Columbia EIP 2016 Forum

[Anonymous User]

anyone hear back from the following:
DPW (AS), Simpson (AM), Allen & Overy (DL), Milbank (RM), Skadden?

[wons]

.

[Anonymous User]

had 17 interviews and not a single callback. Really not sure what to do at this point... the very idea that people are getting 75% of their screeners back is just unimaginable. My grades are mid-stone.

[GoneSouth]

had 17 interviews and not a single callback. Really not sure what to do at this point... the very idea that people are getting 75% of their screeners back is just unimaginable. My grades are mid-stone.

How are your interviews going? Are you being relaxed and having a conversation or are you pitching too hard? What's your work experience like? Did you bid NY firms with a lot of slots or secondary markets with fewer?

[Anonymous User]

I bid a sizable number of NY firms, because all I want is a job... I don't think they all went very badly but I just never heard back. I think I am naturally very awkward and it is not easy to change, maybe they could all sense that. I try to relax and have a conversation and they seem okay but they always immediately ask me to ask them questions and so I will just ask them some general questions. I don't even get to pitch most of the time.

[Anonymous User]

had 17 interviews and not a single callback. Really not sure what to do at this point... the very idea that people are getting 75% of their screeners back is just unimaginable. My grades are mid-stone.

It appears as though some firms have not gotten back to anyone yet, and some have only hit up their top candidates. From what I understand, it is possible that some additional callbacks will be sent out going forward, and you may get some callbacks from those 17 interviews.

Caveat: not an expert -- just relaying what 2Ls/3Ls told me. And not suggesting people should not hustle or consider changing up what they are doing.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone heard from Cleary KB, Simpson BF, or Cravath MP?

CB from Cleary (KB) by email on Friday night/call on Sat. Cravath is still doing screeners tomorrow so I assume they haven't made any calls yet.

Anyone heard from Sidley (CR & AZ) or Milbank (GC)?

Also, this may be a dumb question...but if a firm tells you to schedule your callback with their recruiting department, is everyone waiting until Monday/business hours to call them?

Milbank (GC) CB Friday night

[Anonymous User]

Anyone heard from Boies Corporate(MH) and Allen & Overy(BJ)?

[Anonymous User]

had 17 interviews and not a single callback. Really not sure what to do at this point... the very idea that people are getting 75% of their screeners back is just unimaginable. My grades are mid-stone.

It appears as though some firms have not gotten back to anyone yet, and some have only hit up there top candidates. From what I understand, there should be another round of callback invites after the NYU interviews this week. It is very possible that you still might get some callbacks from those 17 interviews.

Do call backs come in waves with the top candidates being in the first wave? If other people heard from the same firm/interviewer, should I just expect a ding?

[Anonymous User]

had 17 interviews and not a single callback. Really not sure what to do at this point... the very idea that people are getting 75% of their screeners back is just unimaginable. My grades are mid-stone.

It appears as though some firms have not gotten back to anyone yet, and some have only hit up their top candidates. From what I understand, there should be another round of callback invites after the NYU interviews this week, and there will be additional callback invites coming even after that (though not a ton). It is very possible that you will get some callbacks from those 17 interviews.

Caveat: not an expert -- just relaying what 2Ls/3Ls told me.

Thanks, this is a relief to hear... I know I am probably not one of the top candidates of any firm I interviewed with, but the thought that I am not part of the top 50+% of the candidates interviewed of any of the 17 firms just seems so dejecting to me, given that many of these firms called back 70% of their interviewees last year and my grades are above average. I think I might be committing some serious interview faux pas during my interviews that I am not noticing, but I am really not sure what it is.

[Anonymous User]

How about DPW EM?

Also interested in this

[Anonymous User]

had 17 interviews and not a single callback. Really not sure what to do at this point... the very idea that people are getting 75% of their screeners back is just unimaginable. My grades are mid-stone.

It appears as though some firms have not gotten back to anyone yet, and some have only hit up there top candidates. From what I understand, there should be another round of callback invites after the NYU interviews this week. It is very possible that you still might get some callbacks from those 17 interviews.

Do call backs come in waves with the top candidates being in the first wave? If other people heard from the same firm/interviewer, should I just expect a ding?

