What Not To Do At The Callback Interview

You must prepare for your Callback. Going on an interview unprepared is like going to class after skipping a school assignment; you will be uncomfortable and looking foolish throughout. Even minor preparedness is better than starting a callback cold.

Click Here to Find Law Student Jobs on LawCrossing

You must be familiar with the procedure, from how to announce yourself upon your arrival at the firm to what materials to ask for on your way out. There are lists of questions to ask and questions not to ask during your interview and you must prepare well to get through the interview.
 

Your goal for your callback should be to leave the firm with the impression that you are mature, hardworking, personable, and dedicated to the practice of law. You are a professional who can compose yourself during an interview. So, here the focus should be on what not to do.

What to Expect

Callbacks are more challenging than on-campus interviews because you meet more attorneys and you will have no break- in between what can be very long stretches of interviews. While going through these interviews back-to-back is trying, the callback gives you a much closer look at the firm than an on-campus interview. You will find that the simple act of walking around a number of firms will give you a feel for the different places. The atmosphere of a firm will play a large part in your final decision.

The organization of your callback interview will vary from firm to firm. The maximum number of attorneys you will meet with is ten and the minimum is three. Most firm's schedules will fall somewhere in between these numbers. When you scheduled the callback, you should have mentioned a departmental preference. This way, if you are interested in learning about Trusts and Estates, then you will meet at least one person from this practice group.

Here is an overview of what to expect from your callback:
 

1. You will report to the reception area (on time).
2. A firm representative will meet you there.
3. You will be taken to your first interview.
4. Interviews begin (you will meet anywhere from three to ten attorneys).
5. Interviews end (collect business cards).
6. Go home and write thank-you letters.

Do Not Be Late

You must be ten or fifteen minutes early for your interview. Being late shows an acute lack of professionalism and questions your ability to handle the simplest of tasks.

If you are just plain late, be nice about it and apologize profusely; most people manage to make it to their interviews on time, so do not invent an excuse. Many times when bringing a late candidate to an already miffed partner, one should take the blame by saying, "Sorry she's late; my fault." That was enough to exonerate the interviewee. If the candidate was unapologetic and rude, one would not be inclined to take the fall for him or her. Be nice to everyone you meet. Being nasty or impatient can only work to your disadvantage,

Special Case: You Are Late Because Your Morning Interview Ran Late

Sometimes students were late to their afternoon interview because their morning interview ran late. This is one reason why you should be careful about scheduling two callbacks in one day; you have no control over whether or not your morning interview will run late.

If you look at your watch and see that you may be late to an afternoon interview, ask the recruiter from the present callback firm to call the recruiter from the next callback firm to warn him or her of your lateness. Recruiters from the different firms tend to be very friendly with one another and can help "cover" for you if you are running late. The recruiter from the afternoon firm can adjust your schedule to your lateness so you don't have to worry about it.

Reporting to the Reception Area

The person with whom you scheduled your interview will most likely give very specific instructions on where to go when you arrive at the firm. Do not lose this information; reporting to the wrong place will make you late and you will look disorganized. Report to the reception area where you have been directed and tell the receptionist that you are there for an interview. He or she expects interviewees during the recruiting season. Be patient because you may have to wait a few minutes. The firm is a busy place. Use this time to read the newspaper.

A member of the recruiting department will pick you up from the reception area. He or she can tell you about the attorneys you will meet. No matter how much research you have done, it will only help in these few minutes to pump the recruiter for information. As you are led to your first interview, go ahead and ask, "Is there anything I should know about these people personally?" or, "What would you want to know about this person if you were meeting her for the first time?" Remember, the more information you have, the better equipped you will be. For example, if you learn from the recruiter that you are meeting with a marathoner and you also run long distance, you can easily ingratiate yourself to this person, no matter what. This will enable you to develop a good rapport with your interviewer.

While the marathoner example is not likely to apply to all of you, it makes an important point: one aim for an interview is to turn it into a pleasant conversation. That said, the interview, however chatty, must always be led by your interviewer.

If you succeed in doing this -- making pleasant conversation led by your interviewer -- it is unlikely that your interviewer will give you an unfavorable review.

Your interview with each attorney on your schedule will last anywhere from half an hour to forty-five minutes. These meetings give you an opportunity to put the questions listed in this chapter to work for you. Keep in mind that your objectives are twofold; while you want to convey that you are well suited for work at the firm, you also want to use the interview as an opportunity to determine whether or not the firm suits you.

