Top Law Schools

I wanted to share some advice that would have helped me tremendously during OCI: watch yourself answering interview questions. Either do it in a mirror, or better yet, film yourself.

I really struggled during OCI. I had the credentials on paper but I was constantly striking out at the interview stage. I've gotta say, getting rejected based on your personal presentation, rather than your grades or work experience, is hugely demoralizing.

I ended up doing a mock interview with career services and was told that I come off as very "reserved." I went home and answered interview questions in front of a mirror, and sure enough, there were times I had some serious Resting Bitch Face going on. It hadn't occurred to me that it might be a problem since I'm normally pretty expressive when talking to friends and family. However, in interviews I suspect I was coming off as a combination of boring, unfriendly, and not interested in the job.

This might sound silly, but I spent a few days practicing answers in front of a mirror until I was confident I could project the right level of humor, enthusiasm and friendliness without thinking about it. I had an interview a few days ago, and it was like night and day compared to previous ones. I only wish I had realized this earlier, and I hope people can learn from my mistakes.

Agree 100%. It's awkward and painful but you pick up on your tics and other bad habits.

You all think about it way too much. Be natural.

yoyoyiyo wrote:You all think about it way too much. Be natural.

yeah, but some people's "natural" won't land them a job. some people need to change their "natural" for job interview purposes. if you're naturally engaging and interesting and enthusiastic, then be natural. but if you're naturally unfriendly, boring, etc, then I don't think "be natural" is the solution to impressing employers and landing a job

stoopkid13 wrote:Agree 100%. It's awkward and painful but you pick up on your tics and other bad habits.

This. I, for some reason, look to the side when answering questions. Helpful to know.

acr wrote:

yoyoyiyo wrote:You all think about it way too much. Be natural.

yeah, but some people's "natural" won't land them a job. some people need to change their "natural" for job interview purposes. if you're naturally engaging and interesting and enthusiastic, then be natural. but if you're naturally unfriendly, boring, etc, then I don't think "be natural" is the solution to impressing employers and landing a job

If you're naturally unfriendly, boring, etc, then maybe this isn't the kind of job for you.

KMart wrote:

stoopkid13 wrote:Agree 100%. It's awkward and painful but you pick up on your tics and other bad habits.

This. I, for some reason, look to the side when answering questions. Helpful to know.

According to body language black magic, looking to the left means you're making stuff up and looking to the right means you are remembering something.

Anonymous User wrote:

acr wrote:

yoyoyiyo wrote:You all think about it way too much. Be natural.

yeah, but some people's "natural" won't land them a job. some people need to change their "natural" for job interview purposes. if you're naturally engaging and interesting and enthusiastic, then be natural. but if you're naturally unfriendly, boring, etc, then I don't think "be natural" is the solution to impressing employers and landing a job

If you're naturally unfriendly, boring, etc, then maybe this isn't the kind of job for you.

lol