Bad Interview Moments Forum

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Re: Bad Interview Moments

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Aug 18, 2017 1:59 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Me: *walks onto elevator at BigLaw firm*

Man in elevator: "You here for an interview with (Firm X)?"

Me, enthusiastically: "Yep!"

Man in elevator, smiling: "Why should we hire you?"

Me: *laughs nervously, unsure if serious*

Man in elevator, no longer smiling: "I'm serious. Why should we hire you?"

Me: *mumbles a borderline unintelligible response*

Didn't know I was actually going to have to give an elevator pitch this recruiting season.
ambushed!!

Danger Zone

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Re: Bad Interview Moments

Post by Danger Zone » Fri Aug 18, 2017 2:49 pm

Lawyers are the worst
Last edited by Danger Zone on Sat Jan 27, 2018 2:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Bad Interview Moments

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Aug 18, 2017 7:15 pm

Removed
Last edited by Anonymous User on Fri Aug 18, 2017 10:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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rpupkin

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Re: Bad Interview Moments

Post by rpupkin » Fri Aug 18, 2017 7:37 pm

Anonymous User wrote: Just couldn't lighten up. Short answers to all of my questions. Either didnt get my sense of humor or had none herself.

All in all left a bad impression on me of the firm - the other partners were nice but couldn't get past her.
It sounds like she made the mistake of giving you a realistic sense of what working at a law firm is actually like. That's a major faux pas.

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Re: Bad Interview Moments

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Aug 18, 2017 9:35 pm

Knocked at the time my interview was scheduled to start. 5 minutes went by before a student exited and the interviewer asked for a few minutes, to which I said, "of course, take your time." Another 5 minutes passed before I was invited into the room.

When I sit down the interviewer said, "man, I have 20 interviews to conduct today, and I'm already burned-out. What questions can I answer for you."

To which I said, "ummm, can you validate my parking?"

He did not look amused.

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Anonymous User
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Re: Bad Interview Moments

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Aug 18, 2017 10:12 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Callback interview earlier this week:

Associate guide takes me to the first partner's office. We knock and she asks for a few minutes to wrap up a call. Not a problem, I don't particularly enjoy these interviews and wasn't dying to speak to this particular partner.

Shoot the shit with the associate for a little, then partner comes out and apologizes for the delay and introduces herself.

Next thing she says: Oh you went to Fordham I assume?

Me: Oh no, wrong person, I go to Georgetown. But what's the difference? (Trying to lighten the mood, clearly her call sucked)

*death stare*

...

Her: I took a look at your writing sample, did you get permission to use this from your summer employer?

Me: Oh, yeah, that was kind of the point. It was my major project for the summer and the person I was working under wanted to produce a good writing sample.

Her: Okay *death stare*

...

Just couldn't lighten up. Short answers to all of my questions. Either didnt get my sense of humor or had none herself.

All in all left a bad impression on me of the firm - the other partners were nice but couldn't get past her. Found out later she was a key member of the recruiting committee. Ding came through this afternoon.
I know who this is based on some info you put in (granted I also heard this story from the partner and so I obviously heard her side) but I'm sure if I can figure it out others can too. Maybe take the school names out.

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Re: Bad Interview Moments

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Aug 18, 2017 10:24 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
I know who this is based on some info you put in (granted I also heard this story from the partner and so I obviously heard her side) but I'm sure if I can figure it out others can too. Maybe take the school names out.
You're right. It was a lapse in judgment. If you could please edit out the story I'd appreciate it.

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Re: Bad Interview Moments

Post by lavarman84 » Fri Aug 18, 2017 11:21 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
I know who this is based on some info you put in (granted I also heard this story from the partner and so I obviously heard her side) but I'm sure if I can figure it out others can too. Maybe take the school names out.
You're right. It was a lapse in judgment. If you could please edit out the story I'd appreciate it.
FWIW, anon, I had an interview like that when I was a 2L. The partner hated everything I had to say. Sometimes, you just don't mesh with people. You've got the right idea laughing at it rather than taking it personally.

jd20132013

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Re: Bad Interview Moments

Post by jd20132013 » Fri Aug 18, 2017 11:38 pm

Stop trying to scare the kid

She forgot who he was the next day

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Re: Bad Interview Moments

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Aug 19, 2017 12:01 am

jd20132013 wrote:Stop trying to scare the kid

She forgot who he was the next day
I sure hope so! It sounds infinitely more serious when the partner tells the story to coworkers and has a "side" on the matter.