Lunch Interviews

Some firms offer to conduct part of your callback interview over lunch; this is where you usually meet junior associates. Some students get excited over the prospect of having a free lunch at an upscale restaurant while to others lunch interviews translate to long interviews, and they would rather not.If you choose to go on a lunch interview, be sure to brush up on your table manners.

An easy way to remember another important part of the interview lunch is the two Ps: Price and Pace.Follow your interviewers' leads for l) in what price range to order and 2) how fast (or how slowly) you should eat your food. Avoid ordering anything that is difficult to eat, such as linguini (you risk looking like a slob), making excessive demands when ordering; and drinking alcohol (for very obvious reasons, this is not acceptable in the United States). If you are very thirsty, stick to water rather than asking the waiter to refill your Coke many times. Drinking ten Cokes rings of childhood birthday parties.Also, frequent interruptions such as this will damage the flow of conversation.

One Lawyer's Advice: Be Yourself

One lawyer with a lot of experience interviewing law students said that, generally, people should learn to "be themselves" on their interviews. In the face of the anxiety of a rigorous job search, "be yourself' may sound like a non-statement. But from thousands of comments from interviewers on the students they met, it is found that successful interviewees followed the lawyer’s sentiment: they were themselves," meaning they were less anxious than most, and in turn, more comfortable and honest. He felt that some students he met got too caught up in the ideas surrounding his credentials and position. They forgot that he was a dad, a moviegoer, a reader, just a regular guy not too unlike themselves. The questions you ask during your interview are very important. If you fail to ask the right questions, it could be interpreted as a lack of interest on your part.

Following are examples of good questions to ask during your interview. From them, you can learn about and exhibit your interest in the firm. These are also helpful in promoting conversation.

Questions for partners or associates

Can you give me an overview of what you are working on presently?

There should be papers on the attorney's desk, and he or she can guide you through them.

What made you decide to come here?

From this question, you will have a look into not only what the attorney likes about the firm but also his or her decision making process. You will be going through some similar thinking about your own career in the near future.

How did you come to choose your department?

This provides a look into the professional journey of the attorney.

How many summer (or full-time) associates is the firm looking for?

From this, you will know how many people will be in your class. It is a red flag if your firm is looking to reduce drastically the size of its summer or incoming classes from one year to the next. This could mean the firm's business is not thriving. You should ask about this directly; there may be some other explanation.

Click Here to Find Summer Associate Jobs on LawCrossing

How are assignments given out?

From this, you will find out if the firm has a well-organized system for assigning work or if it is more haphazard.

Are associates able to specialize, or is the work more general?

This information will be helpful to you in discovering what type of work experience you will have.

What type of supervision will I have, and how are evaluations handled?

In addition to giving you useful information, this question shows that you value your professional development.

Questions for associates only

The following questions are more appropriate for associates. These are slightly less formal and are aimed at a person who is in the earlier stages of his or her career.

What is a typical day like for you ?

You will get a first-hand account of the daily life of an associate.

Do you plan on staying at the firm for a while? If so, when did you decide you would, and why? If not, how will the firm help you to accomplish your long-term goals?

This is a provocative question capable of giving you a lot of information about the firm.

With whom have you had your best work experience here, and why?

This is an example of a personal and professional question; it will recall professional accomplishment and good mentorship.

Do you and your friends from law school compare notes on where you ended up?

This question gives the associate an opportunity to launch into a conversation about conversations with friends; he or she is bound to have a handful of helpful anecdotes about work experiences, either personal ones or those of a friend. Also, from this question you can get some insider information on other firms.

Tell me about your most disappointing professional experience.

Be careful with this one for obvious reasons. Only ask this if you are feeling very comfortable with your interviewer.

Bad interview questions

These are divided into three categories. These categories explain why not to ask them in the first place.

Category 1 : questions like this make you look as if you are lazy or afraid of firm life.

Any question about hours, billable or non-billable

If you work at a law firm, the expectation is that you will work hard. Questions about billable hours suggest an unwillingness to do this. You look as though you are already calculating how much you will have to work when you start at the firm in two years and two years is a long way off.

Any question about the termination of associates

You look like you are afraid of being fired, even though you have not put in a day's work.

Any question about the staffing of cases

While this is a legitimate concern and this question may "work" in some interview situations, you do not ask this in an interview. When asked with wrong tone, wording, or inflection, this question roughly translates to, "Will I get a lot of help?"

Category 2: It is too early for you to be concerned, so do not ask about the following Inquiries about whether or not the firm will let you split your summer

During your interview, it is too early to ask about splitting your summer between two jobs. It gives the impression that you are not ready to throw yourself into work at the firm. Splitting your summer should be discussed when you are in the final decision-making stages.

