Bad Interview Moments Forum

[Anonymous User]

CB last Monday:

Interviewer: So why our firm?
Me: [typical bullshit]....oh, and I spoke to someone at [office in other city].
Interviewer: Oh, who?
Me: [attorney friend].
Towards the end of the interview interviewer goes: Oh yea, before I forget, no one named [attorney friend] works for our firm. We don't even have an office in [other city].

Radio silence. I forgot that my friend worked for a mid-sized firm that sounded similar to the larger one I was interviewing with. My ding is probably on its way.

[Anonymous User]

CB last Monday:

Interviewer: So why our firm?
Me: [typical bullshit]....oh, and I spoke to someone at [office in other city].
Interviewer: Oh, who?
Me: [attorney friend].
Towards the end of the interview interviewer goes: Oh yea, before I forget, no one named [attorney friend] works for our firm. We don't even have an office in [other city].

Radio silence. I forgot that my friend worked for a mid-sized firm that sounded phonetically similar to the larger one I was interviewing with. My ding is probably on its way.

Now that's a "gg" if I ever saw one.

[Kratos]

At least the terrible feeling didn't last long, I got 2 CBs on the drive home.

unnecessary addition to the story

[BuckinghamB]

At least the terrible feeling didn't last long, I got 2 CBs on the drive home.

unnecessary addition to the story

TLS wouldn't be TLS without rampant anony-bragging in every thread

[El Pollito]

it's fine he'll probably blow them

[totesTheGoat]

At least the terrible feeling didn't last long, I got 2 CBs on the drive home.

unnecessary addition to the story

TLS wouldn't be TLS without rampant anony-bragging in every thread

I don't get on TLS very often, but all the threads I read are filled with anony-bragging, so I figured that was the standard operating procedure here

If it makes y'all feel better, they were both for the same firm, and I got a rejection in the mail once i got home, so my bad feels were preserved.

[geraffe]

My bad interview moment, totally self-inflicted and probably deserved: Right after talking up my grammar and writing skills, attributed to my love of reading, I told a little story about the time "my parents asked my brother and I" .... that definitely should have been "and me." Ah well.

[chuckbass]

My bad interview moment, totally self-inflicted and probably deserved: Right after talking up my grammar and writing skills, attributed to my love of reading, I told a little story about the time "my parents asked my brother and I" .... that definitely should have been "and me." Ah well.

Fwiw the interviewer probably didn't notice this, and if they did, wouldn't ding you for it.

[geraffe]

My bad interview moment, totally self-inflicted and probably deserved: Right after talking up my grammar and writing skills, attributed to my love of reading, I told a little story about the time "my parents asked my brother and I" .... that definitely should have been "and me." Ah well.

Fwiw the interviewer probably didn't notice this, and if they did, wouldn't ding you for it.

Ha, I sure hope not! It was just unfortunate timing...

[dixiecupdrinking]

My bad interview moment, totally self-inflicted and probably deserved: Right after talking up my grammar and writing skills, attributed to my love of reading, I told a little story about the time "my parents asked my brother and I" .... that definitely should have been "and me." Ah well.

Fwiw the interviewer probably didn't notice this, and if they did, wouldn't ding you for it.

Ha, I sure hope not! It was just unfortunate timing...

If they did, it would probably be for bringing up your "grammar skills."

[Slytherpuff]

Yeah, bringing up your grammar skills in an interview is a little odd/different. What was the context?

[cron1834]

My bad interview moment, totally self-inflicted and probably deserved: Right after talking up my grammar and writing skills, attributed to my love of reading, I told a little story about the time "my parents asked my brother and I" .... that definitely should have been "and me." Ah well.

Fwiw the interviewer probably didn't notice this, and if they did, wouldn't ding you for it.

Ha, I sure hope not! It was just unfortunate timing...

If they did, it would probably be for bringing up your "grammar skills."

[Anonymous User]

Interviewed a kid on a callback last week and I was hungover to high hell. Kid was suuuuuper energetic and eager to talk about my work... I just wanted a gatorade.

