Cringiest thing you’ve ever done in an interview
since we are on quarantine, why not get a couple of laughs/cringes in. wondering your guys’ cringiest things you’ve ever done or said in an interview.
for me, it was more of a coffee chat at a top bank. I was really tryna vibe with the person I was talking to and tried to come off as bro-y as he was kind of bro-y. anyway, I’ve said “oh shit” at least 5 times. but the worst was when we concluded the call. I said “this was a dope ass talk - I’ll catch ya soon!”
needless to say, I never got a first round.
Alumni Managing Director organized a coffee chat with me and a few other prospective summer analysts. I asked "What pieces of advice would you give to your sophomore year college self".
MD said "Hmmm let me think"
I was trying to be funny and said "Drink and party less" which is a frequent answer from younger IBers
he gave me a strange look and said he didn't drink in college
At the end of the day got an offer as worked ass off, but funny in hindsight.
I go to a non-target "party school" and I get the opposite response when I asked that question.
They would just tell me I go to a fun school and just have more fun and party more while it lasts.
Had informal chats with some members at the office I was recruiting for. After I left I realized I left my plastic bottle of water on the table.
Came back a few weeks later for the superday. No idea why but halfway through I randomly brought up “hey btw I’m sorry I left the water bottle on the table last time” and the associate just looked at me with a blank stare, and eventually continued
did you get it back?
One of my first interviews - when it got towards the end and he asked me “do you have any questions for me”. I had no idea wtf the job even was and I’d only worked at retail/gas stations before, so I was like “how much do I get paid” and “how many hours do I have to work”
The guy started laughing and hung up
I'm sure you asked pretty unprofessionally, but I do think it's absolutely ridiculous that it's considered unprofessional to ask about pay. Like bruh, I'm here for a job, not to volunteer.
One time at an insight day I misprounounced "liquidity" as "litquidity" and someone started laughing but the director didn't get it. Nobody was explaining it to him so I started explaining it but he didn't quite understand what a meme page was. He had a massive boomer moment but he didn't seem bothered, but it was very awkward for me to explain it whilst trying my best to not sound condescending.
Start of my first ever superday so I'm pretty nervous and I'm introducing myself to an MD:
Me: Hi, great to meet you. How are you?
MD: Good thanks, how are you getting on?
Me: Very well thanks, and yourself?
Classic. Nobody can say they haven’t experienced this at least once.
server: how's the food taste?
OP: great, how about you
family: happy birthday!
OP: you too! (though this one works for me every year since my stepdad has the same birthday as me lol)
Lol this happened to me, and the associate on the other end started chuckling over the phone. I wanted to shoot myself.
Interviewing with a fund for an internship position. Interview went well and on my way out, I say "Well, this was fun" and leave. Ended up being invited for the second round but those are definitely not the last words you want to say after your interview.
I was interviewing for my current role via phone around the end of October and after the formal questions we were just chatting about random things for a bit. The associate interviewing me brought something up regarding the next stage in the process or something similar, I can't recall exactly, but I said something along the lines of "makes sense, it is spooky season after all."
The associate gave a light chuckle and then the call ended. Still got the job though.
PE Firm: "We invest in B+ companies. They have a lot of potential, but have some flaw that helps us buy at a discount (recent managment changes, disruption, etc.). We then work to transform them into A companies over our holding periods, and re-trade at a premium."
Me: "Sounds like my dating strategy."
PE Firm: Awkward Silence "You can go now"
I just can't not see the humor in this. 10/10 would have hired you on the spot.
While funny, it is at least mildly misogynistic (even if in jest)
First time flying to New York to speak with an alumni. The conversation went smooth so at the end we began to shoot the shit and he talks about his time in the frat .
He reminded me of Thad in Blue Mountain State but he was also chill and down to earth, so I thought in order to not come across as a finance robot I should ask him a light hearted question. Well I froze, began to sweat because I was an introverted nerdy kid who never kissed a girl and took 30 seconds to nervously ask " yo uh do you have a strat to crush some puss?" He laughed, asked me if I'm serious and then proceeded to give me advice.
10/10 would not recommend asking an alumni how to crush some puss when you are trying to come across as polished and professional.
