Are language skills tested during OCI interviews? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hey folks,

I was just doing some research for my OCI interviews and noticed that one of my scheduled interviewers is fluent in a language for which I listed "intermediate" skills on my resume. I took about 7 years of class for this language in middle-high school and college and at one point was very good, but am simply rusty and out-of-practice at this point. On a scale of 1-10, how worried should I be about this interviewer (who happens to also be a partner) pop-quizzing me on my language skills? Has anyone had experience with this at their OCI, and if so, how intensive is the "testing"?

Thank you!

[Clearly]

If you know he speaks that language, and its on your resume, you can expect it. Less likely to catch you off balance, and more to just enjoy speaking his/her language, but it'll come up.

[DJ JD]

Yeah, they'll ask. I've heard so many stories from interviewers telling me how people throw a language on their resume, they start speaking that language, and the interviewee is lost.

Easy way to get auto-dinged.

I think they'll be able to tell the difference between rusty after much experience and just taking a couple of Spanish classes in college. You'll be fine. Probably... Maybe... Hopefully at least... Or perhaps you won't. Yeah, there's always that chance.

[UnicornHunter]

You're lucky because "intermediate" is kind of ambiguous, but hopefully you can at least hold a conversation. I'd say it's 80-90% certain to come up in the interview. As a rule of thumb moving forward, any skill (especially language) shouldn't be on your resume if you can't use it in a professional setting.

[Anonymous User]

Heh, worked out for me. I list a language I was previously very skilled in on my resume. Not fluent, but close back then. Actually learned it for a job that I had. It has been years since I used it. I can still have rough conversations, so I list it on my resume with the "intermediate" designation. Anyway, I had two OCI screeners each with an interviewer who was of the ethnicity that speaks the language on my resume. Both happened to only speak English, so I lucked out. I did, however, practice some basic introductory phrases and questions the night before. Also, I prepared a few kind of humorous but safe replies for anticipated questions.

Also, they're not going to want to waste any large chunk of time having a conversation in another language when they're there to talk to you about their firm, your interests in law, your work experience, your experience in law school, etc. There is a lot to cover in 20 - 30 minutes, and languages aren't going to be a huge priority. Unless you specified an interest in a foreign office.

EDIT: I think it should be on your resume even if you can't use it in a professional setting. I confessed to many interviewers that I was rusty, but I explained I put it on my resume because I thought it was interesting. They all agreed that it was a great idea to put it down. In fact, about 3 firms I screened with said that they have an office in the particular country that speaks the language, and having someone who has been in the culture and could have even simple conversations would be a benefit. They said they send people overseas who don't speak the language at all to talk with foreign companies they represent in America. They said just knowing the culture and some of the language would be great for building a client relationship.

[El Pollito]

no way, keep it off unless you're fluent

[Foghornleghorn]

Heh, worked out for me. I list a language I was previously very skilled in on my resume. Not fluent, but close back then. Actually learned it for a job that I had. It has been years since I used it. I can still have rough conversations, so I list it on my resume with the "intermediate" designation. Anyway, I had two OCI screeners each with an interviewer who was of the ethnicity that speaks the language on my resume. Both happened to only speak English, so I lucked out. I did, however, practice some basic introductory phrases and questions the night before. Also, I prepared a few kind of humorous but safe replies for anticipated questions.

Also, they're not going to want to waste any large chunk of time having a conversation in another language when they're there to talk to you about their firm, your interests in law, your work experience, your experience in law school, etc. There is a lot to cover in 20 - 30 minutes, and languages aren't going to be a huge priority. Unless you specified an interest in a foreign office.

EDIT: I think it should be on your resume even if you can't use it in a professional setting. I confessed to many interviewers that I was rusty, but I explained I put it on my resume because I thought it was interesting. They all agreed that it was a great idea to put it down. In fact, about 3 firms I screened with said that they have an office in the particular country that speaks the language, and having someone who has been in the culture and could have even simple conversations would be a benefit. They said they send people overseas who don't speak the language at all to talk with foreign companies they represent in America. They said just knowing the culture and some of the language would be great for building a client relationship.