[Anonymous User]

Interviewer: Do you have any questions for me?
Me: Actually, I do; your practice spans a number of different types of companies- small, large, public, private- and I would imagine that the sorts of deals you do for each would vary greatly. What's your typical day like, then, to the extent that you have one?
Interviewer: I assume you just mean what's my typical day in terms of hours. Let me tell you. [and proceeds to give a generic answer like "of course it's long hours, weekend work once or twice a month if I had to average it out annually. But summer associates work less."]

Ding.

Pretty sure I'm not to blame on that one.

[El Pollito]

Interviewer: Do you have any questions for me?
Me: Actually, I do; your practice spans a number of different types of companies- small, large, public, private- and I would imagine that the sorts of deals you do for each would vary greatly. What's your typical day like, then, to the extent that you have one?
Interviewer: I assume you just mean what's my typical day in terms of hours. Let me tell you. [and proceeds to give a generic answer like "of course it's long hours, weekend work once or twice a month if I had to average it out annually. But summer associates work less."]

Ding.

Pretty sure I'm not to blame on that one.

"i imagine you don't have a typical day, tell me about your typical day anyway"

[071816]

My bad interview moment, totally self-inflicted and probably deserved: Right after talking up my grammar and writing skills, attributed to my love of reading, I told a little story about the time "my parents asked my brother and I" .... that definitely should have been "and me." Ah well.

I strongly dislike you

[Anonymous User]

Interviewer: Do you have any questions for me?
Me: Actually, I do; your practice spans a number of different types of companies- small, large, public, private- and I would imagine that the sorts of deals you do for each would vary greatly. What's your typical day like, then, to the extent that you have one?
Interviewer: I assume you just mean what's my typical day in terms of hours. Let me tell you. [and proceeds to give a generic answer like "of course it's long hours, weekend work once or twice a month if I had to average it out annually. But summer associates work less."]

Ding.

Pretty sure I'm not to blame on that one.

"i imagine you don't have a typical day, tell me about your typical day anyway"

The question was really geared toward how much is planned beforehand for a deal closing, how much that gets interrupted with emergent issues, how much time is spent on the phone/in meetings etc. if it had to be averaged out. Hence the qualifier "to the extent that you have one." Probably could've been asked more eloquently, but I was pretty flabbergasted that the interviewer completely ignored the rationale for asking (variety of deals --> extent of variety of work) and substituted her own.

[cron1834]

Interviewer: Do you have any questions for me?
Me: Actually, I do; your practice spans a number of different types of companies- small, large, public, private- and I would imagine that the sorts of deals you do for each would vary greatly. What's your typical day like, then, to the extent that you have one?
Interviewer: I assume you just mean what's my typical day in terms of hours. Let me tell you. [and proceeds to give a generic answer like "of course it's long hours, weekend work once or twice a month if I had to average it out annually. But summer associates work less."]

Ding.

Pretty sure I'm not to blame on that one.

"i imagine you don't have a typical day, tell me about your typical day anyway"

The question was really geared toward how much is planned beforehand for a deal closing, how much that gets interrupted with emergent issues, how much time is spent on the phone/in meetings etc. if it had to be averaged out. Hence the qualifier "to the extent that you have one." Probably could've been asked more eloquently, but I was pretty flabbergasted that the interviewer completely ignored the rationale for asking (variety of deals --> extent of variety of work) and substituted her own.

Are you also the grammar gunner above? Somehow that would make sense.

[georgej]

Taking a cue from one of TLS's most beloved posters, I had labelled myself as a "history buff" in my resumes interests section. When queried about it, I regaled the interviewers with anecdotes from my travels, mostly having to do with places in Munich where hitler once entranced his debt-crippled nation with stirring speeches, or in the alternative, I talked about walking down the street and thinking about all the people who used to live in all the old houses. Neither of these tactics got me any offers, be warned.

[UnamSanctam]

Interviewed a kid on a callback last week and I was hungover to high hell. Kid was suuuuuper energetic and eager to talk about my work... I just wanted a gatorade.

