I submitted my resume online for a position in a California office and was contacted via email within a few days by someone in their Houston office to set up an initial phone interview. The phone interview was very easy; it lasted about 10 minutes and mostly consisted of questions regarding my resume, work experience and schooling. The interviewer was very pleasant and let me know that they were still in the process of defining the position, the definition of which would determine the likelihood of my progression in the hiring process. About a week later, I received an email from the interviewer saying they needed someone with more experience, so I would not be needed. The next day, I got an email from the hiring manager in the California office asking to set up an in-person interview. Clearly there was some sort of lack of communication going on within the firm. This impression was confirmed during my in-person interview a few days later. The hiring manager was very friendly and we talked for about half an hour. She asked more questions about my work experience and told me more about the firm. She tried hard to impress upon me the utter boredom of the job and the extreme number of overtime hours that would be expected, should I be hired. She also stressed that there was a regrettable lack of efficiency in the upper levels of the firm and a lot of unnecessary bureaucratic red tape, as something of an explanation for the conflicting messages I received regarding the in-person interview. I appreciated her honesty but wondered if she was trying to warn me away tacitly. After speaking with the hiring manager, I was led to an empty office room to talk with the paralegal who would directly supervise the position for which I was interviewing. She was nice but completely unprepared and asked me awkward situational questions about workplace scenarios for about 20-25 minutes. Then she left me in the room and two of the lawyers came to speak with me for a little bit. The first lawyer was more experienced in the business, and, like the hiring manager, did his part to ensure that I was aware of the utter boredom and monotony of being a Project Assistant, but also the importance of all the boring little things one would have to do. The second lawyer was quite young and just looked at my resume and asked me about my most exciting job experience, and told me he would put a word in for me if anyone asked him. After that, he walked me over to the paralegal's office so she could take me back to the hiring manager, who concluded the interview and showed me out.

The interview process was thorough and involved five rounds over approximately two month. I interviewed with Talent Acquisition, the Manager of Paralegal Services, several Project Assistants and a Paralegal, as well as multiple senior associates and partners. Each interviewer was professional and welcoming, and I appreciated the time they took to speak with me. However, after completing the final round and sending multiple follow-up emails, I did not receive any communication regarding a final decision or any decision at all. The lack of closure after an extensive, multi-stage process was disappointing. Candidates invest significant time and preparation into interviews, and timely communication, even a brief update, would have been appreciated.