What are the most important things at the callback stage? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Should I still be selling my credentials or at this point is it all about my interest in the firm and what kind of fit I would be?

[Anonymous User]

I was told that the latter is more important, and that if it feels unnatural, I shouldn't bother to sell myself. But interested to hear other opinions on this as well. I'd love to spend lots of time preparing, but I really don't know what I'd do beyond refining the same prep I did for screeners.

[traehekat]

Every firm is a little different I imagine, but in my experience it is important to 1) have thoughtful questions to ask, 2) be yourself, and 3) be engaging and conversational. Generally speaking yes, it is more about fit at the CB stage.

[shock259]

For callbacks I try to ask a little deeper questions, sell myself a little less, and be even more conversational. You already have the credentials to get yourself into the firm, so it's mainly just proving that you are someone that the interviewers want to work with.

Take this with a grain of salt, though. I'm just another law student. But this seems to be working well for me so far.

[Anonymous User]

what are some good questions to ask?

[anon168]

what are some good questions to ask?

What does the firm look for in a young associate?

How and who does the evaluations for associates? Is it a committee that is separate from the supervisors?

What do you like most about the firm? The least?

I know that the firm has [insert system for assigning work], do you think this is an effective system in practice? Have you been satisfied with it?

People leave firms all the time, including this one, what do you think is the primary reason people leave the firm?

If there's one thing you could change about the firm, what would it be?

[Anonymous User]

I'm an associate scheduled to interview two callbacks for my firm next week. It's my second year doing it. The main things on the callback are (1) Ability to maintain a conversation with the interviewers about yourself, the firm, and the legal business; and (2) ability to express some familiarity with our practice areas and to blend that familiarity with the candidate's credentials to demonstrate knowledge of why the candidate might be a good fit with the firm.

My firm (150+ lawyers) wants people it can trust around clients down the road. If you can hold a decent conversation on your interview, you're probably going to be OK with clients faster than someone who can't. If you let the conversation die or the interviewers have to drive the conversation in interview format ("So, tell me about ...") that's a sign of a bad to average callback interview.

[Anonymous User]

I'm an associate scheduled to interview two callbacks for my firm next week. It's my second year doing it. The main things on the callback are (1) Ability to maintain a conversation with the interviewers about yourself, the firm, and the legal business; and (2) ability to express some familiarity with our practice areas and to blend that familiarity with the candidate's credentials to demonstrate knowledge of why the candidate might be a good fit with the firm.

My firm (150+ lawyers) wants people it can trust around clients down the road. If you can hold a decent conversation on your interview, you're probably going to be OK with clients faster than someone who can't. If you let the conversation die or the interviewers have to drive the conversation in interview format ("So, tell me about ...") that's a sign of a bad to average callback interview.

Surely you can't mean that it would be inappropriate to pause for a moment so that your interviewers can ask you a question about your resume and experiences. I would think that a good interview would include a couple of "so, tell me about this..." moments followed by conversation and follow-up questions.