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I mass-mailed an alum, who forwarded my resume to her colleague at the firm.

The colleague's assistant came back to me, asking me to come in for a 30 minute meeting. The assistant said it was not an interview but they wanted to know about me for a future opening.

I didn't go because I was out of town. (family stuff) She asked me to let her know when I came back but never contacted me for an interview afterwards.

Two months later, I came back and emailed asking if we could still have a meeting. They said they've already hired associates in that particular department!


For future references, was this 30 minute meeting an interview? Should I have visited the office no matter what? Why do they interview like that?

PLEASE DO NOT QUOTE MY POST. THANK YOU>

I think it was an interview, but they just didn't want to officially acknowledge it for whatever reason*. You probably should've gone.

*Along these lines, I had a pre-OCI interview a few months ago with a V10. No personal connections, just an official application sent in to their recruiting department per their website instructions. Received an official invitation to come in to meet with a partner for a screening interview - but they were very careful to say it was NOT an interview. Even though it obviously was. Guess they just didn't want to be on the hook for travel expenses so were careful to say it was just an "informational meeting".

Definitely was an interview. Got my first big law job offer in a similar manner. Went to a "not-an-interview" and then got a callback which led to an offer.

I think anon hit it. "Not-an-interivew" keeps them from paying for flights/hotels whatever.

Anonymous User wrote:Definitely was an interview. Got my first big law job offer in a similar manner. Went to a "not-an-interview" and then got a callback which led to an offer.

I think anon hit it. "Not-an-interivew" keeps them from paying for flights/hotels whatever.

A couple regional biglaw firms (where presumably the travel/recruiting budget isn't as large as NYC offices) gave me the non-interview interviews as well. Sounds like you blew it, OP. Then again, maybe the job would have sucked hard, and maybe you'll end up with an even better one. Good luck.

It's always an interview.

No one is taking half an hour out of their day to meet a total stranger for funsies.