Callback Advice Forum

[TheoO]

I had a really great recruiting season - 14 callbacks, 12 offers. I got to speak to one of the firms that rejected me - said I just didn't seem that interested and overconfident. Totally fair criticism - no one wants to work with someone who thinks they're better than everyone.

Got offers at V2-V9; rejections from V25 firms.

This has to be a joke. Otherwise, man, V10s sure do know how to pick em...

[lavarman84]

I had a really great recruiting season - 14 callbacks, 12 offers. I got to speak to one of the firms that rejected me - said I just didn't seem that interested and overconfident. Totally fair criticism - no one wants to work with someone who thinks they're better than everyone.

Got offers at V2-V9; rejections from V25 firms.

This has to be a joke. Otherwise, man, V10s sure do know how to pick em...

I am waiting for the advice. Anon, teach me your ways.(or how to dougie)

[Anonymous User]

Okay, a little worried here. T14, and I've had nine callbacks so far in a few different markets and only received one offer. Only one outright rejection so far, but my friends are receiving offers from firms where we interviewed on the same day, so I have a handful of assumed rejections as well.

I'm a fairly normal guy, I think I come across as a decent conversationalist, and I'm not sure what is leading to my rejections. I suppose it could be any number of things - a not-very-rigorous undergraduate major, I'm more awkward than I realize, I left FedSoc on my resume when I shouldn't have (but politics have not come up in interviews, and they gave me the callback knowing it was on my resume), or something else entirely. I have great grades and am on law review, but am having trouble converting callbacks to offers... Getting a little bummed out. I have a few callbacks left... trying to stay positive!

What's a guy to do when he doesn't know what's going wrong?

(I am very grateful for the one offer I have - don't get me wrong!)

First of all thanks for acknowledging that you're in quite a nice position nonetheless given your current offer.

It might be just chance/hiring needs, it might be that you have a certain kind of personality that's coming off and only meshing with certain other types of people, other people just having higher grades and the firm being one that's going for that, etc. 9 callbacks is a lot so clearly you're doing something right at the early stages. Maybe talk with your school's job center? Have people who have interacted with you a lot as well as those who have only interacted with a you little (the latter being a little more awkward) say if there's anything off-putting or controversial about you? Maybe ask the job center if they can get any feedback from the firms you've been rejected at?

OP here. Yeah, I will try to get feedback. Comments from friends with 5+ offers (besides "oh you're great" and "I'm sure there will be other offers") have been "you aren't awkward" and "you might be a little too honest." I've tried to stay positive in interviews and avoided bringing up negative things about my previous career path (though I get lots of questions about why I left) or law school.

I got one piece of advice after a mock interview to be less "humble" and be more verbal/have a little more confidence in my credentials (top 3%), but I'm not sure if that's good advice or not - I've tried to let my grades speak for themselves.

Edit: I think I might be trying too hard to be a "good listener" - I'll ask a question to the interviewer, and they'll talk sometimes for 5+ minutes. Should I be inserting myself into their monologue? I feel like it's a good thing when they have control of the conversation - I want to be succinct in my answers and tell them what they want to know - but I'm not sure if that's the right instinct.

[Traynor Brah]

I had a really great recruiting season - 14 callbacks, 12 offers. I got to speak to one of the firms that rejected me - said I just didn't seem that interested and overconfident. Totally fair criticism - no one wants to work with someone who thinks they're better than everyone.

Got offers at V2-V9; rejections from V25 firms.

Nobody cares/not what this thread is for, obviously

[Glasseyes]

I had a really great recruiting season - 14 callbacks, 12 offers. I got to speak to one of the firms that rejected me - said I just didn't seem that interested and overconfident. Totally fair criticism - no one wants to work with someone who thinks they're better than everyone.

Got offers at V2-V9; rejections from V25 firms.

This is because most of those V10's probably hire based almost exclusively on grades and other stats that look good on paper. V25's (and everyone else, if we're being honest, once we step out of this fantasy where Vault rankings actually mean anything) probably want a combination of decent grades and stats paired with the ability to hold a conversation without bursting into tears or coming off like a complete piece of shit. Pretty sure that's what they call "hiring for fit".

Now if we assume my above line of (grossly exaggerated and over-simplified) thinking is true, imagine the quality of the interactions you're likely to have when working at a V10.