Awkward Pauses As Interviewer Looks Over Your Resume Forum

[Anonymous User]

I dont know, some interviewers make things awkward. What do you do when an interviewer "hasn't gotten a chance to look over your resume" and starts looking over it during the interview, causing awkward pauses as they look over your resume to find questions to ask you? I tried to chime in a few times to fill in the pauses as they continued to look over my resume for the next question.... they'd be like okay lets see your work experience and then as they look over that part of my resume I chimed in and started talking about my 1L summer experience. Interviewer clearly wasn't prepared but how would you handle these situations? Did I do anything wrong?

[rpupkin]

I dont know, some interviewers make things awkward. What do you do when an interviewer "hasn't gotten a chance to look over your resume" and starts looking over it during the interview, causing awkward pauses as they look over your resume to find questions to ask you? I tried to chime in a few times to fill in the pauses as they continued to look over my resume for the next question.... they'd be like okay lets see your work experience and then as they look over that part of my resume I chimed in and started talking about my 1L summer experience. Interviewer clearly wasn't prepared but how would you handle these situations? Did I do anything wrong?

I've been that interviewer more than once. Sometimes, you don't have time to read the resume (or recruiting forgot to send you the resume) until right before the interview.

How should you behave when the interviewer tells you that he hasn't had a chance to look over your resume? Like a normal person. Give the interviewer a minute or two to read your resume. Don't start talking just because the silence is making you uncomfortable. When someone is reading something, silence is normal.

[2014]

I dont know, some interviewers make things awkward. What do you do when an interviewer "hasn't gotten a chance to look over your resume" and starts looking over it during the interview, causing awkward pauses as they look over your resume to find questions to ask you? I tried to chime in a few times to fill in the pauses as they continued to look over my resume for the next question.... they'd be like okay lets see your work experience and then as they look over that part of my resume I chimed in and started talking about my 1L summer experience. Interviewer clearly wasn't prepared but how would you handle these situations? Did I do anything wrong?

Happens all the time in the job you may as well get used to it now. Senior says "stop by to discuss [document]" and by the time you arrive they've gotten distracted on three other matters so now that it is your turn, they read through your work while you sit there. Or you are in someone's office waiting for others to dial-in to a call and the person who's office it is is buried in their computer, ambiguously unaware that you are sitting there.

In no world is it a good idea to distract these people, you just say "no trouble at all, take all the time you need I appreciate you sitting down with me" and wait till they are ready.

[Wild Card]

And they may be trying to unnerve you, size you up.

But the idea of lawyers acting alpha is absurd, so you should be unfazed.

[dixiecupdrinking]

"Of course. Take your time." Then look out the window for a minute. Or if your interviewer is a junior associate in an internal office, admire their impressive binder collection.

[grand inquisitor]

sit there quietly and look pleasant

[Chad_IRL]

This is why I like to bring a bio of the interviewer into the room. Scan his or her bio while he or she is looking over your resume. If you can find a typo or a gap in their employment record, attack! Now you've put THEM on the defensive, and they will spend the rest of the interview trying to cover up their failings. If you don't like their answers, wrap the interview early and tell them "good luck with the rest of your recruiting season."

[malibustacy]

Embrace the silence, don't try to fill it with meaningless chitchat. Take the time to observe the surroundings--the decor, the office atmosphere, the view, etc. It'll help you once the standard interview questions are out of the way.

[Good Guy Gaud]

"Of course. Take your time." Then look out the window for a minute. Or if your interviewer is a junior associate in an internal office, admire their impressive binder collection.

Don't just admire it, praise them for it.

[notgreat]

Honestly, I've always suspected that mishandling this exact situation torpedoed an offer from my number one choice (a firm much better than the one I'm going to) during callbacks after 1L. During my callback a partner pulled my resume and said "one second, I didn't get to read your resume'. I couldn't keep my big fucking yapper shut while he was reviewing it and he didn't seem to love me after that. Resist the urge and politely say "of course, take your time" and then shut your fucking mouth until she/he asks you a question. Don't be like me.