RUSTING

Was reading Glamour or Elle or one of those rags the other day, and came upon an interview with Barbara Ehrenreich, who has written a new book about the hardships of white collar workers. She said that she thought employers wanted to see passion from their prospective employers, that the passion might be even more important than experience. But, she said, feigning passion is "psychologically corrosive" when you don't mean it.

Which is exactly what on-campus interviewing is all about! I've found out what I'm feeling: psychologically corroded.

I had only one interview today, with a lower-tier firm that nevertheless has done some really good work in the employment realm. It's really a crapshoot, how the interviewer will approach the 20-minute interview. I had one with whom I talked about Student Org #1 the entire time. I put another one on the defensive when I mentioned some bad news I'd heard about his firm, so he spent 10 minutes talking about that. One of the interviews I enjoyed was with someone who was hell bent on covering everything on my resume. Today's interviewer was pretty relaxed: we talked about California, Korean food, the oddness of the interviewing process, why I came to law school, and how humbling it was to see my friends in Korea work so hard for so few opportunities.

At this point, I have my "Why I Went to Law School" speech down pat -- I start them out at Club DOJ, lead 'em to my application in 2001, take a little detour into how lucky I am that Crimson let me defer for 3 years, and then fly into the alleyway in Hanoi where I decided, "What the heck, I'm gonna go" during that trip with The Ringleted One two years ago. Or something like that. It doesn't really answer the question, but no one's challenged it yet.

I approach most of the interviewers with a mix of solemnity, fast-talking BS, and as much irreverence as I could get in. I try to throw in a "And you?" at the end of some answers, so as to elicit some talk from them. With afternoon interviews, I usually start with a sympathetic, "What am I, number 15 or 16 for you today?"

Not counting this afternoon's interview, I am 9 for 9, so it seems to have worked. Again, the market I'm interviewing for is far less competitive than others, but I'm pleased insofar as one is always pleased when The Man pats you on the head (I always was and always will be a people-pleaser). I'm less pleased about the psychological corrosion, of course.