Bad Interview Moments Forum

[Anonymous User]

This is from a screener during 2L OCI. Important to note that my interviewer is a male and my wife and I are women.

Interviewer: What are your favorite TV shows?

Me: My wife and I love X, Y, & Z shows because blah blah.

Interviewer: My wife and I also love X. I love seeing the lesbian tension between [two of the female characters].

Me (trying to bring it back to a normal convo): Well, I actually love the show because of A,B,C reasons...

Interviewer: Do you remember that bikini scene? *smacks his lips together* Do you want to come over sometime and watch X with me and my wife?

CB. I turned it down immediately.

[Nachoo2019]

I just had to stop myself from reading this thread due to laughing too hard at my desk.


Tagged for later.

[jess]

.

[Anonymous User]

Walleye / bread anon here. I went back to that place last week with some of the same partners and the special board again had the family walleye meal. (I ordered a BLT.) I did throw out a, "Hey, walleye -- you don't see that everywhere," but nobody took the bait. Perhaps nobody noticed or remembered? Otherwise they were just biting their tongues. I'll likely never know.

The tomato slices on the BLT were beautiful.

[Avian]

Walleye / bread anon here. I went back to that place last week with some of the same partners and the special board again had the family walleye meal. (I ordered a BLT.) I did throw out a, "Hey, walleye -- you don't see that everywhere," but nobody took the bait. Perhaps nobody noticed or remembered? Otherwise they were just biting their tongues. I'll likely never know.

The tomato slices on the BLT were beautiful.

I thought the whole point of the walleye story was you were obsessing over the totally benign fact that you ordered a larger meal than everyone else.

[Anonymous User]

Walleye / bread anon here. I went back to that place last week with some of the same partners and the special board again had the family walleye meal. (I ordered a BLT.) I did throw out a, "Hey, walleye -- you don't see that everywhere," but nobody took the bait. Perhaps nobody noticed or remembered? Otherwise they were just biting their tongues. I'll likely never know.

The tomato slices on the BLT were beautiful.

I thought the whole point of the walleye story was you were obsessing over the totally benign fact that you ordered a larger meal than everyone else.

Shhhhh.

[BNA]

Interview for US Attny internship:

"Why do you want to work on the crim side?"

"I want to catch bad guys."

No offer.

[pancakes3]

Walleye / bread anon here. I went back to that place last week with some of the same partners and the special board again had the family walleye meal. (I ordered a BLT.) I did throw out a, "Hey, walleye -- you don't see that everywhere," but nobody took the bait. Perhaps nobody noticed or remembered? Otherwise they were just biting their tongues. I'll likely never know.

The tomato slices on the BLT were beautiful.

You had the single greatest story here. I'm glad you got offered (?)

[rpupkin]

Interview for US Attny internship:

"Why do you want to work on the crim side?"

"I want to catch bad guys."

No offer.

Whoops. The correct answer was "I want to imprison bad guys." Better luck next time.

[Anonymous User]

Kirkland & Ellis. I was a transfer to U Chicago. On my resume I had listed that I had run the Chicago Marathon. They break the ice by asking if I was running this year. I said no, didn't get in.

The interview starts. We're winding down.

"So, why didn't you get into Chicago?"

"Oh. My undergrad GPA wasn't very good. I really partied too much."

"Oh. I meant the marathon."

[lavarman84]

Well, I had a couple very awkward interviews that I was able to laugh at immediately following them. In one of my interviews, I was being interviewed by two partners who were alumni of my law school. I went to undergrad at a rival school of my law school and the football coach during my undergrad years had previously coached at my law school. So one of the partners loved that coach. The other partner hated him. They got into a heated argument during my interview over the coach. I was just trying to sit on the fence the whole time by chirping in with things like "Yea, that's a good point" or "That's true." I think that went on for half of my screener. By the time we got past that argument, both guys were completely humorless and seemed kind of irritated. I did my best to lighten the mood but they weren't having it. No callback.

