Bad Interview Moments Forum

[nixy]

Frankly, including those performance reviews is weird (in part because including performance reviews from jobs before law school, for post-law jobs, is really weird). Just because she’s the only person who actually wrote back doesn’t mean she’s the only person who had that reaction. That said, it was definitely an over the top response.

[rcharter1978]

The performance reviews were far from generic. This Partner thought highly of herself and was the first and only person to have such a negative reaction to me sending a follow-up email (which I had done previously and it resulted in a job interview) and to my performance reviews, which as I explained, were used in my applications to pre-law school professional positions, application to law school, 1L and 2L summer associate positions, and post-law school legal positions. I know its unconventional (the performance reviews), but when you have a low LSAT and not so stellar grades, you can't play by the rules. Call her a villian or what you want, I think she definitely believes her backside smells like roses.

But I wouldn't call her a villian at all.

The feedback on your follow-up seemed reasonable. When I used to follow up on positions I would ask if there was anything else I could provide them, or if there was any other information I could offer, or if I could send another writing sample. Obviously the answer is that they don't want anything else or they would reach out. BUT, it's less confrontational and lets the employer know that I'm interested.

You could have sent a follow up email with the performance reviews if you believed in the method and it had worked for you.

What I think seals it for me in instead of taking any of her advice, no matter how harsh under consideration you just ignored the advice wholecloth. Mostly because it was given in a manner you didn't like. She didn't ignore you, it sounds like she gave you advice that SHE thought would be helpful

[Auxilio]

I'm mostly agreeing with the hiring partner to be honest.

The reviews are weird and I personally wouldn't send them but it's not the biggest deal. I would offer references next time over that. But I get the desire to be bold when reaching up.

> I also wrote a brief story how I overcame a challenge in my pre-law school career after I was denied an interview, but eventually convinced the firm to interview me (I was also hired).

That is the part that I think provoked the response to be honest. It is arrogant, and irrelevant, and just not something you put in a follow up email unsolicited. And from the description of the brief story the partner gave in response shows it was even worse (something about showing up early in a suit?)

She was blunt, but you asked her for advice and she gave you a long detailed reply (which she really didn't have to do) about what turned her off about your email. The format may have been aggressive but it's rare to get honest feedback like that from potential employers. Instead of considering it you just ignored/denied it and attack her.

[Anonymous User]

Had a screener recently, the partner spent half the interview ranting about how since they got Pepsi as a client the conference room was stocked with Pepsi products instead of Coke like it used to be.

[Anonymous User]

V50 screener at OCI. Immediately after I shook hands with my interviewer, a partner, she remarked, "This room is freezing. I can't take it anymore. Help me fix this." The room wasn't actually that cold, but I didn't protest. We proceeded to spend the next fifteen minutes going all over that hotel room trying to figure out how to adjust the temperature, or, failing that, block the A/C vents. Near the end of my screener slot, we solved the problem.

The partner expressed her appreciation for my help. She apologized for not having asked me a single question during the screener, but said I'd be able to get the full interviewing experience at my callback.

I did not receive a callback.

[quanteniacma]

1) CB lunch at a fancy place in NYC. No idea what to order, so I picked the first thing on the list which turned out to be six differently colored meatballs. The waiter explained that we're supposed to eat them in a certain order to get the "perfect gastronomical experience", but I wasn't paying attention. I fork a random meatball and shove it into my mouth. As it's about to go down my throat, one of the interviewing associates shouts at me, "No! That's the wrong meatball!". I choked and coughed up the meatball on my plate. No offer via email the next morning.

2) Another NY CB lunch. Associates tell me that they are chill and that the lunch isn't part of the firm's interview process (i.e. they don't submit reports). We end up having 2,3 beers each and a great conversation. I check the time and remember that I have another CB at a different firm scheduled in the afternoon. Abruptly excused myself and rushed out to grab a cab. Arrived at the 2nd firm sweating, out of breath, and slightly drunk. No offer from either firm.

3) Interview for 1L summer internship at a Chicago firm. I tell the interviewer how I'm dead set on transactional work for reasons X, Y, and Z. Unfortunately, the original interviewer was swapped out last-minute for a litigation partner. Partner immediately loses interest in me, and we end the interview early. No offer. It was my very first law firm interview, and I felt like crap for quite a while. Fast forward to OCI, and I walk into a screener for the same firm only to see that exact same guy sitting there. No CB.

[MBernard]

Went to an interview today where the managing partner asked what elementary and high school I went to as well as the years I graduated from both... I still can’t fathom a discernible reason for this inquiry.

Weirdest dude ever.

I once had a similar interview where a screener asked me really detailed questions about stuff from high school. (He asked about the sports I played, he dove into asking questions about my track times, and asked how my 9th grade math teacher would describe me).