Full Disclosure: I'm a 2L. But, in a previous life, I worked in consulting and often conducted screeners. Easiest dings of the day for me were questions to anyone who listed a particular language as "intermediate". You might get away with it; or you might get called out. It's a silly move. The marginal benefit of it (unless you're applying to a foreign office) is vastly outweighed by the possibility of an auto-ding. Intermediate language skills and half-assed sentences are two different categories. If you really need it to fill out your resume put "basic" or "remedial".

[Anonymous User]

Whelp, I was the one who said to leave it. Never said anything about "half-assed" sentences. Just sharing my experience with a similar situation. Doubt having "intermediate" language skills listed leads to any auto-dings. My career office said to leave it on when I asked.

Forgot that on this site when you offer an opinion and experience that goes against someone else's views they attack your view. There are two sides to it. If you studied it for 7 years, then it seems like an important piece of your background, and, if nothing else, it adds to what you've been doing.

Again, sincerely doubt you're getting auto-dinged by anyone for only being intermediate at a language you listed. If you were getting auto-dinged for that then they wouldn't have scheduled you for a screener in the first place. In fact, you put "intermediate" which pretty much indicates that it is more of an interest than anything. I did put it in the "interests" section of my resume, which might help. Living overseas and learning a language is a great interview topic even if only used as an icebreaker.

Anyway, the language has come up a lot, and I admit to the interviewer I'm rusty, but talking about travel, living overseas, and learning a language has been a good conversation topic. That's been my experience, and that's all I'm saying.

[Anonymous User]

non fluent skill levels are basically useless in business. i would only include it if its relevant to something interesting about me. e.g. i was in Iraq and I learned the language on the job but im only intermediate

edit: yes, languages are tested and ure automaticallt out if you dont reflect what ir resume says

[Anonymous User]

During 1L OCI, an interviewer randomly started speaking the foreign language I listed. But it was only conversational stuff; nothing super difficult.

[Anonymous User]

I put "fluency in Mandarin Chinese" on my resume. In my own screener where one of the interviewers was fluent in Chinese (according to the firm website), it never came up. She just wanted to chat about the law firm and my hobbies.

[Anonymous User]

As an international student my native language is never tested...

[Anonymous User]

They may test it for practice areas that are more international or more prevalent in foreign countries (ie: Project Finance).

FYI I put a language on my resume and put something similar to what you put.
I got called on it 3 times, and I looked like a dumbass ALL THREE TIMES trying to speak the language.

Just don't do it. The interviewer isn't going to say "I'm hiring this guy because he/she speaks X language" if the language isn't relevant. If the recruiter does say "I'm going to hire this guy because he speaks X language", then he/she is going to call you out on it. And if you aren't comfortable enough to converse in that language or have that language be an asset, then it will make you look really really dumb.

TL DR: don't do it

edit: obviously if you're an international student, they won't test it. If you're Mexican and from Mexico, the interviewer isn't going to say "HEY LET ME SEE HOW GOOD YOUR SPANISH IS"

[Anonymous User]

I put proficient in X language, familiarity in X language. I'm pretty confident about the proficient one but will they test me on the other? I mean I studied that language for 4 years but it's been so long that I can barley speak any of it. The good thing is I can just explain the story and say it's an interest. It's not like I put intermediate or anything.

[Anonymous User]

They may test it for practice areas that are more international or more prevalent in foreign countries (ie: Project Finance).

FYI I put a language on my resume and put something similar to what you put.
I got called on it 3 times, and I looked like a dumbass ALL THREE TIMES trying to speak the language.

Just don't do it. The interviewer isn't going to say "I'm hiring this guy because he/she speaks X language" if the language isn't relevant. If the recruiter does say "I'm going to hire this guy because he speaks X language", then he/she is going to call you out on it. And if you aren't comfortable enough to converse in that language or have that language be an asset, then it will make you look really really dumb.

