"good luck on the rest of the process" Forum

[Anonymous User]

when an interview ends like that, it's basically an on-the-spot *ding* right?

[Sushasumi]

No. I’ve said this to candidates I think we should hire & that we ultimately give an offer to.

I say it because I remember this being an overwhelming time and I hope you have good luck. Oftentimes I say it to candidates I think are good because I would like to see them succeed in the process.

[DougEvans789]

As somebody who has almost certainly used that phrase before: not at all. Prob just being nice. If this is in response to a thank you email, that goes double—it’s nice they wrote back at all.

[nixy]

It means good luck with the rest of the process, which says nothing about your chances of success/failure in that interview. People aren’t trying to send you a message about anything profound; don’t try to read information into what are generic niceties.

[JM14]

Agreed with the others above. I say this at the end of every interview and it really means just that - it's a tough process and maybe my firm isn't their first choice also - so good luck on the rest of the process.

[Anonymous User]

Yeah it's totally meaningless because I almost always say that at the end of the interview because we've all done this before and know it's a grueling and stressful process until you have an offer in hand that you like.

For background, I'm a mid/senior associate and don't sit on our recruiting committee or anything like that. I could think a candidate is an incredible fit after an interview, and give them all perfect ratings in my review, but then that review goes to the ether and I never know what other people thought or if that person will get an offer because it's up to the partners/recruiting committee. At my old firm I was on the committee and it still ultimately didn't matter what I thought because the partners made the decisions. So I'm just wishing the candidates luck because I honestly don't know if they're getting an offer.

All that to say, people are just being nice because they legitimately wish you luck throughout the process and it doesn't make your chances any better or worse.

[Res Ipsa Loquitter]

In finance that actually means no offer 90%+ of the time but In biglaw it doesn’t have a firm meaning.

[showusyourtorts]

It means nothing. I just did ~20 screeners for OCI and the capital partner that interviewed students alongside me ended every screener with this phrase.

[SFSpartan]

It's likely a throwaway phrase and i wouldn't read anything into it. I say some version of this to all of the candidates that I interview, including folks that I really like and want the firm to give offers to. It's probably just your interviewer's standard way of wrapping up interviews and doesn't mean anything.

[Anonymous User]

OK so I agree with everyone that it's likely a meaningless phrase in context but in one CB I clicked with one partner and later as a I left he shook my hand and wished me luck, and I knew that he was telling me I didn't get it. It was after the post CB networking thingy so they'd probably made a decision already. And I'd bombed the rest of the interviews.

I didn't get the offer. But the context was different, normally this is meaningless.

[nixy]

OK so I agree with everyone that it's likely a meaningless phrase in context but in one CB I clicked with one partner and later as a I left he shook my hand and wished me luck, and I knew that he was telling me I didn't get it. It was after the post CB networking thingy so they'd probably made a decision already. And I'd bombed the rest of the interviews.

I didn't get the offer. But the context was different, normally this is meaningless.

The fact that he wished you luck and that you didn’t get the offer doesn’t mean that wishing someone luck means they didn’t get the offer.

[Anonymous User]

Yeah this is like a bird flying into my window immediately after my MoFo screener and dying on impact and me taking it as a sign I wouldn't get a cb (this happened, and I did anyway). People/the universe don't send weird signals.

[nixy]

OK so I agree with everyone that it's likely a meaningless phrase in context but in one CB I clicked with one partner and later as a I left he shook my hand and wished me luck, and I knew that he was telling me I didn't get it. It was after the post CB networking thingy so they'd probably made a decision already. And I'd bombed the rest of the interviews.

I didn't get the offer. But the context was different, normally this is meaningless.

The fact that he wished you luck and that you didn’t get the offer doesn’t mean that wishing someone luck means they didn’t get the offer.

Obnoxiously quoting myself to clarify: it also doesn’t mean that he was telling you that you didn’t get the offer. Like many here have noted, he could say that to anyone. He may have thought you didn’t get it, but saying good luck didn’t signal that.

[papermateflair]

I say this after callbacks all the time, for candidates I like and don't like. It literally just means good luck with the process - with other interviews at my firm, with screeners and call backs at other firms, with choosing which firm you want to devote the start of your career and potentially the rest of your life to, etc.

Now, when I say "it was great meeting you" that actually means...
...
...
...
it was great meeting you.

[Anonymous User]

Yeah this is like a bird flying into my window immediately after my MoFo screener and dying on impact and me taking it as a sign I wouldn't get a cb (this happened, and I did anyway). People/the universe don't send weird signals.

Bird lied

[SFSpartan]

Between the Mrs./Ms. thread and this, it's an odd day for TLS. Let's all try to be less weird and more normal here...

[KEbro93]

when an interview ends like that, it's basically an on-the-spot *ding* right?

Don't overthink it. This could just be said without thinking through the tone of it and how it comes off.

[Anonymous User]

Yeah this is like a bird flying into my window immediately after my MoFo screener and dying on impact and me taking it as a sign I wouldn't get a cb (this happened, and I did anyway). People/the universe don't send weird signals.