I'm sure he thought there was some brilliant psychoanalytical point behind those questions and the answers his cryptic questions would elicit, but I still think that guy was just a dumbass.

No CB.

Yeah, anticipating no CB. Offered to send a sample of my kindergarten macaroni art, but alas, I think it not to be.

Received a callback request today. Never in a million years would I have guessed that...

[QContinuum]

Went to an interview today where the managing partner asked what elementary and high school I went to as well as the years I graduated from both... I still can’t fathom a discernible reason for this inquiry.

Weirdest dude ever.

I once had a similar interview where a screener asked me really detailed questions about stuff from high school. (He asked about the sports I played, he dove into asking questions about my track times, and asked how my 9th grade math teacher would describe me).

I'm sure he thought there was some brilliant psychoanalytical point behind those questions and the answers his cryptic questions would elicit, but I still think that guy was just a dumbass.

No CB.

Yeah, anticipating no CB. Offered to send a sample of my kindergarten macaroni art, but alas, I think it not to be.

Received a callback request today. Never in a million years would I have guessed that...

Maybe the partner grew up in your hometown/has family/friends there, and was curious whether you might've been classmates with his grand-niece or whatnot? Or if you attended the same elementary/high school a few decades apart? I got a similar question once - turned out the interviewer's wife's family was from the next town over.

[MBernard]

Maybe the partner grew up in your hometown/has family/friends there, and was curious whether you might've been classmates with his grand-niece or whatnot? Or if you attended the same elementary/high school a few decades apart? I got a similar question once - turned out the interviewer's wife's family was from the next town over.

You could be right; he didn't elaborate on why he made those inquiries so I don't know for certain. The interviewer generally came off to me as pretty aggressive which is why I interpreted those inquiries as more of an effort to catch me off guard and unnerve me. Seemed like he just wanted to quickly cross me off but I could be wrong.

[tlsadmin3]

Thank you to all that participated in the drawing. And the winner of the $100 Amazon card, by random selection is (drum roll please) Anonymous! Here is the post:

Screener interviewer was 20 minutes late. When the she apologized for being late, I told her it wasn't a problem. She then spent most of the interview refusing to believe I was interested at all in the firm. Wasn't sure whether to bring up the fact that I waited 20 minutes or not.

There will more contests in the future. We will get the word out beforehand on social media and here on TLS. Any questions, concerns, comments, or ideas you can always reach out to tls6@top-law-schools.com

[rcharter1978]

CB at a V100. They set me up in a conference room. First two interviews go normally. My third interviewer, an associate, walks in, ignores my "nice to meet you" & outstretched hand, puts his feet on the table, and glares at me. Finally, he spoke. "I don't like you," he proclaimed. I was dumbfounded. "Er," I said, "was it something I did?" "No, no," he said, waving his hand, "I just don't like you." At this point I figured it was a lost cause. So I replied, "to be honest, I don't think I like you much either." He then said, "well, look, I still hafta be in here for a few more minutes. so any questions about [Firm]?" I asked two or three questions. He gave extremely terse responses each time. Once I didn't have any more questions to ask, he said, "you really ought to have more questions prepped. you sure you don't have anything else?" I said no. He muttered, "alright, whatever," turned around, and walked right out.

Thought I was doomed. Ended up getting an offer, which I declined.

If there is a runner up, I think it should be this guy (or gal).

[Tanicius]

Wonder if that asshole associate was testing them. OCI always has a few situations where they think they're geniuses for throwing dumb or smarmy questions at people just to see how they react.

[objctnyrhnr]

The performance reviews were far from generic. This Partner thought highly of herself and was the first and only person to have such a negative reaction to me sending a follow-up email (which I had done previously and it resulted in a job interview) and to my performance reviews, which as I explained, were used in my applications to pre-law school professional positions, application to law school, 1L and 2L summer associate positions, and post-law school legal positions. I know its unconventional (the performance reviews), but when you have a low LSAT and not so stellar grades, you can't play by the rules. Call her a villian or what you want, I think she definitely believes her backside smells like roses.

But I wouldn't call her a villian at all.

The feedback on your follow-up seemed reasonable. When I used to follow up on positions I would ask if there was anything else I could provide them, or if there was any other information I could offer, or if I could send another writing sample. Obviously the answer is that they don't want anything else or they would reach out. BUT, it's less confrontational and lets the employer know that I'm interested.

You could have sent a follow up email with the performance reviews if you believed in the method and it had worked for you.

What I think seals it for me in instead of taking any of her advice, no matter how harsh under consideration you just ignored the advice wholecloth. Mostly because it was given in a manner you didn't like. She didn't ignore you, it sounds like she gave you advice that SHE thought would be helpful

Agree with this advice and similar feedback on this. It’s odd that you seem to not realize this, but pretty much everything you did (from your description) was a really weird move...and not in a good way. I might have reacted similarly to this partner and I wholeheartedly believe that I am genuinely viewed as a pretty nice/reasonable guy in similar contexts.

