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I am going on my first callback. Format is a meeting with 3 partner in the same room and then lunch with 2-3 associates.

Is the partner meeting suppose to be very formal? is it normal to talk about other stuff than work? ie sports, college?

Same question regarding lunch with the associates. Should the conversation focus primarly on work? or is it ok to talk about other interests, ie school, sports, vacation?

Anonymous User wrote:I am going on my first callback in a secondary market. Format is an 1 hr meeting with all 3 partner in the same room and then lunch with 2-3 associates.

Is the partner meeting suppose to be very formal? is it normal to talk about other stuff than work? ie sports, college?

Same question regarding lunch with the associates. Should the conversation focus primarly on work? or is it ok to talk about other interests, ie school, sports, vacation?

They will guide the conversation. You will probably talk about both casual and work-related topics. Most firms are extremely nice and will try to make you feel as relaxed as possible. Remember that, even though your interviewers may seem (and in fact be) very friendly, they are watching you carefully.

The panel format is a little unusual, so it's hard for me to give specific advice, but as a rule of thumb, you should let them guide the conversation. Don't bring up personal stuff if they don't ask. You'll know what's in bounds and what isn't.

Generally, you should expect the partners to be more formal and the associate lunch to be less formal. It all varies by personalities, though.

Good luck. The three partners for an hour thing sounds a little stressful, but you'll be fine. It will be nice not to have to rehash the same information about yourself 4, 5, 6 times over the course of a callback.

Anonymous User wrote:I am going on my first callback. Format is a meeting with 3 partner in the same room and then lunch with 2-3 associates.

Is the partner meeting suppose to be very formal? is it normal to talk about other stuff than work? ie sports, college?

Same question regarding lunch with the associates. Should the conversation focus primarly on work? or is it ok to talk about other interests, ie school, sports, vacation?

Midwest?

Panel interviews can be tricky.

You want to make sure that you remember to make eye contact with all of the interviewers. Avoid, if at all possible, allowing the interview to become a conversation between you and one of the interviewers with the others just observing. Even if one person takes the lead, engage the other interviewers, even if it is just through body language.

As for the topics, the interviewers should set the tone. You just need to follow along.