I love this answer because it reminds me of how fucking cringe some of the stuff I used to say during interviews with analysts was. Before I realized how important it was to actually be yourself I tried so hard to come off a as a sports guy, as I thought that was crucial (based on literally nothing other than the fact that one of the first banks I interviewed with told me the guys loved drinking and watching some SEC school as a firm). Even used to call one of my friends who actually knew like everything about every team in our home city for key updates before final rounds so I could seem "informed". Ugh let me tell you that I did not come across as a sports guy and I did not receive offers using this strat. Even though I am somewhat nerdy once I just acted like myself offers started coming. Hope my anecdotal experience can be used as a lesson for others, don't pretend to be someone you aren't.
Was heading to a coffee chat with a JPM MD at his NYC office. It was pouring outside so I left with the first umbrella I could find in my apartment. As soon as I walked outside, I realized it was a Guggenheim umbrella that they gave away at their infosession. Felt weird walking into JPM with it, so I concealed the logo as well as I could. Coffee chat went well, but being the dumb fuck I am, I left the umbrella in his office, right by his desk. Needless to say, I did not receive a first round from JPM.
I doubt that's the reason you didn't get the offer.
Don't have a personal one, but I think about this old Dilbert comic a lot:
I worked Back Office Ops at BB remote office in the south (USA.) I was applying to any job I could find both external and internal, as my group was experiencing layoffs every 6 months and my team was an easy target. I did about 5 hours of real work a week…
Anyway, in the most ridiculous 2-hours span:
MD’s first question: “Why are you interested in leaving your current position and team”
Me: “Well I just got laid off this morning”
MD: “………. (Face like he’d seen a ghost)…… Okay”
I think his head was spinning about if he would be getting laid off too.
Went to shake an MDs hand during a superday and my thumb got caught in his palm. We both couldn't believe how bad the handshake was
Two things.
An interview for my first internship in college. I was being interviewed by the managing partner of the firm. He asked how I was doing. I responded, "Crushing it." There was a pause and he ignored it. I somehow got the job.
At a networking event I was having a pretty good convo with an associate at the bank and I say something like, "I had a question about a certain aspect of the coverage group that I haven't been able to ask someone yet." He says, "Okay, shoot." I blank and stand there like an idiot because I forgot my question and coudn't think of another one.
I farted in an interview. It smelled really bad, so I tried to play it off as if it wasn't me by asking the interviewer if he could smell what I was smelling and twisting my face in disgust. There were only 2 people in that room.
Is that onion? onion and ketchup? Okay now the tuxedo seems fucked up.
Most cring worthy story I have was at lunch as an analyst: I was out to lunch with our CEO and a few MDs after a meeting with a client (Eastcoast boutqiue, so I had this kind of access). It is pouring rain and we are in a crowded deli eating a sandwich where everyone is wet as a puddle. I was having some stomach issues, and the line for the bathroom so long it was demoralizing. Trying to prevent myself from exploding, I let some satan hellfire gas from my behind. FYI - it was one of those farts where even I was like, "Oh Lord, that's nasty."
CEO (who is propably the worst human being I've ever met), was about to take a bite out of his sandwich when suddenly he jolts upright in his chair. He instantly knew it was me, turning his head with the most cock-eyed violated look. He locked eyes with me, and didnt have to say anything to communiate - "How dare you." I will never forget this as long as I live and am honestly laughing writing this LOL.
Needed to establish dominance and retort "Those who smelt it, dealt it."
Walked into a closed-list "Day on the Job" MBA informational session at a BB. I thought it was an open invite to anyone from our school. I was publicly escorted out in the middle of the MD's opening speech.
I was at a closed list MBA event at CS. MD gives a presentation. At Q&A some guy asks “to what do you owe your incredible success?”. Italics because that’s how he said it. He actually emphasized incredible.
I chuckled a bit at this obvious brown nosing. A few people turned around and looked at me, but only a few so I figured no biggie. Wrong. I look to the side of the room and the recruiter is craning her neck to see my nametag. I thought no way, it can’t be. But then sure enough she calls over another recruiter and points to me. As we leave the room the 2nd recruiter walks up close to me, writes down my name and walks away.
Wasn’t on that closed list anymore when interviews came around. Who knows where CS would be today if they let it slide
I was at a SA networking event at a bank's offices. We were finishing up in small networking circles. I turned around to leave and immediately ran smack into a glass conference room wall. It made a loud thud, and the bankers rushed over to see if I was okay.
I didn't apply for the internship.
I had a phone interview for an analyst position at a top EB (Evercore/Centerview/Qatalyst). Interview was already going terribly and my interviewer, who was kind of an asshole the entire time, asks me a brutal technical.
