Oh Crap 28 Days Expired --- Stressing Out Forum

[Anonymous User]

OP here. Thanks everyone for the advice; I really appreciate it.

I did not hear anything on Friday, but I did get an email this afternoon from the hiring partner instructing me to call him on Monday after 3:00. I'm not sure what exactly this means, but I'm still really stressing out. I wish they could have just let me know one way or another on Friday so my whole weekend wasn't ruined.

[Tanicius]

OP here. Thanks everyone for the advice; I really appreciate it.

I did not hear anything on Friday, but I did get an email this afternoon from the hiring partner instructing me to call him on Monday after 3:00. I'm not sure what exactly this means, but I'm still really stressing out. I wish they could have just let me know one way or another on Friday so my whole weekend wasn't ruined.

I think this is a good sign. If this was a deal breaker for them, they would probably just email you and have an end to it.

[IAFG]

OP here. Thanks everyone for the advice; I really appreciate it.

I did not hear anything on Friday, but I did get an email this afternoon from the hiring partner instructing me to call him on Monday after 3:00. I'm not sure what exactly this means, but I'm still really stressing out. I wish they could have just let me know one way or another on Friday so my whole weekend wasn't ruined.

I think this is a good sign. If this was a deal breaker for them, they would probably just email you and have an end to it.

Agreed. Also, they might be testing to make sure you can actually call at a certain time

ETA: if the office is in a different time zone, DON'T FORGET TO ACCOUNT FOR THAT. I did that to a firm. Awful. Still makes me sick to my stomach to think about it.

[Grizz]

Those "just seeing if you had any questions" voicemails- they were actually wanting you to keep in touch with them.

It's like dating or working with clients. If you don't return people's phone calls, even with just an email, they'll assume you don't care and move on to someone else.

Credited.

[zomginternets]

OP: obviously, prepare for any and all questions concerning the reason for your lapse, whether you are really still committed to the firm, etc. Be absolutely honest and come clean, don't try to pass the buck at all. Good luck, let us know how it goes.

[jeeptiger09]

OP here. Thanks everyone for the advice; I really appreciate it.

I did not hear anything on Friday, but I did get an email this afternoon from the hiring partner instructing me to call him on Monday after 3:00. I'm not sure what exactly this means, but I'm still really stressing out. I wish they could have just let me know one way or another on Friday so my whole weekend wasn't ruined.

Random speculation: possible that they offered some other candidate and gave them the weekend to think about it? And they expect to hear from the other person by 3 p.m. on Monday?

[Younger Abstention]

It's quite obvious OP is simply trying to prolong and build suspense in regard to his/her (rather good) flame.

[snailio]

Ok, here's my appraisal of what is likely to have happened, the firm filled his slot, the question presumably at the meeting was, should we add an additional slot for this kid or not?

It's possible, maybe even probable that they are just being polite and he's done with a phone call on Monday. On the other hand this is real life and I presume they are aware of the significance of his circumstances, they may take pity on him.

This is most likely dependent on what their initial interview was like, if it was extremely positive there may be room for an accommodation. This was a serious breach and as I said before those voice/emails were polite feelers for interest, this should have been apparent to the OP.

Anyway it's Monday at 3 o'clock, don't forget to let us know how things worked out.

Thanks and GL

[c3pO4]

If this is real, my advice is to prepare for an interview-style phone call at 3:00pm. Not only an explanation about why you would never miss a deadline like this again (own up to it, and just move on and make no excuses), but most importantly really sell why you want to work at this firm LONG TERM and give concrete reasons. You gotta really sell them, and make them believe you made a mistake and are willing to earn their trust.

[run26.2]

If this is real, my advice is to prepare for an interview-style phone call at 3:00pm. Not only an explanation about why you would never miss a deadline like this again (own up to it, and just move on and make no excuses), but most importantly really sell why you want to work at this firm LONG TERM and give concrete reasons. You gotta really sell them, and make them believe you made a mistake and are willing to earn their trust.