I only say this because I would implore you not to do this in the future. You really don’t want to be that guy.

[Anonymous User]

Bump - for the new OCI season

[totesTheGoat]

I think she was super blunt, but if she thought that this was advice that would help you in your job search wouldn't you prefer she be blunt, rather than sugar coat her advice?

Eh. Sounds more like venting because she's annoyed by an applicant than some sort of misguided mentoring attempt. There may be some nuggets of truth in what she said (yeah, including a performance review strikes me as a bit weird), but the responses (assuming they're reproduced faithfully) are what I've come to expect from a Stereotypical Asshole Partner.

EDIT: wow, I should've checked the dates on the comments before replying. My bad!

[notinbiglaw]

During OCI, one of the interviewers was a first year associate that filled in for a partner that had to leave in the middle of the day.

The interviewer straight asked me how much I used to make before law school (I used to be a trader, among other things). I made the mistake of answering honestly and she literally snapped back at me “what are you doing here?” Then she spent the last 3 minutes or so explaining how she’s hating her life and would have never gone to law school if she made as much as I did. (More than biglaw)

I didn’t get a callback.

[Yugihoe]

During OCI, one of the interviewers was a first year associate that filled in for a partner that had to leave in the middle of the day.

The interviewer straight asked me how much I used to make before law school (I used to be a trader, among other things). I made the mistake of answering honestly and she literally snapped back at me “what are you doing here?” Then she spent the last 3 minutes or so explaining how she’s hating her life and would have never gone to law school if she made as much as I did. (More than biglaw)

I didn’t get a callback.

lmao to be fair, she's right.

[LaLiLuLeLo]

Yeah I guess it’s when keeping it real goes wrong but she was 100% right. I wonder if I would’ve gone to law school if I had a better job than making 34k a year...

[whosinthehousejc]

Last screener of OCI with a female partner at NY office of a V20. We’d built a personal rapport some 15 minutes into the interview so I ask her what keeps her motivated. Her response: “fear of failure.”

CB (with a lot of folks who seemed motivated by fear) —> Offer —> Declined offer.

Within a year she’d left the firm to lead a non-profit organization.

[bana79]

Walked into a screener, shake hands, sit down. Interviewer immediately asks me for a copy of my transcript. Guess who didn’t have one? Rest of the interview went alright but I may as well insta-ding myself.

[Anonymous User]

Screener with two interviewers. Both were extremely cold and expressionless through the entire interview, and the whole thing felt like more of an interrogation than an interview. About halfway through one straight up asked what my political affiliation was completely out of the blue and before I had completely answered a question about my resume, but still have no idea if they were happy with my response or not because both were absolute robots the entire time. Ended up finishing with 5 minutes left on the clock (and this is after asking multiple questions) and couldn't get out of the room fast enough.

[barkschool]

During OCI, one of the interviewers was a first year associate that filled in for a partner that had to leave in the middle of the day.

The interviewer straight asked me how much I used to make before law school (I used to be a trader, among other things). I made the mistake of answering honestly and she literally snapped back at me “what are you doing here?” Then she spent the last 3 minutes or so explaining how she’s hating her life and would have never gone to law school if she made as much as I did. (More than biglaw)

I didn’t get a callback.

lmao to be fair, she's right.

OP it’s not to late to go back to your old job

[biglaw_advice]

As an interviewer, here's one of the worst interview questions I have ever received that happened during a callback:

(Interview was not going super well...interviewee was a bit low-energy and not particularly enthusiastic)

About 2 minutes left - I ask for any last questions:

Interviewee: So i saw you want to [law school in the southeast]

Me: yes that's right

Interviewee: so do you know what the market salary is for a first year associate in Charlotte?

Me:...

(the firm does not have a Charlotte office and the SA position is for a city that is not close to Charlotte)

No offer.

Weird question - would not recommend asking. For any rising 2Ls reading this thread, here's some tips I wrote about how to give yourself a better chance of landing an offer through OCI: https://biglawadvice.com/2019/06/27/5-t ... nterviews/

[Anonymous User]

Interviewer sees my home town and immediately jumps to Wayne’s World references. Asks whether I’m more a Wayne or a Garth. Proceeds to then talk about some deal he worked on in the area about 30 years ago involving chicken sexing and genetics or something, and proceeds to talk about chicken sex for about a good 5 min afterwards

[beepboopbeep]

Interviewer sees my home town and immediately jumps to Wayne’s World references. Asks whether I’m more a Wayne or a Garth. Proceeds to then talk about some deal he worked on in the area about 30 years ago involving chicken sexing and genetics or something, and proceeds to talk about chicken sex for about a good 5 min afterwards

I mean this sounds great to me. I'd want to work with that partner. The alternative is much worse.