Any question about salary and bonus structure

Not only is it too early to be concerned about these issues, but concerns about money also make you look greedy.

Any question about partner track

It is way too early for you to be concerned with this.

Category 3: These questions are easily answered with a little research

All questions listed in categories 1 and 2 belong to this category. You want to look diligent to your interviewer and you won't if you have not done a modicum of research. All issues listed above are addressed in these resources; the firm's NALP form, the firm website and literature, and American Lawyer surveys. Be sure to do this research; a little goes a long way.

INAPPROPRIATE ITEMS OF DISCUSSION

Personal questions out of context: Do not scan your interviewer's office for personal effects such as photographs and then ask him or her about them. It is unprofessional to inquire about your interviewer's personal life.

Politics: Interviewees make the mistake of bringing up politics during interviews. There are some rare exceptions. For example, if your resume states that you are a member of the Federalist Society and a partner mentions that she, too, is a member, then feel free to chat away. Other than a case as specific as this, it is difficult to gauge whether you and your interviewer share political opinion, so do not invite political discussion during your interview, especially since political leanings are not considered to have much of an influence on job performance.

Specific information about your cases: If you worked as a legal assistant or are involved in any work on cases at school, you should talk about these in a general way. Do not violate attorney-client privilege during an interview.

HOW TO ANSWER QUESTIONS POSED TO YOU

You need to memorize a few things before your interview. These include: why you want to be a lawyer, and your strengths and weaknesses. Rehearse your answers. With practice, these answers will come naturally and you will avoid looking like a deer caught in the headlights. If you are asked a question that catches you off guard, take time in answering. Interviewing does get easier with experience. The more interviews you go on, the more relaxed you will feel.

Why you want to be a lawyer is an important question, one that you will be asked in almost every single interview. You must develop a good (and hopefully) honest explanation for why you want to practice law.

Know your strengths and weaknesses. Following are some qualities firms look for in junior associates: punctuality, diligence, ambition, and resourcefulness. When using these adjectives, be sure to use an anecdote to support your claim. For example, do not say, "I’m punctual." Rather, you should say, "I really like to get to work a few minutes early to review what I need to do for the day ahead. I do the same thing in class. I find if I arrive a few minutes early, I am better organized.”

The same thinking applies to your weaknesses. Memorize them so you can answer gracefully. The method to explaining your weaknesses is corny and you have probably heard it before: give an example of a weakness and finish the sentence with a counter example. For instance, "My friends say I take work a little too seriously, sometimes at the expense of my personal life; however, I do not really view this as a weakness. I am at a stage in my life where professional development is paramount. Once I am comfortable in my career, then I will focus on other aspects of my life." Or: "My perfectionism has gotten me into trouble from time to time. I have a hang-up about turning in work I feel is less than stellar, and I simply refuse to do this. Admittedly, this is rigid perfectionist behavior, but so far it works to my advantage more often than not."

Finally, keep your answers short and to the point. Know yourself, meaning know your answers. By doing this, you reflect the type of confidence employers want to see; nothing makes a worse impression than looking flaky. Make sure that when you leave, your interviewer knows that you are professional and personable.

Pitfalls to Avoid

Complaint 1: "The candidate seemed distracted."

During your interview, you must listen very carefully to what your interviewer is saying. Concentrate on what is being asked of you during your interview, and be mindful of what has been said throughout. If you ask about the firm's assigning system late in the interview and the attorney has already explained this, you are wasting this person's time.

Complaint 2: “The candidate was too comfortable."

One example of this is when it came up early in the interview that the candidate and the interviewer were both fans of the film Spinal Tap. This is a nice thing to have in common; it shows that you share the same sense of humor and taste in film. But the candidate proceeded to quote Spinal Tap throughout the entire meeting. While it is important to be self-assured and to find common ground with your interviewer do not get too comfortable. Quoting Spinal Tap is definitely appropriate in many circumstances, but an interview is not one of them.

Complaint 3: "The candidate left without saying thank you."

Formalities like these are formalities for a reason. Saying thanks shows that you appreciate the time they have shared with you.

Complaint 4: "The candidate took notes."

Taking notes looks overzealous and is very impersonal; it drives a literal and figurative wedge between you and your interviewer. An interview is a meeting between two people, not a classroom situation. If something comes up during your interview that you do not want to forget, write it down after you leave the firm.

Complaint 5: "The candidate left a personal belonging in my office."