The other interview was the worst interview of my life. I get a call like 45 minutes before the interview while I'm finishing up lunch that they want to push the interview up because the person conducting it had important things come up that day. And they want to push it up 30 minutes early. So I have 15 minutes to get to the interview from where I was having lunch. It was fairly short distance away (maybe a quarter to a half mile) so I walked since I was on foot. I get to the interview just in time but it was August and like 90 degrees out so I'm sweating like crazy. Get into the office and sit down with the interviewer and it seems like the interviewer hates me from the get go. I got ripped a new a-hole for giving an answer the interviewer didn't like. The interview moved to sports (which is the topic I kill on) and the interviewer ended up getting defensive about their favorite team as if I had insulted them. It just bad. Everything I said was wrong. I walked out of the interview, left the building, and literally started laughing then called a friend of mine to laugh about how terribly I bombed that interview. Got the rejection email a couple hours after the interview.

Couldn't help but laugh at how big of a disaster it was. I had never been chewed out in an interview prior to that day. I knew when that happened, I was done for. But that was in the first 5 minutes of the interview so I tried to salvage it and things did not improve. I take full responsibility for fucking up the interview but man, it was just laughably bad.

[El Pollito]

Kirkland & Ellis. I was a transfer to U Chicago. On my resume I had listed that I had run the Chicago Marathon. They break the ice by asking if I was running this year. I said no, didn't get in.

The interview starts. We're winding down.

"So, why didn't you get into Chicago?"

"Oh. My undergrad GPA wasn't very good. I really partied too much."

"Oh. I meant the marathon."

lol that's great

[Anonymous User]

During a screener at the end of the interview that I knew was already too average to get me a callback, the partner interviewing me asked if I had questions. I picked a safe stock question I had and asked, "can you tell me about your experiences with your firm's mentor program?" I meant to ask how he had mentored associates, but the partner starts talking about how he had a great mentor and how awesome his mentor was and how they were such good friends. Then he finishes with, "oh, but he died last week" he looked really sad, I said sorry for your loss and got it of there. No CB.

At a callback during the meal portion I'm drinking some water and the associates ask me a question. In my haste to answer the question water dribbled out of my mouth, down my chin, and onto my lap. I tried to discreetly wipe my mouth and lap while answering the question. I'm sure this isn't the reason why, but no offer.

[Anonymous User]

Last interview on first day of OCI. OCI is in NYC and interview is with NY firm. Interviewer asks what hotel I'm staying at. I answer, but then I'm exhausted and not thinking clearly, so I repeat the question and ask them where they're staying. "Uh, we live here, our office is right over there." No CB.

[Anonymous User]

Interviewed at a firm with two associates. Upon their initial screening they invited the hiring partner in. He comes in with an obviously bad orange spray tan wearing a great big red truckers hat with "Make America Great Again" emblazoned upon it. I held it in. He met me with a handshake and in his thickest New York accent greeted me. I then lost all ability to stifle any sort of a laugh which caused one of the two associates to laugh uncontrollably.

[pancakes3]

Interviewed at a firm with two associates. Upon their initial screening they invited the hiring partner in. He comes in with an obviously bad orange spray tan wearing a great big red truckers hat with "Make America Great Again" emblazoned upon it. I held it in. He met me with a handshake and in his thickest New York accent greeted me. I then lost all ability to stifle any sort of a laugh which caused one of the two associates to laugh uncontrollably.

This is an objectively GREAT interview moment.

[Anonymous User]

During a CB, it was 5 rounds of 1-on-1

1st interviewer asked me what my most recent read was for pleasure - not law school. I answer honestly - "Your inner fish" by Neil Shubin. He asks me what it was about - and I told him it's about evolution and how our anatomy is actually very similar to fish, especially the digestive track and how if you lay it out anatomically the blueprint of various animals have lots of similarities.

He says "oh, ok. how do you think that book helps with your comprehension of the law?"

I say "oh, um... not much i suppose. it's kind of the reason i read it - to get a different perspective."

He says "ok. well if you had to, how do you think the book would have helped with your comprehension of the law?"

