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I've heard of a few firms hosting a dinner for some of the students they interviewed at OCI. Do you think the invited students are the ones they really want to woo, or the ones they're on the fence about and want to get to know better? What does it mean for the people who interviewed with the firms but then weren't invited to the dinner?

Curious about this too

Based on what I've seen, generally if you're at the dinner you get a callback (barring an embarrassing moment), though they always could call someone who wasn't invited.

FWIW I got a dinner invite, told them I couldn't go because I had already RSVP'd for another firm's dinner, and didn't get a callback. Read into that what you will.

Got a dinner invite, went (3 other applicants were there), got a callback the next day. I think its moronic not to attend a dinner you've been invited too.

Anonymous User wrote:FWIW I got a dinner invite, told them I couldn't go because I had already RSVP'd for another firm's dinner, and didn't get a callback. Read into that what you will.

same with me - if its your top choice or close to it figure out how to go!

I went to nearly all the firm dinners to which I was invited. However, there was a firm where they emailed the dinner invite and I did not get the invite until too late. I did damage control (emailed the recruiting person to let them know I had just received the invite, sorry to miss the event, still excited about the firm, etc.) and still received a callback. Just not going isn't the problem, but saying you can't go because you have another invite is probably what does it.

Agreed with the above. Why would you say you're going to another firm's dinner?

rynabrius wrote:Agreed with the above. Why would you say you're going to another firm's dinner?

I don't know. I guess I figured that having already RSVP'd to another firm was a better excuse than a general "I already have plans." If I were the interviewer, I would understand that much more than something that just made it seem like other stuff was more important.

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:FWIW I got a dinner invite, told them I couldn't go because I had already RSVP'd for another firm's dinner, and didn't get a callback. Read into that what you will.

same with me - if its your top choice or close to it figure out how to go!

I tried, but the dinners were at the same time but approximately 40 minutes from one another. What sucked was that the firm dinner I did attend was my first choice firm, the one I didn't make it to was #2 or #3. If it had been a reception or just drinks, I would have split, but I wasn't going to bail from a sit down dinner half-way through--leaving my seat conspicuously empty. That would have been a good way to get a CB from neither firm.

I suppose I can see what you were thinking, but it seems like a mistake. Every interaction with a firm should indicate that you will accept an offer from them if they give you one. That way, they won't worry about wasting time/money on you. (For me, it's probably true, so I don't have to think about it too much.) Since splitting dinners was impossible, it might have been good to deliver a white lie. If you're a Kantian, though, I don't know what to tell you...

Still, getting invited to multiple firm dinners is a pretty good position to be in

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:FWIW I got a dinner invite, told them I couldn't go because I had already RSVP'd for another firm's dinner, and didn't get a callback. Read into that what you will.

same with me - if its your top choice or close to it figure out how to go!

fyi - i did not say i couldn't go b/c i had another dinner but i said i had a prior commitment. i am sure they knew about other firm dinners at the same time (although that actually was not what i was even doing) but its still all about the choices you make.

What is the expected dress for these sorts of events? Are women expected to wear their standard interview suits to these as well?

Anonymous User wrote:What is the expected dress for these sorts of events? Are women expected to wear their standard interview suits to these as well?

I wore a non-suit pencil skirt and a sweater with heels. Most women wore pencil skirts with blouses or sweaters, but no jackets.

Anonymous User wrote:What is the expected dress for these sorts of events? Are women expected to wear their standard interview suits to these as well?

For nearly all the dinners I attended, people wore their same interview suits as they wore during the day. The only exception was the Quinn dinner where people came dressed in more casual clothes.

I think its moronic not to attend a dinner you've been invited too.

I don't think that's true. I'll repeat what I've written here before:
about those dinners around OCI: feel free to skip them if you can't face the prospect of spending an entire evening being on guard after just having done a full day of screening interviews. From my own experience and that of my classmates, I don't think dinner/cocktail-party attendance had any influence on who got an offer and who did not. If you think that by showing in your frazzled state you could only damage your chances, just don't go.

Similarly, if you can't make it, just politely explain that you have prior commitments and, while you would have loved to come, unfortunately you cannot make it.

At my dinner, everyone was in full dress attire/suits they wore earlier except for me. I wore khaki slacks and a nice button down shirt. Definitely the least formal, but I wasn't out of place, especially for the restaurant we were at. Got the callback.