The Joy of Phone Interviews

After a long period of zero activity on the job front, I finally got contacted for an interview for a job that I think would be great for me. Only it wasn't your typical put on a suit, go down to the office, meet some of the partners-type interview - it was a phone interview. Now normally I like to avoid putting on a suit and going anywhere, so that aspect of the phone interview is definitely a plus. However, if you've been reading this blog for a while, you also know that I am a phone-o-phobe (check out my Five Weird Habits for a greatly-exaggerated and well-intentioned, though overall humerless take on this problem; yes it was supposed to be funny even though in the end it just makes me sound strange).

All that said, I basically approached this interview as I would any other: read up on the company, go back through my old papers from school and see if anything is particularly relevant, read over my resume and see if there's anything I especially want to highlight. I even took the time to try to anticipate what questions they might throw my way: what was the most valuable thing you learned in law school? What is your biggest strength/weakness? Where do you see yourself in 10 years? I felt like I had all the bases covered, and was feeling really confident.

Then the phone rang. It was go time.

After the standard introductions and small-talk, it was time to talk business, and that's where things started going downhill. First, I could immediately tell that the interviewer was about as excited I was to be a part of this conversation. From the first words I just got the impression that I was keeping him from something much more important. Of course, not being a phone guy myself, I was willing to cut him some slack. "Maybe he is just like me," I thought to myself. "That may even give us something to talk about!" Not so much.

Then came the most painful part of the interview by far. I'll try to summarize the best I can:
Interviewer: So, let's take a look at your resume...[papers shuffling around in the background]
Me: OK, great
I: Why don't you just walk me through it?
M: I can do that. Where do you want to start?
I: Just start at the top
M: [anticipating a specific question related to my education/experience/skills]....OK....
[awkward silence]
M: [finally realizing he's not going to say anything] Well, I passed the bar exam in July...
I: Uh-huh
M:...and I graduated law school in May....
I: OK....
And it went on like that. For nearly 15 minutes. I read him my resume, word-for-word (as he apparently read along on the copy I had mailed in), with only the occasional "uh-huh" or "OK" to let me know he was even still on the phone.

Next came the typical interview questions that I had so diligently prepared myself for, but even that didn't go as smoothly as expected. After the questions were finished, the interviewer said to me, "You should really be in corporate law." Now that would be a huge confidence-booster if I were in fact talking to a firm that practiced corporate law, but alas, I was not (I'll decline to mention exactly who I was talking to or what they do as I know it would not help my chances if this information were to get back to them, and I need all the help I can get at this point).

After that, a hypothetical problem. Normally this is a part of the interview I kind of enjoy, as I feel it gives a chance to get creative and show that I'm more than just a name on a resume. However, this one was.....hmmmm......a little off the wall, is the best way I can think to describe it. Again, for confidentiality purposes I won't say exactly what they asked me, but let's just say "out of left field" is an understatement.

Finally was the "do you have any questions for me?" segment. This is another part I typically enjoy in the interview, as I can show I am genuinely interested (if I actually am; here I was) in the firm and that I've actually read their website a few times.
Me: I read on your website that junior associates get to participate in a variety of activities on a daily basis....
Interviewer: [with no laughter, sarcasm, etc, in his voice] Well actually it's mostly the same things day-in and day-out. We need to update the website
M: OK, well what is work like on a day-to-day basis for junior associates?
I: [again, very seriously] I'm a senior associate, so I'm not the right one to ask

Ouch. Fortunately, the phone call ended shortly after that. I did get the "you'll hear from us later this week" instead of the "I really don't think you're right for this job" closing, so I guess that's a good sign. I'm really not getting my hopes up, though. Maybe 50-50. We'll see.

And so goes the great phone interview experiment.