I pause and say something about taking different perspectives and approaching things from all angles to seek out similarities and differences - like how we do legal research with cases in finding similar cases and differentiated cases.

Then a pause.

Then he said "ok well it looks like we wrapped up a little early, let's get you to the next interviewer."

[rpupkin]

During a CB, it was 5 rounds of 1-on-1

1st interviewer asked me what my most recent read was for pleasure - not law school. I answer honestly - "Your inner fish" by Neil Shubin. He asks me what it was about - and I told him it's about evolution and how our anatomy is actually very similar to fish, especially the digestive track and how if you lay it out anatomically the blueprint of various animals have lots of similarities.

He says "oh, ok. how do you think that book helps with your comprehension of the law?"

I say "oh, um... not much i suppose. it's kind of the reason i read it - to get a different perspective."

He says "ok. well if you had to, how do you think the book would have helped with your comprehension of the law?"

I understand why you couldn't have said the following, but it would have been tempting to respond: "Well, I guess it helps me understand how to turn things into total shit."

[Anonymous User]

One of my OCI interviewers just stood up after about 5 minutes and ushered me out into the hallway, said thank for coming. Had to stand beside the guy next room over waiting for Cleary before I could get his chair and wait another 15 minutes. Everyone was looking at me weird.

[Anonymous User]

At OCI my interviewer asked me about a tough time I'd had and how I overcame it (one of my last interviews a few days in, so was exhausted anyways). I stared off to the side for a bit too long then told him I had been depressed in undergrad and got choked up and had tears in my eyes. My interviewer was visibly uncomfortable. I got way too deep and then babbled about my purpose in life. Callback.

[Micdiddy]

One of my OCI interviewers just stood up after about 5 minutes and ushered me out into the hallway, said thank for coming. Had to stand beside the guy next room over waiting for Cleary before I could get his chair and wait another 15 minutes. Everyone was looking at me weird.

What happened in those first 5 minutes? Also why did you wait another 15 minutes outside?

[JenDarby]

One of my OCI interviewers just stood up after about 5 minutes and ushered me out into the hallway, said thank for coming. Had to stand beside the guy next room over waiting for Cleary before I could get his chair and wait another 15 minutes. Everyone was looking at me weird.

What happened in those first 5 minutes? Also why did you wait another 15 minutes outside?

I'm guessing he had another, otherwise appropriately gapped out, screener that he was waiting for.

[Anonymous User]

Interviewed at a firm with two associates. Upon their initial screening they invited the hiring partner in. He comes in with an obviously bad orange spray tan wearing a great big red truckers hat with "Make America Great Again" emblazoned upon it. I held it in. He met me with a handshake and in his thickest New York accent greeted me. I then lost all ability to stifle any sort of a laugh which caused one of the two associates to laugh uncontrollably.

This is an objectively GREAT interview moment.

Indeed! I didn't get a call back and the rest of the interview was insanely awkward with the laughing associate turning beet red trying not to laugh. She walked me out afterwards and I did get her number, so not a total waste.

[baal hadad]

At OCI my interviewer asked me about a tough time I'd had and how I overcame it (one of my last interviews a few days in, so was exhausted anyways). I stared off to the side for a bit too long then told him I had been depressed in undergrad and got choked up and had tears in my eyes. My interviewer was visibly uncomfortable. I got way too deep and then babbled about my purpose in life. Callback.

Damn that is some heady shit

[bwh8813]

Interviewed at a firm with two associates. Upon their initial screening they invited the hiring partner in. He comes in with an obviously bad orange spray tan wearing a great big red truckers hat with "Make America Great Again" emblazoned upon it. I held it in. He met me with a handshake and in his thickest New York accent greeted me. I then lost all ability to stifle any sort of a laugh which caused one of the two associates to laugh uncontrollably.

This is an objectively GREAT interview moment.

Indeed! I didn't get a call back and the rest of the interview was insanely awkward with the laughing associate turning beet red trying not to laugh. She walked me out afterwards and I did get her number, so not a total waste.

Go on...