TL DR: don't do it

edit: obviously if you're an international student, they won't test it. If you're Mexican and from Mexico, the interviewer isn't going to say "HEY LET ME SEE HOW GOOD YOUR SPANISH IS"

Out of curiosity, they did ask you a lot of technical questions in that foreign language?

I also put a language on my resume, but it only came up briefly in screeners. I am mostly fluent but would have some difficulty talking about originate-to-distribute lending model or securitization of mortgage loans.

[gnomgnomuch]

no way, keep it off unless you're fluent

That seems a bit excessive. I've been offered jobs because I have conversational mastery in Russian. However, my written is nonexistent and my reading is maybe that of an 8th grader. I put advanced intermediate on my resume and when I was asked about it, I explained them what it meant. I was then tested on it (they wanted me to hold a conversation about the job in Russian). It happened twice - two different jobs - and both times the interviewer was more than ok with my level.

The one time it got tricky was when I was given some documents in Russian to translate into English - by a lady who didn't interview me, so she didn't know that I wasn't the person to do that - I explained it to her and she apologized and said don't worry about it.

I think you just have to be explicit about what your level actually is. If you list yourself as fluent or whatever, be prepared to prove that you actually possess the language skills.

(this is not for law school or law related jobs btw.)

[DJ JD]

no way, keep it off unless you're fluent

That seems a bit excessive. I've been offered jobs because I have conversational mastery in Russian. However, my written is nonexistent and my reading is maybe that of an 8th grader. I put advanced intermediate on my resume and when I was asked about it, I explained them what it meant. I was then tested on it (they wanted me to hold a conversation about the job in Russian). It happened twice - two different jobs - and both times the interviewer was more than ok with my level.

The one time it got tricky was when I was given some documents in Russian to translate into English - by a lady who didn't interview me, so she didn't know that I wasn't the person to do that - I explained it to her and she apologized and said don't worry about it.

I think you just have to be explicit about what your level actually is. If you list yourself as fluent or whatever, be prepared to prove that you actually possess the language skills.

(this is not for law school or law related jobs btw.)

Semantics

I think you're reading into that too much.

Colloquial meaning of the word "fluent" + the context of this makes it seem more likely that by "fluent," he meant "able to hold a conversation." I think the point was, "if you can't speak in an interview setting, don't bother putting it on there." Not "if you can't perfectly speak, read, and write on a technical level, don't put it on your resume."

[jbagelboy]

this is all way overblown. I've had two non-english languages on my resume, one as fluent and another as novice, and I've only had to speak the fluent one ONCE over the course of many dozens of interviews, and that was at a post-OCI dinner, not in an interview room. I've even interviewed with people whose first language is the fluent listed language (they are from that country), and they still haven't propositioned me to speak that language with them. So I think the chances of actually being quized in that language are far less than 80%, probably more like 25%.

You should still be honest about what you put on your resume (in every capacity, not just languages), but this idea that some interview will certainly try to juke you so you should leave everything off is just not true.

[UnicornHunter]

this idea that some interview will certainly try to juke you so you should leave everything off is just not true.

I don't think this is an accurate reflection of what people are saying. Nobody's claiming that they'll give you a written test or nail you for conjugations or whatever else "juking" would entail, just that if you list a language skill as intermediate, you'd better be able to speak it at an intermediate level.

Personally, I speak two languages at a novice to intermediate level. They're not on my resume. Why? Because I wouldn't be comfortable using them in an interview, and I wouldn't be comfortable using them in a professional setting. It's tough to imagine a scenario where being able to order some schwarma helps me, and it's really easy to imagine a scenario where I look like an ass for claiming a skill I don't have.

What is on my resume is work and volunteer experience that suggests I might have had a reason to learn those languages. If the interviewer seems interested, that's when I talk about it.

[kartelite]

no way, keep it off unless you're fluent

No.