From what I have been told, it varies firm-to-firm. My best guess is that if other people are getting callbacks from the same interviewer, your chances are significantly decreased, though much better than 0%.

[Anonymous User]

What is the average screener to CB conversion percentage? Is 25% okay?

It depends on many things. Grades, interviewing ability, and a healthy amount of luck to be honest. I was at around 75% last year, to give one unhelpful data point.

I'm curious, what kinds of questions would you ask interviewers?

Ideally, the part of the interview where the interviewer asks if you have questions should not be very long. 5 minutes absolute max. The goal is just to have a casual conversation for 15-20 minutes. Maybe about the firm, but generally not. When I did ask questions, it was nothing earth shattering. Why did you choose your firm, what kind of work can first years expect etc. For my Cravath screener I literally went with "how was the weather in California?" (Got the callback and the offer).

[Anonymous User]

had 17 interviews and not a single callback. Really not sure what to do at this point... the very idea that people are getting 75% of their screeners back is just unimaginable. My grades are mid-stone.

It appears as though some firms have not gotten back to anyone yet, and some have only hit up their top candidates. From what I understand, there should be another round of callback invites after the NYU interviews this week, and there will be additional callback invites coming even after that (though not a ton). It is very possible that you will get some callbacks from those 17 interviews.

Caveat: not an expert -- just relaying what 2Ls/3Ls told me.

Thanks, this is a relief to hear... I know I am probably not one of the top candidates of any firm I interviewed with, but the thought that I am not part of the top 50+% of the candidates interviewed of any of the 17 firms just seems so dejecting to me, given that many of these firms called back 70% of their interviewees last year and my grades are above average. I think I might be committing some serious interview faux pas during my interviews that I am not noticing, but I am really not sure what it is.

No problem. I just did a random sampling of 15 of the 2015 results, and it looks like the average callback ratio is somewhere between 40% and 50%. Some firms are closer to 75% but others are down around 20%. The percentages also appear to vary by market -- with Cali and other places outside of NYC seeming to be a tad harder to get a callback at.

Lastly, and this is pure conjecture on my part, it appears that this year in particular firms did a lot of their hiring in July, so it is possible that callback percentages will be down generally.

[Anonymous User]

When looking at the callback rations for firms, you guys need to factor in the fact that a lot of the people getting callbacks at firms are the SAME PEOPLE. While the average might be a 50% cb ratio, thats sure as hell not the median. There's going to be a lot of variation because the people who are getting callbacks at one firm are also more likely to be getting callbacks at another. The median callback ratio is going to be way less than 50%.

[Anonymous User]

If your grades are mid-stone and you're not converting at least 60% of your screeners something is objectively wrong with your interviewing and you need to fix it ASAP.

[Anonymous User]

Whats a good cb percentage to have if you're just below stone with no work experience? I'm sitting on 3/11 callbacks and I have about 15 more interviews coming up. Should I bother mass-mailing or changing how I interview or am I fairly safe?

[Anonymous User]

I'm 3 CB out of 9 interviews, mid-stone, I'd consider myself a personable guy who interviews well. If you're really concerned, reach out to OCS, but it's still early in the process so I don't think any of us should be worrying this much.

[Anonymous User]

anyone hear back from the following:
DPW (AS), Simpson (AM), Allen & Overy (DL), Milbank (RM), Skadden?

Got Milbank (RM) CB Friday night.

[Anonymous User]

My interviewer at Winston (GM) just replied to a thank you email, saying I got a callback and hiring should be in touch early next week. I know others have heard from Winston already, so their invitations at least seem to be by interviewer.

[Anonymous User]

My interviewer at Winston (GM) just replied to a thank you email, saying I got a callback and hiring should be in touch early next week. I know others have heard from Winston already, so their invitations at least seem to be by interviewer.

fingers crossed that other firms are like this!

[Anonymous User]

How about DPW EM?

Yes

[Anonymous User]

I am interested in a specialty area in a secondary market. I had one interviewer say something to the effect of "you should talk to our partners in that area when you are out there for callbacks."

What is that supposed to mean? Am I supposed to mass-mail these partners or something? Seems kind of weird for a screener to tell me this.

[Anonymous User]

Has anyone heard from (or know anyone that's heard from) Winston GW?

[Anonymous User]

Hogan DC (TM + DW) yesterday