OCI Interview Tips: How to Prep for (and Survive) On-Campus Interviews
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What are your best OCI tips and resources (on-campus interviews)? With OCI week coming up at different schools, I thought now might be a great time to round up some of our interviewing resources, as well as to ask the readers:
What are your best on-campus interview tips? Do you think on-campus interviews need a different set of skills than regular interviews? What’s the best interview advice you’ve ever gotten? If you’re coming up on OCI week, how are you prepping for it? If you’re on the other side and someone who interviews people for on-campus interviews, what are YOUR best tips?
For my $.02, I definitely think on-campus interviews are a bit different — the stress level is through the roof because you have a ton of them in a very short period of time, plus many of your friends are going through the same experience you are, which somehow normalizes it and amplifies it all at the same time.
That said, I think in the real world, just getting to the interview stage of things is a journey, particularly if you’re more of a generalist and don’t have special skills or clients — so OCI week can be really easy from that perspective.
Plus, in OCI week most interviewers and interviewees have a good sense of a shared timeline, whereas in the real world you may interview and hear back that afternoon — or hear nothing for months. (I’m a weirdo in that I still have really good memories of OCI week, but that’s probably just me!)
{Psst: Do check out our Guide to Interview Suits! Some of our favorite suits are below…}
Our 10 Best OCI Interview Tips
Our Best Advice on Interview Prep…
1. Make sure your resume is up to date and without typos. Save it as a PDF with a clear file name (FirstLast_Resume_2026.pdf). If you tailor it for different firms, keep a dated version for each one, so you always know exactly what each interviewer has in front of them. Bring a few printed copies anyway; someone always asks. I like to have an autogenerated date in the footer of my resume that says “Updated on [date],” so both you and the interviewer always know you’re looking at the most recent version. It’s particularly handy if something changes mid-recruiting, like making law review or a journal, getting your final 1L grades, or landing a new research assistant position.
(In Word, use Insert > Quick Parts > Field > PrintDate, or SaveDate if you usually save your resume as a PDF rather than printing to PDF.)
{related: here’s how long your resume should be}
2. Think about which of your personality traits to highlight. Try to recognize what it is about you that makes you a great catch for an employer. Are you creative, an outside-the-box thinker? A great manager? Someone who pulls teams together? These are the sorts of things that won’t appear on your resume and might not even come up through your references.
Once you’ve identified those traits, sift through your experiences to find examples of those traits in action, because showing is always better than telling. Armed with two or three stories, you’ll be ready for behavioral questions (“Tell me about a time when…”) as well as the questions you can’t prepare for (“What does your resume not tell me?”). It’s a great way to sound intelligent and charming without sounding rehearsed.
3. Research, research, research. Know the firm’s website backwards and forwards, and read your interviewer’s bio if you know who it is. If you’re interviewing with a law firm, search Westlaw, Lexis, or Bloomberg Law for recent cases the firm’s lawyers worked on, and check Law360 and Above the Law for news and scuttlebutt. Have a real answer ready for “Why this firm?” and “Why this city?” You will get both.
4. Work an inside connection. Check LinkedIn to see who you know. Figure out if anyone from your journal summered there. Ask the career office if they know of any alums. A quick email can be as simple as “I’ve got an interview this Monday with ____. Anything I should know?” I once advised a friend to mention a recent case during her interview, and she got the job.
5. Practice, but keep it human. Mock interviews with your career office or a friend are still the gold standard. AI tools can be great for generating practice questions, but never memorize an answer a chatbot wrote for you. Interviewers can tell, and you’ll sound rehearsed in exactly the way you’re trying to avoid.
More Tips for Interview Prep
What to Wear to an On-Campus Interview
A big part of interview prep (and, of course, our specialty here!) is figuring out your interview attire. The short version: a black, gray, or navy suit; an opaque top with sleeves underneath; quiet jewelry; and low heels or polished flats. For the full rundown, including our favorite suits, tops, and shoes, see our post on what to wear to on-campus interviews. You can also check out our Guide to Interview Suits and our roundup of affordable interview suits.
What to Do During the Interview
6. Lean forward. It silently conveys your interest. Avoid crossing your arms (it makes you seem closed off), and keep your focus on the “triangle” of the person’s face formed by their eyes and mouth. If your interview is on Zoom, look at the camera rather than the screen when you’re making a point, and test your lighting, background, and Wi-Fi the night before. (We’ve also talked about how to look your best on Zoom!)
7. Focus on the conversation and answer the question asked. Sometimes a little preparation makes you overeager to steer every question toward your stories. Listen first, then answer.
Tricky Questions in the Interview Room
What to Do After the Interview…
8. Keep detailed notes of who you spoke to, and what you spoke about. I had a friend who kept a spreadsheet during OCI week (a Google Sheet works perfectly!) with each firm’s name, the date of the interview, her interviewer’s name, three quick pros and three cons about the firm, her callback date and logistics, who she met on the callback, and her general impressions from walking around the office. When a firm called, she could pull up everything in seconds.
9. Let unknown numbers go to voicemail, but don’t miss them. Firms aren’t fungible, but after 15 or 20 interviews the distinctions get blurry. Letting unknown calls go to voicemail means you can call back prepared, so you sound professional and 100% interested. Just make sure your voicemail box isn’t full, your greeting sounds professional, and any “silence unknown callers” setting isn’t burying important calls. Recruiters often email first, so check your spam folder too.
10. Send thank-you notes, and do them right. After callbacks, send a short, personalized email to each person you met within 24 hours, mentioning something specific from your conversation (“It was great to hear more about X and Y”). Check and check again for typos. For screening interviews, norms vary by school and firm, so ask your career office what’s expected. And set up Google Alerts for the firms you’re serious about, so you’re up to speed on any news before your next conversation.
More Advice for After the Interview: Dealing with Anxiety, Following Up, and More
- Dealing With Anxiety (Post-Interview Or Otherwise)
- How to Thank Your Interviewers
- How To Thank Your References
- Should You Accept a Job Offer On The Spot?
- All of Our Best Tips on Salary Negotiation (although that may not be an option for a lockstep offer)
Stock photo at top: Deposit Photos / Wavebreakmedia.
I’m going to be conducting OCI interviews for the first time this year (NYC, big law firm, giant high-pressure format in a hotel). I’ve done callback before but this is my first experience with the 20-minute “screener” format. Anyone have tips for both how to get a substantive conversation going in such a short time, and how not to go crazy sitting in the same room all day with a parade of law students?
I’ve done OCI interviews and lots of mock OCI interviews. Try to get to know the person and draw them out – makes for a more interesting conversation than “tell me what you did at this job, that job?” Come up with a few “tell me about a time when” questions. I always ask if they have a law review comment topic yet and then ask them to tell me about it. I try to find out what is going to get them to light up and talk about that.
Having been on both ends of these interviews, I suggest interviewees study up on the firm and show true interest as I did. All too often, interviewees just go through the motions, expecting that they will get a callback. Do not dress provocatively as the firm will not appreciate having you at the firm.
As an interviewer, look for a person who will be an asset to the firm, not a social climber who is looking for their next job. Also, never flirt with your interviewees. This will not go over well if you do not call that person back. Finally, do not date any interviewees, even if they do get an offer, as this will look bad for the firm.
You make alot of sense. I and the manageing partner agree 100% percent! YAY!
Good information, I suggest interviewees study up on the firm and show true interest as I did. All too often, interviewees just go through the motions, expecting that they will get a callback.