If you have advanced skills in a foreign language, even though you can't speak fluently about law or other technical subjects, you should definitely put it on your CV. Most of the time it will never be of any real import to the interviewer, but if you're able to comfortably hold conversations about most subjects and read newspapers, work documents (which is a far cry from actually being fluent) it could still end up being useful down the road and it's an attribute that the firm may appreciate being made aware of. Just indicate your level appropriately (I use fluent for one language I'm very comfortable in and business proficient for another...despite having studied it extensively, worked in the country for years and passed the advanced national exam, I wouldn't consider myself fluent although my ability is definitely good enough to accomplish a lot of work).

[kaiser]

I was told to leave off any language skills you aren't at least intermediate in. "Basic" language skills usually means that you know the most simple level of conservation to at least not be totally lost. Intermediate means you can hold a conversation in the language and be able to hold your own. Once you are saying fluent, that means you could right then and there hold a high level conservation on difficult topics, always with proper conjugation and vocab, whether legal or otherwise, without an issue.

Often, what people claim is intermediate is really just basic. And what people deem "basic" is often entirely useless in the professional setting since its not enough to be of any use on the job.

[arklaw13]

I know of one firm where the hiring partner would make a point to have a Spanish-speaking attorney randomly drop in during a callback and start speaking Spanish to anyone who put it on their resume.

[gnomgnomuch]

no way, keep it off unless you're fluent

That seems a bit excessive. I've been offered jobs because I have conversational mastery in Russian. However, my written is nonexistent and my reading is maybe that of an 8th grader. I put advanced intermediate on my resume and when I was asked about it, I explained them what it meant. I was then tested on it (they wanted me to hold a conversation about the job in Russian). It happened twice - two different jobs - and both times the interviewer was more than ok with my level.

The one time it got tricky was when I was given some documents in Russian to translate into English - by a lady who didn't interview me, so she didn't know that I wasn't the person to do that - I explained it to her and she apologized and said don't worry about it.

I think you just have to be explicit about what your level actually is. If you list yourself as fluent or whatever, be prepared to prove that you actually possess the language skills.

(this is not for law school or law related jobs btw.)

Semantics

I think you're reading into that too much.

Colloquial meaning of the word "fluent" + the context of this makes it seem more likely that by "fluent," he meant "able to hold a conversation." I think the point was, "if you can't speak in an interview setting, don't bother putting it on there." Not "if you can't perfectly speak, read, and write on a technical level, don't put it on your resume."

Maybe, but if I'm interviewing someone for a position and their resume says "fluent" i'm assuming full proficiency, including reading and writing.

[PennBull]

no way, keep it off unless you're fluent

yep

amazing you're getting pushback on this point

[DJ JD]

no way, keep it off unless you're fluent

That seems a bit excessive. I've been offered jobs because I have conversational mastery in Russian. However, my written is nonexistent and my reading is maybe that of an 8th grader. I put advanced intermediate on my resume and when I was asked about it, I explained them what it meant. I was then tested on it (they wanted me to hold a conversation about the job in Russian). It happened twice - two different jobs - and both times the interviewer was more than ok with my level.

The one time it got tricky was when I was given some documents in Russian to translate into English - by a lady who didn't interview me, so she didn't know that I wasn't the person to do that - I explained it to her and she apologized and said don't worry about it.

I think you just have to be explicit about what your level actually is. If you list yourself as fluent or whatever, be prepared to prove that you actually possess the language skills.

(this is not for law school or law related jobs btw.)

Semantics

I think you're reading into that too much.

Colloquial meaning of the word "fluent" + the context of this makes it seem more likely that by "fluent," he meant "able to hold a conversation." I think the point was, "if you can't speak in an interview setting, don't bother putting it on there." Not "if you can't perfectly speak, read, and write on a technical level, don't put it on your resume."

Maybe, but if I'm interviewing someone for a position and their resume says "fluent" i'm assuming full proficiency, including reading and writing.

I mean, are you gonna pull out an agreement written in Cyrillic for them to read during the interview?