I thought it was just a good example of when things don't seem to go your way or land with the interviewer. Wasn't trying to badmouth them or their firm - it's obviously a firm I would have been lucky to have received an offer from. And I'm sure I was plenty awkward in that interview when I felt like things weren't going well.

At the end of the day I probably wouldn't have been happy there anyway based on the interactions I had. But it was probably dumb to post it here and I see that now.

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North

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Re: Bad Interview Moments

Post by North » Sat Aug 19, 2017 12:08 am

Loving the back pedaling here

lavarman84

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Re: Bad Interview Moments

Post by lavarman84 » Sat Aug 19, 2017 12:10 am

Anonymous User wrote:
jd20132013 wrote:Stop trying to scare the kid

She forgot who he was the next day
I sure hope so! It sounds infinitely more serious when the partner tells the story to coworkers and has a "side" on the matter.

I thought it was just a good example of when things don't seem to go your way or land with the interviewer. Wasn't trying to badmouth them or their firm - it's obviously a firm I would have been lucky to have received an offer from. And I'm sure I was plenty awkward in that interview when I felt like things weren't going well.

At the end of the day I probably wouldn't have been happy there anyway based on the interactions I had. But it was probably dumb to post it here and I see that now.
It was fine to post it here. You don't need to talk up the firm. It's a business that doesn't care about you. You don't need to talk yourself down. They rejected you. Fuck em.

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Re: Bad Interview Moments

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Aug 19, 2017 12:17 am

Lateral interview. Had a boomer partner blather on about how horrible affirmative action is, how many people without merit get into law school because of it, etc etc.

I'm not white. Very clearly a minority.

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cavalier1138

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Re: Bad Interview Moments

Post by cavalier1138 » Sat Aug 19, 2017 7:18 am

Anonymous User wrote:I know who this is based on some info you put in (granted I also heard this story from the partner and so I obviously heard her side) but I'm sure if I can figure it out others can too. Maybe take the school names out.
Is anyone under the impression that this partner was going to advocate for the poster?

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Re: Bad Interview Moments

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Aug 19, 2017 8:47 am

I'm an interviewer for a V20 firm, and I had an interview with a partner on the recruiting committee for a recent callback. First interview we had was 15-20 minutes late and had no knowledge of one of the items on his or her resume. Please arrive on time and know your resume at the very least. What a waste of time.

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Re: Bad Interview Moments

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Aug 19, 2017 8:53 am

Screener at V20 firm. First question: "I see you have 'avid traveler to such destinations as [lists off names of countries on my resume that I've traveled to]' on your resume. Nuke one of them."

If the person who asked me that reads this: you're an idiot.

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Re: Bad Interview Moments

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Aug 19, 2017 1:57 pm

I had a screener last week where 90% of it was the interviewer lecturing me on international law (which I did not ask about or signal I had any interest in). "Most people think international law is X, but it's actually Y, which you probably didn't know." It was my last interview of the day and I was just dying to gtfo. Dinged a day later.

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Re: Bad Interview Moments

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Aug 19, 2017 2:39 pm

I misread my scheduled interview time in Symplicity and reached to the screener interview (with an IP boutique firm) eight minutes late (thinking I'm twelve minutes early). The moment I reached my friend said: "The interviewer is waiting for you and you are eight minutes late." Rushed in to knock, apologizing profusely, the hiring partner lets me in and just told me "Things like this happen."
Actual interview with that IP boutique firm
The first thing he said to me "Look, I like your resume and think you are great but I'm not sure you would be happy at our firm, so I don't want to call you back."
After a moment of shock, I asked in a faint voice "May I know the reason why you think that I won't be happy at your firm?" He said, "We tech IP firm and you have a background in Bio, so I'm not sure you would enjoy that." I assured him, that's not a deal breaker, and according to their firm website and TotalPatents, they do have a Bio group too. He wasn't ready to buy that. We went back and forth about my resume, but he kept on repeating that I won't be happy. After he repeated it the third time, I thought I'm not going to get a CB anyway so let me speak my mind. So I just told him "I see from your resume that you have a masters degree in electrical engineering and yet your last patent application was on a diaper. So how did you enjoy it?" Without losing a beat, he said, "That's material science." I said,"Oh, my mistake, I thought the independent claim was a new chemical compound that increases the diaper's absorbance which would make the subject matter chemistry" Then we went back to my resume again. He also told me "if we don't call you back today that does not mean you can't come back as a lateral later." I thought this is it and the next moment he said, "but that doesn't mean we are not going to call you back today."

