Anyone ever get an offer despite a bad interview at a CB? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Just curious if anyone here has gotten an offer despite an interview at a CB that they felt went badly. Was it with an associate? Partner?

[Anonymous User]

Just curious if anyone here has gotten an offer despite an interview at a CB that they felt went badly. Was it with an associate? Partner?

Really rough interview with a partner. Me asking question for 45 minutes, him giving short answers. Offer five days later. V15.

[Anonymous User]

Yes, 3/4 interviews and lunch at the V-5 I'm starting at this month went terribly but I got the offer. One of the partners actually frowned halfway through her interview and ended it 10 minutes early. I guess they were pretty desperate. It's out of your hands now. This is easier said than done, but all you can do now is wait and see.

[hoos89]

/

[Anonymous User]

Just curious if anyone here has gotten an offer despite an interview at a CB that they felt went badly. Was it with an associate? Partner?

I have the exact same question myself... hoping for the best.

[Anonymous User]

Yes. It just happened today, actually, and it was 3 weeks after the CB. Keep in mind that what you may think is "bad," isn't actually bad --- things can be interpreted in so many ways. Best of luck.

[Anonymous User]

Sure. 2 of the 4 interviews ended early. Wasn't too enthused in the firm. Offer three days later

[Anonymous User]

Yes. It just happened today, actually, and it was 3 weeks after the CB. Keep in mind that what you may think is "bad," isn't actually bad --- things can be interpreted in so many ways. Best of luck.

Congratulations! Thanks for this message. Trying my best to just be positive and not worry so much. Appreciate it.

[Anonymous User]

Only offer so far is one where I thought my interview with the hiring partner went terribly; V20.

[Anonymous User]

V10 offer from a firm whose NY office had already rejected me, whose partners I TOLD I preferred to be in NY, and whose interview I purposely sleepwalked through because I was already ready to accept a different offer in NY.

Interview Friday, offer Tuesday. Wanted to decline on the spot but figured I'd wait till friday.

[Anonymous User]

It probably takes more than an unenthusiastic mood or an interview that ends early to constitute a bad callback. I would call a bad callback one where something specific goes very wrong that you're not able to recover from. In this case, you will probably not get the offer.

Examples:

Example 1:
At a screening interviewer, question is "Why Firm X."
Me: "Well, I like Firm X because [reason1] and [reason2]."
Interviewer: "OK, but that sounds like it could be any good corporate law firm. Why is Firm X particularly important to you?"
Me: ......"DERP"
Interviewer: "OK... so why did you want to go to law school?"
No Offer.

Example 2:
Talking to a partner at a cocktail party the day of the callback
Partner: [something fairly mumbled that I misheard and misinterpreted]
Me: "Yes."
Partner: "Well, I don't think you would fit in very well at this firm."
No offer.

[dixiecupdrinking]

Keep in mind that for some interviewers, a "bad" interview is actually their normal. If they're antagonistic, disinterested, or just an asshole, then everyone they interview probably feels like shit coming out, but it doesn't mean that interviewer is singlehandedly precluding everyone from getting job offers.

[Anonymous User]

I had a terrible call back with a V5 and received an offer a few days later. Every single interviewer was entirely disinterested in me. And I have consistently received feedback that I am an excellent interviewer - but there was no way that these interviewers were giving me positive reviews. I believe that a lot of the reason why I received an offer was because my screening interviewer at OCI was the hiring partner.

[Anonymous User]

First interview of the day was with a partner who directed previous summer classes and was clearly influential in the process.

The partner either stared at me or said one word answers to my questions. Still got the offer.

[Anonymous User]

I had a terrible call back with a V5 and received an offer a few days later. Every single interviewer was entirely disinterested in me. And I have consistently received feedback that I am an excellent interviewer - but there was no way that these interviewers were giving me positive reviews. I believe that a lot of the reason why I received an offer was because my screening interviewer at OCI was the hiring partner.

Sounds like Cravath. Had a similar experience.

[Anonymous User]

Both CBs I've had I thought most of the interviews went really well, except for I thought the interview with the hiring partner was just decent. The hiring partners seemed to keep more of a poker face and were definitely more experienced interviewers (one went through my entire resume, while the other asked "why firm X" then left the remaining 25 minutes for me to ask questions). Is this common that the hiring partners are tougher interviewers?

[Anonymous User]

I had a terrible call back with a V5 and received an offer a few days later. Every single interviewer was entirely disinterested in me. And I have consistently received feedback that I am an excellent interviewer - but there was no way that these interviewers were giving me positive reviews. I believe that a lot of the reason why I received an offer was because my screening interviewer at OCI was the hiring partner.

Sounds like Cravath. Had a similar experience.

Do screening interviewers have a lot of say even at the callback stage?

[OneMoreLawHopeful]

Do screening interviewers have a lot of say even at the callback stage?

This is really firm-dependent, and sometimes the "say" is completely indirect.

As an example, if the screening interview is done by the hiring partner, that partner might email an associate pre-callback and say "Hey, I met candidate X at OCI at T14 last week, I think he's a great candidate and would fit right in here, let me know what your impression is."

Now, what is the associate going to do, write an email to the hiring partner telling him that he doesn't understand the culture of his own firm? Short of something concrete like "Hey, did you know that candidate X has 3 felony convictions? He just disclosed that and I was taken aback..." the associate is pretty much going to tell the hiring partner "Yes, I viewed candidate X the same way you did!"

In a situation like this, even if the partner who did the screener has no "say" he has still influenced the entire callback because the associate reviews will look just like the initial impression from the screener interview.

At other firms, the hiring partner might be the head of the hiring committee, and his impression will trump everything. At still other firms, the partner who does screeners at a particular OCI might be chosen because he's an alum, and he's not even on the hiring committee. In that scenario, the screener interview likely doesn't matter, it's going to be all about the callback impression.

Unfortunately, there's no real way to know in advance what kind of hiring process you are facing, so you just have to "kill it" at every stage.

[Anonymous User]

I had a terrible call back with a V5 and received an offer a few days later. Every single interviewer was entirely disinterested in me. And I have consistently received feedback that I am an excellent interviewer - but there was no way that these interviewers were giving me positive reviews. I believe that a lot of the reason why I received an offer was because my screening interviewer at OCI was the hiring partner.

Do screening interviewers have a lot of say even at the callback stage?