Pupillage interviews: tips and tricks from a successful applicant!
Helena Khullar
17th March 2025
Advice for pupillage interviews
With interview season upon us, every pupillage applicant will be asking the same question: how on earth should I prepare?
Everyone will approach interviews differently. However, I have set out some strategies that helped me when preparing for pupillage interviews.
Pre-interview preparation
1. Try to take a break between the application submission deadline and interview season
The pupillage interview season is intense and you will only function at your best if you are well-rested. You need to conserve your energy for the interviews themselves!
2. Prepare answers to commonly asked questions
Certain questions are frequently asked at interview. These include “why would you be a good barrister”, “give an example of a time when you advocated effectively”, “why this set of chambers”, “why this practice area/why a common law set” and “summarise a recent case which interested you”. I always used to prepare answers to these kinds of questions so that I could be as prepared as possible should they be asked.
I also used to look at my application and think about what I would ask myself if I were the interviewer. I found that this often pre-empted the questions that were ultimately asked at interview.
I also tended to write out potential questions and potential answers. However, I do think that it is possible to come across as being overly rehearsed. Writing bullet point answers usually strikes a good balance between planning an answer to a potential question and being able to flexibly adapt your planning to the actual question asked.
3. Keep up to date with the set’s practice areas
I worked for a personal injury law firm when applying for pupillage, and so I would usually look at the personal injury news section of the Law Gazette anyway, as well as reading other publications.
To keep up to date with Crime and Family, I found the Inner Temple Current Awareness newsletter helpful. I also found The Times Law Supplement useful for general legal updates. However, this list is not intended to be prescriptive and there are a range of resources available.
4. Keep up to date with general news items/topical debates
I have always loved BBC4’s Today Programme and I would try to listen to it every morning to get a good overview of current news items and topical debates. I would then think about the questions I would likely be asked at interview based on the news stories that were popular at the time.
I also found the BBC discussion programme The Moral Maze an incredibly helpful resource. Each episode focuses on a different (and usually topical) moral issue from many different perspectives. I found the consideration of various points of view useful for when I was asked to argue for and against propositions at interview.
5. Use the resources provided by your Inn of Court
I found the mock pupillage interview scheme provided by Middle Temple extremely helpful. The scheme matches pupillage candidates with practitioners for an interview practice session. The mock interview was a useful way to gain interview experience and I received detailed and helpful feedback.
6. Revise your Bar Course Ethics
At first or second round interview, ethical questions are frequently asked. I would recommend having a firm grasp of the BSB Handbook. Even if you don’t know the answer to a question, you can usually arrive at a reasonable conclusion by applying the core ethical principles. The Bar Council’s Ethics & Practice Hub also provides useful guidance on specific issues.
7. Try to practice interview technique
You can always practise interview technique with a friend or even by yourself. Recording yourself answering interview questions can be a helpful exercise as it allows you to critically analyse how you come across in an interview scenario. You might become painfully aware, for example, of the fact that you often use filler words when answering questions, or that you speak too quickly due to nerves. In any case, practice makes perfect.
Interview tips
8. Make sure to arrive on time
Arriving with plenty of time allows you to get into a calm mindset before the interview itself. It also allows you to avoid any transport-related problems. If your interview is in Middle/Inner Temple, it is worth bearing in mind that only the Tudor Street entrance is open to the public on Saturdays, which may make your journey a bit longer than it would usually be on a weekday.
9. Think about your delivery
Just like court advocacy, it is not only the content of your answer that matters but also the way in which it is delivered. Taking a breath before answering a question is a good way to obtain a few extra seconds to consider your response. Speaking at a measured pace also gives you an opportunity to think about what you are saying. You almost always speak faster than you think!
It also helps to structure your answer into three main points, making it easier to follow.
10. Don’t worry if you don’t know the answer
You may have done all the preparation in the world and still be asked a question on a topic unknown to you. In those circumstances, you should remember that every candidate is in the same position. It is much better to take a deep breath, and to think about what exactly you are being asked to consider, than to assume you can’t answer the question because you don’t know about the subject-matter. Often, chambers are looking at how you deal with something unknown and how you analyse the terms of any given question, rather than expecting in-depth information on a particular topic.
11. Try to stay as confident as possible
Pupillage interview season can be intense. However, if you are getting interviews, you are good enough to get a pupillage.
That said, however good an applicant you are, you will only be able to show your ability in a pupillage interview if you believe in yourself. You therefore owe it to yourself to be as confident as possible and (as far as possible) approach interviews with positivity. Ultimately, the worst that could happen is a rejection.
Positive affirmations and meditation can help, as will the process of doing more and more interviews; even though rejection can be disheartening, you will simply become a better applicant with practice.
Shortly before a second-round pupillage interview, I saw a distressed man walk onto the tube tracks at Chancery Lane station, intent on ending his own life.
All thoughts about the advocacy exercise I had to perform immediately left my mind. The most important thing in that moment was to make sure that he got to safety.
I was the only passer-by to act and I managed to alert the station staff and talk the man off the tracks before the ambulance and police arrived.
I mention this experience to demonstrate how important it is to have perspective in the application process. Every applicant will want a pupillage, but some things are so much more important than a job (even one you really want).
I wish all applicants the best of luck with their upcoming interviews.