I got out of the interview thoroughly confused but certain that it's a lost cause. Still, I sent him a thank you note without even expecting a reply. He wrote back within half an hour wishing me luck in whatever I end up doing in life. Ten minutes later, I got a mail from the firm stating the partner immensely enjoyed meeting me and inviting me for a CB. I went to the CB last week and got an offer. I'm still confused about the whole thing though.

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Re: Bad Interview Moments

Post by Carlton_Banks » Sat Aug 19, 2017 5:18 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Screener at V20 firm. First question: "I see you have 'avid traveler to such destinations as [lists off names of countries on my resume that I've traveled to]' on your resume. Nuke one of them."

If the person who asked me that reads this: you're an idiot.
Seems like an opportunity to have a little fun in the interview? Why wouldn't you have just gone with it?

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Re: Bad Interview Moments

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Aug 19, 2017 5:54 pm

Carlton_Banks wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Screener at V20 firm. First question: "I see you have 'avid traveler to such destinations as [lists off names of countries on my resume that I've traveled to]' on your resume. Nuke one of them."

If the person who asked me that reads this: you're an idiot.
Seems like an opportunity to have a little fun in the interview? Why wouldn't you have just gone with it?
There are a million ways to have a little fun during an interview without bringing up nuking a country (which I don't really find to be a "fun" topic anyway). Other interviewers found ways to do it pretty easily. I wasn't really offended--though I imagine other people who got the question might have been. I just thought it was a dumb question to ask at a screener. I'll drink beers and talk about sports and chicks with you all you want once I'm hired brah!! Maybe(?) then somehow we'll end up discussing nuking countries we've been to.

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Re: Bad Interview Moments

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Aug 19, 2017 6:08 pm

Had an interviewer from a V50 asked me if how I did and the rank of my old school gave me low self esteem and whether I was anxious about my ability to pass at my new school. I was #5 at a T1.

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Re: Bad Interview Moments

Post by flashdril » Sat Aug 19, 2017 6:20 pm

Carlton_Banks wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Screener at V20 firm. First question: "I see you have 'avid traveler to such destinations as [lists off names of countries on my resume that I've traveled to]' on your resume. Nuke one of them."

If the person who asked me that reads this: you're an idiot.
Seems like an opportunity to have a little fun in the interview? Why wouldn't you have just gone with it?
Because fantasizing about genocide isn't fun for non-sociopaths.

As an alternative, consider asking "Which was your least favorite country to visit?" / "If you never had to visit one of these countries again, which would it be?"

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Monochromatic Oeuvre

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Re: Bad Interview Moments

Post by Monochromatic Oeuvre » Sat Aug 19, 2017 7:01 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Carlton_Banks wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Screener at V20 firm. First question: "I see you have 'avid traveler to such destinations as [lists off names of countries on my resume that I've traveled to]' on your resume. Nuke one of them."

If the person who asked me that reads this: you're an idiot.
Seems like an opportunity to have a little fun in the interview? Why wouldn't you have just gone with it?
There are a million ways to have a little fun during an interview without bringing up nuking a country (which I don't really find to be a "fun" topic anyway). Other interviewers found ways to do it pretty easily. I wasn't really offended--though I imagine other people who got the question might have been. I just thought it was a dumb question to ask at a screener. I'll drink beers and talk about sports and chicks with you all you want once I'm hired brah!! Maybe(?) then somehow we'll end up discussing nuking countries we've been to.
Most of a law firm interview is a test to make sure the candidate isn't the type to walk around with his panties constantly in a wad.

You know how I know you failed?

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Re: Bad Interview Moments

Post by lawdawg4 » Sat Aug 19, 2017 7:05 pm

Danger Zone wrote:
Ally Mcbeal wrote:In the middle of an interview last week and my interviewer gets a text from his wife that her water broke. I screamed so...probably not getting hired lol.
You... screamed? So like did he describe the text to you and then you just AHHHH
this is by far my favorite submission to this post

i think of this regularly

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Carlton_Banks

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Re: Bad Interview Moments

Post by Carlton_Banks » Sat Aug 19, 2017 7:06 pm

flashdril wrote:Because fantasizing about genocide isn't fun for non-sociopaths.
I doubt the question was posed so that the interviewer could masturbate to the answer later, nor is it likely that your interviewer planned to tell Kim Jung-Un your answer in preparation for anything. Why don't people lighten up a bit? If you're going into biglaw, it's more than likely that your salary will be paid by clients who have done much worse than fantasize about genocide - why not leave your moral hang-ups about answering a non-serious question at the door?

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