2016 OCI Strike-Out Thread Forum

[Anonymous User]

I'm the OP of the interview help comment. Send me a PM.

For the rest of us, are there any particular tips that you can share?

[InterviewAccount]

Just general things:

- If you ever use "filler words" like "um" or "uh", cut it out. Actively stop from saying those in daily conversation. It can be gone in a week. It's okay to pause and leave silence to fill the gap between a question and your answer, this indicates you're thinking. If you're nervous about the silence, you can say "can I take a moment to think about that?" It will never hurt you. Filler words subconsciously indicate to another person that you are inarticulate. If your speech flows without breaks, you come off as articulate even if you're using simple words.

- Interviews, especially law school interviews, are a test where you have the answer key. You know what questions are coming. You have to have prepared responses to all the big ones that follow the S.T.A.R. format. Situation, Task, Analysis, Result. I've been telling the same story for the "tell me a time when you had difficulty with a team and how you resolved it?" question. I've come to love it because I know I'm about to make the interviewer think "I need this guy on my team". Spend a lot of times on these prepared responses. Sit in front of a mirror and tell them. Better yet, tell them to other people. Gauge their reactions. Consider words to remove. Try variations with little jokes and see if they hit or miss. You know the questions, so your answers better be incredible because there isn't a reason they shouldn't be.

- Mirror your interviewer. If they are quiet and stern, you still smile and tell your stories, but perhaps quieter and with less animation. If your interviewer is bubbly, you become bubbly.

- This is the most important one: When you walk in, your posture has to be fantastic, you come in with a beaming smile, introduce yourself, repeat their name back when they tell you it, and give them a firm (but not crushing) handshake. Studies have shown that interviewers will often make a decision based on a candidate in the first 3 minutes. If you do not do these things, it hurts you, as stupid as it may sound.

- Make sure your clothing is correct. Charcoal or blue suit, correct width tie (it has to match the width of your lapel), proper dress shirt THAT IS NOT A BUTTON DOWN COLLAR (so many of my classmates did this despite being explicitly told not to. IT WILL MATTER. INTERVIEWERS WILL SEE IT AND NOT LIKE YOU.) Get collar stays to make sure your collar looks immaculate. Don't do anything flashy (no pocket squares, tie bars, cuff links, or really brightly colored socks).

- Get a conservative haircut. Get a conservative haircut. Get a conservative haircut. You do not want to stand out. This is not the time to take a social stand against corporate culture.

[lavarman84]

I am hardly an interview expert, and there is already a fair amount of good advice floating around (emphasizing that you should be passionate/enthusiastic, it should be conversation, be prepared for the standard questions - that kind of thing), but I wanted to mention a couple of things that I think some people struggle with:

- never go negative about anything in your past (past job, past school, whatever past experience). Hated a past job? Talk about something you learned from it and pivot to something that drew you away from it, rather than it driving you away.

- an interview is not the time to be open and honest about everything; it's the time to express enthusiasm for what the interviewer wants you to be. Say you think you want to do transactional, but you interview with a litigation firm. Now is not the time to share your interest in transactional or express your reservations about lit. This is the time to find whatever part of you is willing to go to a litigation gig in the interest of getting a job, and letting that side of you talk. (This example's kind of simplistic of course.)

These may be obvious to everyone, but in case they aren't.

I purposefully do this during an interview. But I don't recommend others do the same.

[A. Nony Mouse]

I am hardly an interview expert, and there is already a fair amount of good advice floating around (emphasizing that you should be passionate/enthusiastic, it should be conversation, be prepared for the standard questions - that kind of thing), but I wanted to mention a couple of things that I think some people struggle with:

- never go negative about anything in your past (past job, past school, whatever past experience). Hated a past job? Talk about something you learned from it and pivot to something that drew you away from it, rather than it driving you away.

- an interview is not the time to be open and honest about everything; it's the time to express enthusiasm for what the interviewer wants you to be. Say you think you want to do transactional, but you interview with a litigation firm. Now is not the time to share your interest in transactional or express your reservations about lit. This is the time to find whatever part of you is willing to go to a litigation gig in the interest of getting a job, and letting that side of you talk. (This example's kind of simplistic of course.)

These may be obvious to everyone, but in case they aren't.

I purposefully do this during an interview. But I don't recommend others do the same.

Yeah, to be clear, I'm not advocating lying. Just saying that interviewers are not actually interested in you as a person, and there isn't any obligation to tell the whole story about anything. It's kind of like the living version of your resume - you select what fits about the position you're applying for.

You can always do the "completely open about everything" approach, especially if you want to be sure that you're going to fit a particular culture, but for most people that's not probably going to put their best foot forward. For some candidates it may.

[lavarman84]

I am hardly an interview expert, and there is already a fair amount of good advice floating around (emphasizing that you should be passionate/enthusiastic, it should be conversation, be prepared for the standard questions - that kind of thing), but I wanted to mention a couple of things that I think some people struggle with:

- never go negative about anything in your past (past job, past school, whatever past experience). Hated a past job? Talk about something you learned from it and pivot to something that drew you away from it, rather than it driving you away.

- an interview is not the time to be open and honest about everything; it's the time to express enthusiasm for what the interviewer wants you to be. Say you think you want to do transactional, but you interview with a litigation firm. Now is not the time to share your interest in transactional or express your reservations about lit. This is the time to find whatever part of you is willing to go to a litigation gig in the interest of getting a job, and letting that side of you talk. (This example's kind of simplistic of course.)

These may be obvious to everyone, but in case they aren't.

I purposefully do this during an interview. But I don't recommend others do the same.

Yeah, to be clear, I'm not advocating lying. Just saying that interviewers are not actually interested in you as a person, and there isn't any obligation to tell the whole story about anything. It's kind of like the living version of your resume - you select what fits about the position you're applying for.

You can always do the "completely open about everything" approach, especially if you want to be sure that you're going to fit a particular culture, but for most people that's not probably going to put their best foot forward. For some candidates it may.

That's why I do it. Even acknowledging that it doesn't always put my best foot forward.

[A. Nony Mouse]

I get that. I think there are other ways to figure out fit/time to figure it out after you get the job, but I get the argument. (I still think there are degrees of openness, though.)