OCIP Questions and Answers
I recently accepted an invitation to join the N & B team. I warned them, and I'll warn you: I rarely have anything useful to say. I'm not very involved with school politics or informed about the larger legal world. My posts will most often consist of random musings about one absurdity or another I've encountered in my travels as a law student and future attorney. If that interests you, fantastic. Glad to have you aboard. Otherwise, please just ignore me. I ignore a healthy portion of the people I've met, so it's totally fair. That's my disclaimer. On we go.
I generally like the feel of ocip interviews. Unlike those in the business world, law interviews tend to feel like a chat with someone you just met at a party or, more aptly, like a first date. They can be awkward, sure, but the questions are rarely substantive, which reduces the B.S. quotient as much as is possible in such situations. Still, a few questions I heard last week did give me pause. Here are my favorites:
"What is the one thing you want us to know that is not on your resume?"
A lot of firms asked me this, even some I really love, so I don't mean to make fun of them. But this question is pretty ridiculous. I put everything I want you to know on the resume. That's what it's for. Anything I say in response to this question is, therefore, post-hoc b.s. Still, I thought of a few good answers, including:
--[whispering] "I'm Batman."
--[rapping] "I...like...big...BUTTS AND I CANNOT LIE!"
--[glancing around and silently mouthing] "They're listening."
"What sets you apart from everyone else we've interviewed today?"
This question basically asks you to be a douchebag. I can't say why I'm better than my classmates, probably because I'm not. Hell, I'm still surprised I got in. So the only real answers to this question are absurd, like:
--"Time and distance."
--"I'm sitting in front of you right now."
--"I want you to hire me."
"Do you have any questions for us?"
This one is a necessary part of any interview, and it may even lead to an enlightening conversation about the firm or its summer program. But it bothers me because it ignores the elephant in the room. The only question I really want answered is the one I can't ask:
--"Are you going to hire me?"
What are your favorite questions so far? How do you wish you could have answered? Sound off below.
I generally like the feel of ocip interviews. Unlike those in the business world, law interviews tend to feel like a chat with someone you just met at a party or, more aptly, like a first date. They can be awkward, sure, but the questions are rarely substantive, which reduces the B.S. quotient as much as is possible in such situations. Still, a few questions I heard last week did give me pause. Here are my favorites:
"What is the one thing you want us to know that is not on your resume?"
A lot of firms asked me this, even some I really love, so I don't mean to make fun of them. But this question is pretty ridiculous. I put everything I want you to know on the resume. That's what it's for. Anything I say in response to this question is, therefore, post-hoc b.s. Still, I thought of a few good answers, including:
--[whispering] "I'm Batman."
--[rapping] "I...like...big...BUTTS AND I CANNOT LIE!"
--[glancing around and silently mouthing] "They're listening."
"What sets you apart from everyone else we've interviewed today?"
This question basically asks you to be a douchebag. I can't say why I'm better than my classmates, probably because I'm not. Hell, I'm still surprised I got in. So the only real answers to this question are absurd, like:
--"Time and distance."
--"I'm sitting in front of you right now."
--"I want you to hire me."
"Do you have any questions for us?"
This one is a necessary part of any interview, and it may even lead to an enlightening conversation about the firm or its summer program. But it bothers me because it ignores the elephant in the room. The only question I really want answered is the one I can't ask:
--"Are you going to hire me?"
What are your favorite questions so far? How do you wish you could have answered? Sound off below.
Labels: OCIP/Employment
posted by Dan at 10:20 AM
16 Comments:
Here is one I from an interview last week:
What is your favorite joke?
WTF was I supposed to say to that? "Knock-knock?"
"I rarely have anything useful to say"
Then don't clog up the space on Nuts and Boalts! I rely on N&B for needed information and valuable insight into my day to day life at Boalt. Every useless post you write is seconds that I can't spend debating the choice between bullets and diamonds on my resume. Please, refrain from writing jokes or, really, from writing ANYTHING other than about how I should interpret the coveted invitation to a firm sponsored dinner.
Dan, I think you either need to be more bland and informative or just plain inflammatory to really cut it on N&B. Don't quit your day job.
If only I had one to quit...
My two least favorite have been "Why law school" and "Why our firm?" The second one is particularly tough and a question that they shouldn't ask unless they pride themselves on being different from other firms. Maybe you want to work for Quinn because they only do litigation or for Cravath because of the prestige, but how do the plain-vanilla megafirms get off asking this question? "Because your firm's name is a string of last names with an ampersand and you pay $160,000" is what I always want to say.
I got: "Would your parents be okay with you living in X city?"
While I said something to the effect of "of course, why wouldn't they be?" & c., I wish I would have said "are your parents okay with you living there?"
(Interviewer ponders transcript for several moments.)
So, tell us about the Ps.
"Name one challenge you've overcome."
WTF? How do you even respond to this? Either 1) you say something sincere and it comes off as just as bland as every other response they get, making you a boring jackass, 2) you say something sincere and you come off as a smug jackass, or 3) you make up a story about how you saved a Bolivian village from army ants with only a spatula, and they give you a signing-bonus Buick, making you a heroic jackass.
I've got a threshold of BS questions I'll BS my way through, and once that threshold is exceeded, I stand up, shake their hand and say "Thanks, but I'm looking for a firm that takes the interview process seriously." And then I steal the guy's coffee mug.
Welcome aboard Dan!
Toney, you're not even doing OCIP. But I hear you - I've had that temptation once or twice.
I had a wonderful experience where I was asked to compare Wisconsin and Cal, but I heard "Wisconsin cows" instead of "Wisconsin and Cal" - needless to say, the interviewers and I had a great laugh when I began to compare the relative merits of Wisconsin and California dairy. I nailed that question...now call me back!
Did you mention that "Good cheese comes from happy cows; Happy cows come from California?"
That, along with a long-winded explanation of just how wrong it is.
"What other firms are you interviewing with?"
The only times I have been asked this question are: (1) By prestigious NYC based firms that are looking for an opportunity to disparage their equally prestigious NYC competitors; or (2) Firms in Silicon Valley looking to make fun of WSGR. I really hate that question.
I haven't been away from Boalt too long to remember OCIP. I'll give you a pointer from the other side of the interview table:
"Do you have any questions for us?"
We generally ask this of potential recruits for two reasons, 1) This interview is boring for us; you are not very good at opening up the conversation (if you just answer questions, that's boring, it's an interview, not an interrogation); 2) We don't think you bothered to do any research about our firm and would like you to say something that will make us think otherwise.
That's not to say that this question is a death knell for your chances of getting a second interview, you still go to Boalt, after all.
9:41. I'm screwed then. I've been asked that question every interview.
You must be very boring, then.
That doesn't mean you're screwed, though. I've seen some down-right assinine recruits coming out of all sorts of schools who still get hired. Most hiring is done on the basis of prestige. The higher Boalt's rank, the more boring you can be.
Hope this makes you feel a bit better, 1:27.
-9:41
9:41: I guess I must be boring too given that I've been asked that question in every single interview. Yet somehow I managed to get a couple of call-backs out of those interviews...
So how exactly does one make oneself "interesting" to a recruiter?
Tks very much for your post.
Avoid surprises — interviews need preparation. Some questions come up time and time again — usually about you, your experience and the job itself. We've gathered together the most common questions so you can get your preparation off to a flying start.
You also find all interview questions at link at the end of this post.
Source: Top 10 interview questions and answers
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