When Antrim posts anon

[El Pollito]

Interviewer: Do you have any questions for me?
Me: Actually, I do; your practice spans a number of different types of companies- small, large, public, private- and I would imagine that the sorts of deals you do for each would vary greatly. What's your typical day like, then, to the extent that you have one?
Interviewer: I assume you just mean what's my typical day in terms of hours. Let me tell you. [and proceeds to give a generic answer like "of course it's long hours, weekend work once or twice a month if I had to average it out annually. But summer associates work less."]

Ding.

Pretty sure I'm not to blame on that one.

"i imagine you don't have a typical day, tell me about your typical day anyway"

The question was really geared toward how much is planned beforehand for a deal closing, how much that gets interrupted with emergent issues, how much time is spent on the phone/in meetings etc. if it had to be averaged out. Hence the qualifier "to the extent that you have one." Probably could've been asked more eloquently, but I was pretty flabbergasted that the interviewer completely ignored the rationale for asking (variety of deals --> extent of variety of work) and substituted her own.

prob bc you're inarticulate

[jasper09]

^^ I've asked questions like that during interviews. The person usually responds "You're right, there isn't really a typical day but here's what I'm working on" or similar. OP def could have been more articulate: the better question is likely what types of assignments the attorney does on a daily basis. But I can understand their frustration.

@georgej: does your resume actually say "history buff" or does it just list history as an interest? just curious

[georgej]

^^ I've asked questions like that during interviews. The person usually responds "You're right, there isn't really a typical day but here's what I'm working on" or similar. OP def could have been more articulate: the better question is likely what types of assignments the attorney does on a daily basis. But I can understand their frustration.

@georgej: does your resume actually say "history buff" or does it just list history as an interest? just curious

It just says history, unfortunately.

[dixiecupdrinking]

FYI, here are two categories of questions I don't like being asked on callbacks:

1. Questions that assume too much knowledge about the interviewer or the firm (e.g. "I'm sure that your typical day varies a lot because of xyz things your website bio says"). The interviewer in that situation was probably trying to save you from your own naive question by answering it the way they did, because whatever assumption you made about their work was inaccurate. If you want to know how working on a deal for a public companies varies from a private company, then ask THAT.
2. Questions that have nothing to do with me, you, or the firm. "What does it take to be a successful associate here at Old, White & Dead LLP?" is something I've gotten a lot, for some reason. The answers are the same generic answers your career services office would give you, and anyway you can worry about that when you get an offer. Please don't make me regurgitate bullshit in your interview. It's bad enough when one of us is doing that.

ETA: It is really not hard to come up with decent questions. Like, "What do you like about this firm?" "What makes it different from other firms?" "Can you tell me a little about your practice and how you developed it?" These are things you can ask even if you truly have no more than the absolute minimum, most generic interest in the interview.

[lavarman84]

Interviewer: Do you have any questions for me?
Me: Actually, I do; your practice spans a number of different types of companies- small, large, public, private- and I would imagine that the sorts of deals you do for each would vary greatly. What's your typical day like, then, to the extent that you have one?
Interviewer: I assume you just mean what's my typical day in terms of hours. Let me tell you. [and proceeds to give a generic answer like "of course it's long hours, weekend work once or twice a month if I had to average it out annually. But summer associates work less."]

Ding.

Pretty sure I'm not to blame on that one.

"i imagine you don't have a typical day, tell me about your typical day anyway"

The question was really geared toward how much is planned beforehand for a deal closing, how much that gets interrupted with emergent issues, how much time is spent on the phone/in meetings etc. if it had to be averaged out. Hence the qualifier "to the extent that you have one." Probably could've been asked more eloquently, but I was pretty flabbergasted that the interviewer completely ignored the rationale for asking (variety of deals --> extent of variety of work) and substituted her own.

He probably had no idea what you wanted to ask him. If you had broken up the question into more precise questions like the bold, he probably could have answered them for you and things might have even gone smoothly...like a real conversation would.