This is what I was thinking.My guess is that they are going to ask why you missed the deadline and may offer or not offer on that basis. I.e. they may even need more time to make a decision. OP is going to be on thin ice with the firm if he does get the offer.

[Unitas]

I wonder if the firm has seen this thread... Think that would work for or against OP?

[Wahoo1L]

I wonder if the firm has seen this thread... Think that would work for or against OP?

Almost certainly against. OP should probably go back and edit some of the details such as the date and time of the phone call so that it's not possible to trace back to the OP.

[c3pO4]

I wonder if the firm has seen this thread... Think that would work for or against OP?

Almost certainly against. OP should probably go back and edit some of the details such as the date and time of the phone call so that it's not possible to trace back to the OP.

If this is real, it's probably the only situation like it in the country right now. If firm trolls TLS, they've seen it. Probably not great for OP, since judgment and professionalism are what is at issue. But hey, not much can be done about that now.

[sunynp]

Good luck OP. I think this is a good sign. I think the partner is probably really busy and wants to talk with you when he or she has time. There are many reasons the firm could still offer you a job and I hope they do. They did like you enough to give you an offer. There is nothing more you can do so enjoy the weekend. Good luck.

[zomginternets]

I wonder if the firm has seen this thread... Think that would work for or against OP?

Almost certainly against. OP should probably go back and edit some of the details such as the date and time of the phone call so that it's not possible to trace back to the OP.

If this is real, it's probably the only situation like it in the country right now. If firm trolls TLS, they've seen it. Probably not great for OP, since judgment and professionalism are what is at issue. But hey, not much can be done about that now.

The firm hasn't been outed at all, so even assuming they do troll TLS, did run across this thread, did make the connection between their candidate and the OP, it's not like there's any firm-identification or firm-bashing going on by the OP--if anything, it's everyone else telling OP that he messed up big, which they already know. If anything, I would think it made the OP look good by being as concerned about it as he has been.

[IAFG]

Honestly I think firms don't even know to troll TLS yet. We haven't had the Legal Employment section very long. The only site I've heard firms talk about/worry about is ATL.

[Grizz]

Honestly I think firms don't even know to troll TLS yet.

Pretty much. Aside from lawfirmrecruiter.

[IAFG]

Honestly I think firms don't even know to troll TLS yet.

Pretty much. Aside from lawfirmrecruiter.

You'll always have the occasional early adopter. I think it's possible that historically some firms/recruiters might have scanned xo (or at least, they would have if they were at all interested in investigating message boards) but then, xo was involved in those lawsuits that every lawyer had heard of.

[ben4847]

I wonder if the firm has seen this thread... Think that would work for or against OP?

Almost certainly against. OP should probably go back and edit some of the details such as the date and time of the phone call so that it's not possible to trace back to the OP.

If this is real, it's probably the only situation like it in the country right now. If firm trolls TLS, they've seen it. Probably not great for OP, since judgment and professionalism are what is at issue. But hey, not much can be done about that now.

The firm hasn't been outed at all, so even assuming they do troll TLS, did run across this thread, did make the connection between their candidate and the OP, it's not like there's any firm-identification or firm-bashing going on by the OP--if anything, it's everyone else telling OP that he messed up big, which they already know. If anything, I would think it made the OP look good by being as concerned about it as he has been.

I agree. I don't see anything in this thread that could harm OP. If anything, it shows that he really is serious about the firm, and is just a bit disorganized while juggling law school and job search.

[lolwat]

Good luck, I guess. I won't feel bad if OP doesn't end up getting the offer, as it likely went to someone who cared enough not to forget about one the most important deadlines you'll have during your time in LS. But if he does, all the best to him, hopefully he doesn't f up something this important again in the future and have to stress out about it.

