Telling firm (you had a callback at) it's your first choice Forum

[Anonymous User]

I had a callback interview at a firm that is literally everything I want in a firm. The people, culture, the practice group, firm growth, geographical location, etc. all work for me and I thought my interviews went really well.

That being said, I was told by the recruiter and a separate associate at the firm that the firm does not make hiring decisions until OCI starts.

With OCI right around the corner, do you think it would help my chances if I told the partner I interviewed with that I'm willing to skip OCI altogether if I get an offer?

Would this hurt my chances or just not make a difference?

Thanks in advance guys

[Anonymous User]

No don't say desperate stuff. I think it's fine to let him know that his firm is your top choice, and perhaps reiterate some compelling reasons you mentioned during the interview. But don't ever go full 4L TTT mode. He's a human being and wants the best and most sought after candidate like every other partner.

[Anonymous User]

No don't say desperate stuff. I think it's fine to let him know that his firm is your top choice, and perhaps reiterate some compelling reasons you mentioned during the interview. But don't ever go full 4L TTT mode. He's a human being and wants the best and most sought after candidate like every other partner.

I disagree, sometimes. I think it depends on the office size. If it's a large office, then I'd follow the advice above. However, in my much smaller office (we look for 3-5 summers), if we make 7 offers to 7 candidates and they all accept, we've completely blown the summer budget. So we care a lot about the conversion rate, and will make an offer to someone early in the game if we suspect they'd accept and give us a quick 1:1 offer/acceptance ratio (we actually did this about 2 weeks ago for a candidate).

[favabeansoup]

I had a callback interview at a firm that is literally everything I want in a firm. The people, culture, the practice group, firm growth, geographical location, etc. all work for me and I thought my interviews went really well.

That being said, I was told by the recruiter and a separate associate at the firm that the firm does not make hiring decisions until OCI starts.

With OCI right around the corner, do you think it would help my chances if I told the partner I interviewed with that I'm willing to skip OCI altogether if I get an offer?

Would this hurt my chances or just not make a difference?

Thanks in advance guys

#1 You did not find the firm to beat all firms here. I'm not saying it is a bad firm or anything like that, it could be a great firm, but you have only met with a few of the attorneys there for maybe a few hours. You do not know these people, you have not spent a significant amount of time working with them, and you do not know whether working at this firm is "literally everything I want." So chill and keep interviewing.

#2 Do not email the partner that you are willing to skip OCI if you get an offer. No. It sounds weird. They will not care whether you attend OCI or not, it will zero effect on their hiring decisions, so telling them you are willing to skip it will do nothing. It may even hurt because it makes you sound quite desperate.

You can email him saying you are still really interested and loved meeting with everyone, etc, that is more than fine, just don't go skipping other interviews from one good callback.

Edit: I didn't see the response above me. If it is a small non biglaw office, maybe follow his advice. I think for mid to biglaw you shouldn't do it though.

[Anonymous User]

I had a callback interview at a firm that is literally everything I want in a firm. The people, culture, the practice group, firm growth, geographical location, etc. all work for me and I thought my interviews went really well.

That being said, I was told by the recruiter and a separate associate at the firm that the firm does not make hiring decisions until OCI starts.

With OCI right around the corner, do you think it would help my chances if I told the partner I interviewed with that I'm willing to skip OCI altogether if I get an offer?

Would this hurt my chances or just not make a difference?

Thanks in advance guys

#1 You did not find the firm to beat all firms here. I'm not saying it is a bad firm or anything like that, it could be a great firm, but you have only met with a few of the attorneys there for maybe a few hours. You do not know these people, you have not spent a significant amount of time working with them, and you do not know whether working at this firm is "literally everything I want." So chill and keep interviewing.

#2 Do not email the partner that you are willing to skip OCI if you get an offer. No. It sounds weird. They will not care whether you attend OCI or not, it will zero effect on their hiring decisions, so telling them you are willing to skip it will do nothing. It may even hurt because it makes you sound quite desperate.

You can email him saying you are still really interested and loved meeting with everyone, etc, that is more than fine, just don't go skipping other interviews from one good callback.

Edit: I didn't see the response above me. If it is a small non biglaw office, maybe follow his advice. I think for mid to biglaw you shouldn't do it though.

I'm the poster that mentioned the bolded 2 posts above. FWIW, I didn't mean to suggest that you should say that you're willing to skip OCI. That sounds desperate no matter what. However, if you can find a polite and non-desperate way to say that the firm is your number 1 choice, that might be ok in a smaller office (but I'm not sure how you can do that non-desperately, because I've never tried and hadn't ever thought about it. We usually have figured out a person's level of interest in us by sending alums or personal connections of the candidate to take them out for coffee/lunch to gauge interest).

[favabeansoup]

However, if you can find a polite and non-desperate way to say that the firm is your number 1 choice, that might be ok in a smaller office (but I'm not sure how you can do that non-desperately, because I've never tried and hadn't ever thought about it. We usually have figured out a person's level of interest in us by sending alums or personal connections of the candidate to take them out for coffee/lunch to gauge interest).

Yeah that's fine and what I was trying to kind of get across towards the end. Don't skip other interviews or bring those about but you can say you really like the firm and it's your top choice. I'm not sure on the wording either but it would be a fine line between trying to sound natural and enthusiastic on one hand and too "please give me a job" on the other.