Students would leave planners. Palm Pilots, folders with extra resumes, and all kinds of other stuff in interviewers' offices. Do not leave any personal belonging at the firm, either in an interviewer's office, in the firm coat closet, or anywhere. It is annoying for the interviewer to spend time tracking you down and it looks irresponsible. Keeping track of important personal belongings is a basic responsibility and you should be able to handle it by now. If you cannot, how are you going to be able to manage an important assignment at the firm?

Complaint 6: "The candidate said 'like' too many times."

For example, "I have always been like really interested in the law." Maybe you wouldn't use so egregious an example but the point here is to listen to how you sound when speaking. This complaint also applied when candidates ended sentences with, "do you know what I mean?" For example, "I have always been really interested in the law, do you know what I mean?" Don't do this. You will sound like an idiot.

Questions to Ask Yourself

You will be asked many questions throughout the interview season. Do not forget that you should also ask yourself some questions.

Consider your callback an opportunity for you to check out the firm. You must feel comfortable in the place you end up working, so examine these firms carefully. As you meet the attorneys and walk around, ask yourself if the firm is a place where you will feel comfortable spending a lot of your time. By meeting more attorneys, you will get a cross section of the firm that is closer to fair than when you met only one attorney on campus.

Do you like the people? Are they more laid back or more formal? In which environment would you work best? Are the doors to the offices closed or open, and which do you prefer? Do people seem to get along generally? Do you care? How do the attorneys interact with their secretaries? These are all factors that contribute to the feel of an office, or as firms call it, the "firm culture." Firms put a lot of effort into creating their culture because it is something the population experiences and participates in daily. If a work environment is pleasant, employees will be more satisfied.

Many firms claim to be "collegial" or, in other words, friendly places to work. A firm's investment in its culture is a bonus for you. If you are stuck at the firm late into the night doing something tedious, sharing work with colleagues you like and respect will ease the pain of the most miserable of chores.

Wrap-Up

These are some final things you should remember. Ask all partners and associates for their business cards; you need to know the correct spellings of their names for your thank-you notes. The contact information on business cards is helpful if you have any last-minute questions or if you need any further information while making your decision. The attorneys you met will be happy to take a few minutes to answer your questions. For informal issues and what you may consider dumb questions, consult associates rather than partners.

When you get home from your callback, take a few minutes to write your thank-you notes. Thank-you notes for law firm interviews follow formal business letter format and should be typed on paper with your letterhead. Do not use cute cards with kittens on them.

Sadly, most thank-you notes are not read very carefully, but try to personalize them in any case. Mention a topic that came up in your interview, for example, "I really enjoyed speaking with you about the firm and about the U.S. Open."

Names should be spelled correctly on thank-you letters (as with any firm correspondence). Refer to your interviewers with the names they use at the firm. For example, a third-year associate introduces himself to you as "Dan." Even though his business card reads "Daniel," begin your letter, 'Dear Dan:" If he introduced himself as "Dan, "then that is the name he uses and he is "Dan" to everyone at the firm.

If you did not get a business card from one of your interviewers, you can always confirm the spelling of his or her name by consulting Martindale-Hubbeu, the firm website or calling the attorney's secretary.

Send your thank-you notes as soon as possible. Attorneys meet many students and you can be easily forgotten. Consider thank-you letters opportunities to keep yourself fresh in the minds of your interviewers.

Do Not Let Your Anxiety Get the Best of You

Finally, relax. If you have survived your first year of law school, then you are equipped to handle life at a law firm. You may be anxious during your callback, but do not let it show. Being flummoxed by the big offices and fancy titles can only work against you. You want to be calm, cool, and collected enough to listen carefully to what is being said to you during your interviews.

When researching attorneys at the firm, you will learn of their accomplishments. These can be many and are often enormously impressive. You may start to feel very undecorated. But after a few meetings, you will learn that partners, whatever their age, office size, and accomplishment in the field, are people like anyone else. Remind yourself that the person grilling you was once in the same place you are in now.

To avoid being nervous, prepare for your interview. This is why you should practice answering and asking questions with your classmates and friends. The best way to combat anxiety is with thorough preparation.

You're on your way if you're reading these words.

Click Here to View the 2015 LawCrossing Salary Survey of Lawyer Salaries in the Best Law Firms

See the following articles for more information:
 

• 21 Major Interview Mistakes to Avoid at All Costs
• The Best Way to Prepare for a Job Search and Interviews
• How to Talk About Other Interviews in Your Interviews
• How to Answer the Tell Me About Yourself Interview Question
• How to Answer the Do You Have Any Questions for Me Interview Question