry about, plus I had clients waiting in reception for me. Agggh! I didn't have time...

"Hey Dan. Ummm I'm really sorry but I'm kind of tied up at the moment. Is it ok if I call you back in about 20 minutes?"

I shuffled through papers. What was the reason for the clients coming into the office again? Yikes! Think, Tia, think!

"Sure Tia. Do you need to write my number down?"

Oh that's right! The clients needed to update their Wills!

"Errm. No it's ok. I've got it on my cell - on speed dial, actually."

Yikes, did I really say that? He didn't need to know that....! Think before you speak!

"Ok no worries. I'll wait to hear from you then."

The afternoon dragged on.

I saw my clients about updating their Wills. Small chit chat. Then I walked them outside to reception. Lo and behold, another two clients were waiting in reception for me - they were "just in the neighbourhood" and decided to "drop by" to see how their matter was progressing.

Nobody makes appointments anymore *sigh*.

Two hours and sixteen minutes (and several "urgent" phone calls) later, I finally had the time to breathe.

I dialled Dan's number.

"Hey Dan, it's Tia. Sorry it took me a while to return your call. I can only go to the city on a weekend - I can't take any time off at the moment because of my workload. So unless the partners want to get together on the weekend..."

I let my voice trail off. Oh please, please, please let them meet me on a weekend! I didn't want to have to ask for time off.

"The partners are quite prepared to meet you on a weekend, Tia. If you can tell me which weekend you'd be available, I can arrange the rest."

NO #$%*@#+ WAY!!

Sound professional, now. Don't act like you're excited.

"I could probably make it on the 1st of next month. But it would depend on the flight availability, etc."

OooOo. Playing hard to get... of sorts.

"Alright. Well, I'll let the partners know. Can you call me tomorrow to confirm?"

Doing a mini-victory dance. Yup uh huh.

"Definitely. I'll talk to you tomorrow then. Thanks for your call, Dan."

I couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day.

Should I start looking at flight prices?

Hmmm. Maybe after I finished my victory dance.

#1B. Could this be it?

At 12.35pm on Friday, my cell rang.

"Hello Tia. This is Michael Carson. I am calling to conduct a telephone interview for the position of Junior Commercial Lawyer that was advertised with DirectLink Recruitment. Do you have maybe 20 minutes to spare?"

Hmm he sounded young and cute. (Is it possible to judge a guy by their voice?).

Ok get back on track, Tia. Twenty minutes? Well, I had until 1.00pm til my lunch break finished. Twenty minutes should cut it.

After all, I had been waiting for Michael's phone call all day - I'd been "prepping" my answers to his imaginary questions all morning.

"Hi Michael, nice to hear from you. Twenty minutes is fine."

Wow I sounded so professional. *Inner giggle*.

"Well, first things first. I would like to tell you a little bit about this firm, my role here, and why we're seeking to recruit...."

Michael told me he was a partner at a boutique firm on the city fringe. The firm specialised in commercial transactions, as well as having a strong litigation department. Because of the great property boom, the firm was experiencing a lack of staff to meet the needs of their commercial clients. Michael said they were also looking to expand in environmental law (a great thing for me, because I've always wanted to practice in that area), to make their practice more diversified.

"So basically, we're really hoping to find someone to work closely with me in the commercial department. We've got a very low turnover, and the workplace environment is quite laid back. We encourage a work-life balance, because we understand that young lawyers, like yourself, need "me" time..."

Geez, he's got me sold.

Michael kept talking for a few more minutes before he said, "Now I'll turn the attention to you. I see from your curriculum vitae that you've got some experience in commercial and succession law..."

Here we go, Tia. Summon all your "prepped" answers for the ready.

"Do you have much client contact in relation to the files that you run?"

Oooh I hadn't expected this question.

"Yes. I have 100% client contact with all my files. The partners at work encourage client contact - a notion that I absolutely agree with - since it "personalises" the matter and gives me a chance to understand the clients that I work for."

*Inner giggle*. Not bad, not bad.

"That's fantastic. We also encourage as much client contact as possible. Now, in terms of client management, how would you approach an irate client?"

Yikes. If I told the truth, he'd laugh at me. I've had to deal with a few irate clients. It's not the best thing to look forward to, really.

I chose to respond with the "theoritical" answer: "I would ask what made the client irate in the first place (if the client hadn't told me already) and then suggest solutions to his/ her problem."

Pffft. Sounded great in theory. Quite a different story when you have a client shouting at you over the phone and telling you how "incompetent" you are - even when the problem arose because of the client's incompetence. It's also almost impossible to calm a client down when they're emotional. Although, you do get the occassional nice client who sends you wine or flowers for all the hard work that you've done. It's only because of those clients that I hang on to my job. Otherwise, I would've quit a long time ago. Ahhh the joys of client interaction.

"I see. That's a great approach."

Michael reallyyyy sounded nice. Hmmm.

"And how often do you come to the city, Tia? Once a month? Once every two months?"

Oh. Wonder why he's asking?

"Well I usually come to the city once every month to visit my family. But I only spend the weekend - well, because of work...you know how it is."

"Yeah, I know how it is. Well, if we decide to take you on board, would you like to catch up with me and the other partners one weekend that you're in the city, so we can get to know you?"

Gee, how do you take that?!

"Sure. That'd be great."

Michael then told me he'd speak with DirectLink Recruitment Dan about my application, and that "we'd go from there".

Fingers crossed. I guess I'll be waiting by my cell phone again...