Bird lied

Honestly I'm interpreting it as the universe saying "don't go to SF" since that was the main California firm that gave me a cb (unless GDC pulls through)

[Anonymous User]

I got replies such as “you have a great future” but got a callback invitation the second day. It means nothing.

[Anonymous User]

Yeah this is like a bird flying into my window immediately after my MoFo screener and dying on impact and me taking it as a sign I wouldn't get a cb (this happened, and I did anyway). People/the universe don't send weird signals.

Bird lied

The day I got a call with my V15 offer, I was driving to work behind a truck with "THE AMERICAN DREAM IS DEAD // WE'RE F'D" emblazoned on the windshield. I took it as an ill omen but I guess that was the wrong interpretation.

[Anonymous User]

Yeah this is like a bird flying into my window immediately after my MoFo screener and dying on impact and me taking it as a sign I wouldn't get a cb (this happened, and I did anyway). People/the universe don't send weird signals.

Bird lied

The day I got a call with my V15 offer, I was driving to work behind a truck with "THE AMERICAN DREAM IS DEAD // WE'RE F'D" emblazoned on the windshield. I took it as an ill omen but I guess that was the wrong interpretation.

The universe was just referencing this gem:

He wakes up in his emperor-sized bed, eyes glued to the ceiling towering 16 feet above him. He looks to his alarm clock, perched upon his Restoration Hardware end table. 5:45AM. He lets out a sigh, which quickly forms into a misty cloud. He shivers as he reluctantly makes his way out of bed, stripping off the satin sheets and touching his feet to the chill marble floor. The winter cold penetrated his entire house, as his central heating system could not endure the task of bringing his seven-bedroom estate above 60 degrees on these harsh February mornings. He prepares a simple breakfast in his Vitamix blender: whey protein, organic bananas, unroasted peanut butter, and ice. As he sits in his breakfast nook, sipping on the concoction, he overlooks the Long Island Sound from his window and cannot help but notice how fewer yachts there are out there than there had been only a couple years prior. "Troubling times," he mutters to himself, and then gets up hesitantly to start the long day's work ahead of him. A man has to do what a man has to do though when living paycheck to paycheck in America.

He enters his 2019 Bentley Continental GT, and heads out on his daily trek to the Metro-North station. With today's car prices, he had to sacrifice and stick with the older model. On his drive, he glances at each house in his neighborhood that he passes, and shudders. "How much were these houses when I moved here? About two million each, on average. Now what are they worth? Only seven, maybe eight million tops." He ponders how he could have gained so little net worth since buying his house in 2010—just another sign of the state of affairs in this country. How will his children survive when he's gone?

Ah, his children. The lights of his life. He wondered what they were up to at the moment. It must be even chillier up in Andover than it is here. He would have to ask about it in their biweekly phone call—that is, if he has the time to call them between his meetings with clients. At the very least, he looks forward to spending a week with them in-person come June, when their vacation times align. He always tried his best to be a better father than his old man had been to him. Sure, while he doesn't get to see his kids as often as he may like, at least they are not subjected to the horrors of the public school system in the same way that he'd been. He did not even wish to imagine how his kids lives would turn out if they were forced to share a classroom with the ruffians of Westchester County. The $120,000 of annual tuition is well worth it.

Of course, he would have more money to offer his kids if he had not been put through three divorces. First there was Claire, who insisted that seeing her an hour per day (and two per day on weekends) was not the foundation of a healthy marriage. Then there was Elizabeth, who said it was "disturbing" how many family functions he missed. She certainly was the high maintenance one of the bunch. Finally, there was Patricia, who... well, he could not exactly remember why she divorced him. There was a huge deal being finalized that week. But now, through all the attorneys' fees and alimony, how much is he realistically bringing home annually at this point? Maybe five million, but that is before taxes. He couldn't bear keeping his mind on the topic.

He finally reaches the station. He locks his car, waits for the train, and sits down in a fairly empty section. He laments the distinct lack of people commuting into the city. Why are people so against going into the office these days? Do they have better things to do? He doesn't dwell on this too long, but instead starts to think about his own future. He was quickly approaching 50, and only had enough money in his 401k to live off a half-million per year. How would he survive? Would he have to sell the summer home in Cape Cod? Or give up his yacht club membership? Indeed, it began to dawn on him that he may never be able to properly retire. He may have to work day-in, day-out until the day he dies just to be able to make end's meet. For his sanity's sake, he distracts himself by answering emails on his smartphone, which had become a meditation of sorts for him. Still, in the back of his mind, he could not help but recall a homeless man he had seen in the streets years ago, as he was walking to work. The man had been carrying a sign that read "The American dream is dead." And the time, he paid little attention to this warning. But now, as the train starts to park at Grand Central, and he looks to his Rolex to see if he even has time to get a run in at Equinox before starting the work day, he realizes that the homeless man had been right all along.

[Anonymous User]

How should one interpret being told that someone from the hiring committee will be in touch? But haven't heard in a week?