No interview for Day 3: First choice firm

[stressedoutrecruitperson]

I first-choiced a firm during my day 2 interview. They kept asking me "what questions I had to make my decision easier" and kept selling the firm. I told them they were my first choice and they did not seem too excited, they were very calm...which I don't know is a good sign. Then they asked me a couple of questions about my resume (which I assume is also not a good signs) but as a response to all my questions, they kept selling the firm. I did not get a day 3 interview though...they told me that I'll hear back from them tomorrow and good luck on the process. Not sure what this means. Did I mess up by assuming the first wanted me? what do I do know? (I have 4 other firms that I'm interviewing) 

[NotasStressed]

I think if they were selling themselves, you are okay. Never read into what interviewers say!

[BlockedQuebecois]

4 minutes ago, TheNCAguy said:

I think if they were selling themselves, you are okay. Never read into what interviewers say!

Could not disagree with this more. Reading into what the interviewers say is approximately 90% of the work of the recruits. 

OP, if it is a firm that conducts day 3 interviews and you haven't received one, it's very unlikely you'll receive an offer. It's time to focus your efforts elsewhere. Generally speaking, being told "good luck with the process" also means you won't be receiving an offer. 

Edited November 2, 2021 by BlockedQuebecois

[lawfacade123]

They might have just started asking you questions to fill the time... Did it open with them asking you if you had questions and you just first choiced them? 

You kind of played your final card which is unfortunate, because unless they give you back first choice you shouldn't be giving it elsewhere and it would be a bit weird to keep requesting meetings when you already gave them FC. I would tomorrow morning follow up if they haven't, express your interest, but maybe poke around and ask whether they'd like you to meet more people or if there's anything else they'd like to know about you. Hopefully they'll either reassure you or cut you loose.

Keep showing lots of love to your other four and request more chats with people. You can't give them FC at this point, but if you get it back tmrw morning you can. Also, it's still very possible to get offers without FCing someone if they a) really like you, and b) you've shown a lot of interest in them.

Best of luck! Keep your head up.  

[QueensDenning]

How do you know you don't have a day three? What if they don't offer the day three interviews until the morning of? I wouldn't count myself out so quickly... 

[lawlawlawlaw]

1 hour ago, QueensDenning said:

How do you know you don't have a day three? What if they don't offer the day three interviews until the morning of? I wouldn't count myself out so quickly... 

Is day 3 for a firm common? 

[QueensDenning]

1 minute ago, lawlawlawlaw said:

Is day 3 for a firm common? 

Seems to be common, yes. But it doesn't seem like many firms have given out their day three offers yet. For someone who knows: If you are invited to a day three, is it really in the bag at that point? 

[OzLaw16]

3 hours ago, BlockedQuebecois said:

Generally speaking, being told "good luck with the process" also means you won't be receiving an offer. 

I'm not sure I'd agree with this, unless the phrase comes directly from the student recruiter or someone on the student committee. I definitely remember being told "good luck with the process" by lawyers in response to thank you emails or even as we were saying our goodbyes at the end of our in-person interview, and I got offers from multiple firms where lawyers did that.

People who are very close to the decision-making (like the student recruitment team or the student committee) are usually quite selective with their words, but partners and other lawyers who aren't as tied to the process don't really use these phrases as codes. Some of them simply say it because they genuinely mean it and think it's a polite thing to say in the moment.

[BlockedQuebecois]

1 minute ago, OzLaw16 said:

I'm not sure I'd agree with this, unless the phrase comes directly from the student recruiter or someone on the student committee. I definitely remember being told "good luck with the process" by lawyers in response to thank you emails or even as we were saying our goodbyes at the end of our in-person interview, and I got offers from multiple firms where lawyers did that.

People who are very close to the decision-making (like the student recruitment team or the student committee) are usually quite selective with their words, but partners and other lawyers who aren't as tied to the process don't really use these phrases as codes. Some of them simply say it because they genuinely mean it and think it's a polite thing to say in the moment.

I agree with this. I read the post as the “you’ll hear from us tomorrow, good luck with the process” as a single comment alongside the decision not to interview them tomorrow (implying a strong lack of interest from the firm). If that’s the situation, I stand by what I said.

But if, as you said, that information came from disperse places, then it’s a very different situation and I agree with you. 

[lawlawlawlaw]

1 hour ago, lawfacade123 said:

They might have just started asking you questions to fill the time... Did it open with them asking you if you had questions and you just first choiced them? 

You kind of played your final card which is unfortunate, because unless they give you back first choice you shouldn't be giving it elsewhere and it would be a bit weird to keep requesting meetings when you already gave them FC. I would tomorrow morning follow up if they haven't, express your interest, but maybe poke around and ask whether they'd like you to meet more people or if there's anything else they'd like to know about you. Hopefully they'll either reassure you or cut you loose.

Keep showing lots of love to your other four and request more chats with people. You can't give them FC at this point, but if you get it back tmrw morning you can. Also, it's still very possible to get offers without FCing someone if they a) really like you, and b) you've shown a lot of interest in them.

Best of luck! Keep your head up.  

I also did this - they opened with them asking you if you had questions and I first choiced them - they had someone call me the night before talking about the firm  

Edited November 2, 2021 by lawlawlawlaw

[PePeHalpert]

51 minutes ago, QueensDenning said:

Seems to be common, yes. But it doesn't seem like many firms have given out their day three offers yet. For someone who knows: If you are invited to a day three, is it really in the bag at that point? 

Not necessarily.  Could be the firm really likes you and is trying to close you and get first choice words from you.  Could also be that there are mixed reviews and they are looking to get more eyes on you to help make a decision.  Generally speaking though, day 3 interviews aren't often offered to candidates who aren't in the top half of the pack.

[pepesilvia]

Do they even do Day 3 interviews? If they don't, then you shouldn't worry. You should probably find out for sure if they do Day 3. Call your CDO in the morning and ask.