[romothesavior]

My only point was that it is perfectly reasonable for a firm to not want to hire someone who can't manage to meet a pretty significant deadline. If a firm is basing it's hiring decisions only a few judgments, the fact that an applicant cannot manage to remember the one deadline the firm has given him/her is a pretty understandable reason to "auto ding" them. This is especially true given that a significant part of being an attorney is knowing how to manage a lot of deadlines. I did not make any judgments about OP whatsoever, and I would hope things work out for OP—I am not the poster who said they hope that OP gets dinged. I only responded to someone who said that this should not be an "auto ding" offense. I think it is perfectly reasonable for a firm to ding for something like this, but that says nothing about whether I hope OP gets dinged for it.

I think this sums up how I feel as well. I really hope OP doesn't get dinged, but it wouldn't surprise me if he/she did, and I wouldn't blame the firm in the slightest for doing so.

I also agree with everyone who said FOLLOW UP when a firm contacts you. I think that's the real lesson here. We all know not to miss deadlines and obviously that was a mistake that OP can learn from, but the weeks-long mistake of not being courteous enough to respond to firm inquiries may be what hurts him/her the most. If you get a voicemail saying, "Hey, just checking in, hope all is well. Let me know if you have questions about your decision," you really need to respond. I think the firm would have be very understanding about the deadline mistake if OP had tried to stay on their radar for the 28 days.

Please do keep us posted OP. I hope you get the job, and I hope any 0/1Ls reading this can take something away from it.

[lawfirmrecruiter]

My only point was that it is perfectly reasonable for a firm to not want to hire someone who can't manage to meet a pretty significant deadline. If a firm is basing it's hiring decisions only a few judgments, the fact that an applicant cannot manage to remember the one deadline the firm has given him/her is a pretty understandable reason to "auto ding" them. This is especially true given that a significant part of being an attorney is knowing how to manage a lot of deadlines. I did not make any judgments about OP whatsoever, and I would hope things work out for OP—I am not the poster who said they hope that OP gets dinged. I only responded to someone who said that this should not be an "auto ding" offense. I think it is perfectly reasonable for a firm to ding for something like this, but that says nothing about whether I hope OP gets dinged for it.

I think this sums up how I feel as well. I really hope OP doesn't get dinged, but it wouldn't surprise me if he/she did, and I wouldn't blame the firm in the slightest for doing so.

I also agree with everyone who said FOLLOW UP when a firm contacts you. I think that's the real lesson here. We all know not to miss deadlines and obviously that was a mistake that OP can learn from, but the weeks-long mistake of not being courteous enough to respond to firm inquiries may be what hurts him/her the most. If you get a voicemail saying, "Hey, just checking in, hope all is well. Let me know if you have questions about your decision," you really need to respond. I think the firm would have be very understanding about the deadline mistake if OP had tried to stay on their radar for the 28 days.

Please do keep us posted OP. I hope you get the job, and I hope any 0/1Ls reading this can take something away from it.

Just like the rest of you, I have watched this thread wondering what will happen to OP. So I thought I would chime in with the viewpoint from the other side of the fence. Obviously this is just my opinion and I do not speak for the firm OP has an offer from ...

That said, if you hear from a firm that you have an offer from, please respond. Even if it is just to say that you are still interested but are considering all offers. Radio silence is MUCH worse than knowing we are not necessarily your first choice. Not responding at all sends the message that you really are not interested in working with us (or worse - that if you do wind up with us, you will be a high maintenance associate ...)

As for missing the deadline, by itself that would not seal the deal. Ignoring "check in" calls AND missing the NALP deadlines - especially in this market - is pretty bad. OP may be that rare personality and student that is so awesome that s/he can overcome this serious error. I hope so.

[northwood]

best of luck tomorrow op...

[npe]

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[ObLaDiObLaDa]

Best of luck OP. I personally wouldn't have a lot of faith that this call is going to go very well for you, but perhaps luck may be on your side.