I had no clue so I just rambled for a minute or so and heard the other end go silent. I thought the call got dropped so I stopped talking for a few seconds, said "hello?", and there was total silence. I said something like "shit, I thought this interview couldn't get any worse". More silence and then the interviewer unmutes and says "I was muted, in case that wasn't obvious..." Most awkward second half of an interview ever.
What a dick. You probably don't wanna work there anyways.
Oh no, I really did and still do want to work there lol
Had final round w/ a PE firm. Last interview of the superday was with HR head of their analyst program, she asks me if i've applied to any other firms. I then list 6-7 other firms that I either had interviews for or was angling to get interviews for. Recruiter said they turned me down because it seemed like I didn't really want the role or some shit. I felt really stupid after that.
"I've applied to a couple of other firms in the space because I'm very interested in doing this after graduation, but based on my conversations/reading I think (your firm) is the best fit for me, which is why I'm really looking forward to moving on in the process." Probably something like that would work better.
I was still in college and had an informational phone call with an MD at a boutique bank. Unfortunately, the phone call got pushed back by him twice prior because of something coming up, and by the time the clock hit the third reschedule, I was at the library cramming up for an exam and completely forgot to prepare for the phone call beforehand.
Now if that wasn't already bad enough, I didn't even bother looking up what investment bankers do. I was fortunate enough to get in contact with this guy initially through a network introduction. Given all the hoopla of investment banking while in undergrad and how glorified it is, my naive a** looked at being an investment banker as an equivalent of being fat in the middle ages - people envied you.
In the emails leading up to the phone call, I was told that they gave out an offer (or maybe two) and they're waiting for responses, but there might be room for another analyst next summer. The phone call starts with me fumbling the introduction and accidentally telling the guy that "I appreciate giving you my time" instead of "I appreciate you giving me your time". Uhh. After he shared his background with me, and I with him, he asks me the "why investment banking" question to which I responded with - and I kid you not - "I love reading about the stock market, and I've been actively involved in pitching stocks to my school's Asset Management club, which I believe translates the skills necessary to pursue a career in investment banking." Silence.
"Well, unfortunately that's not exactly what we do". He then explained to me what his team and company do, asked a question about my study abroad (clearly tried to be nice), and the phone call then ended with him telling me that "there might not be a fit at this time because an outstanding offer they already had was accepted."
I hung up completely embarrassed about my absent-mindedness.
And I got a 62 on the exam.
Had an interview booked in with MS. Got 3 missed calls at 9am, I woke up at 11am. Called back and asked if we could re-book. He said okay only if I could tell him a joke. Half asleep (and hungover) the first thing that came to my head was 'what do you call Morgan Stanley? JP Morgan's ballbag (in london, the way MS and JPM buildings are connected, if you look at it sideways it looks like a penis and balls). he laughed, interviewed me straight after and still rejected me :(
went to a networking event at an EB. met this italian analyst and he was so boring. he had no hobbies or interests. i wanted to work for this EB and i thought the networking event was a test so i started to make interests up for him so we could have a conversation. it'd go like this: we talked about his role and etc so he asked me for my hobbies, him: so what are you into outside of school? me: im a big golden state warriors fan and i follow tennis. what are you into? (in the hope we could talk about something we both like for ages) him: ah thats nice, I enjoy reports of companies me: yeahhh i hate the raptors too....
awkward and i left
First interview at my first superday ever. Was asked what my biggest regret in the last two years was. Started having a serious life crisis in the middle of the interview and almost broke into tears. Got the offer tho.
When I first started interviewing as an intern, I didn't really practice interview questions and responses and usually went with the flow of the interview naturally. But I always had a bad habit of over-explaining certain answers too far and seriously forgetting what I was talking about and the question at hand.
One interview, the MD and associate asked some behavioral like "describe an instance where you showed leadership". I began giving my answer and one certain detail sparked a whole new train of thought and I began telling another story without realizing nor finishing the original story. I concluded with two halves of different examples and the look on their faces was priceless. They must have thought I was on coke or some shit, especially cause I just sat there smiling after, waiting for a response.
I believe that was the 2nd question asked and also the last. I was shown the door and never stepped back in the office again. Wouldn't trade those 19 year old fuckups for anything though.
SA interview w/ BX. Decided to book a study room on campus to do the interview because I knew it would be quiet there. Interview is going fine, and the interviewer looks down at some notes to ask a question. As he does, the lights in the study room go out. He looks back up, sees a black screen and says "Oh...interviewee, are you there?" I pause for about 5 seconds, and reply, "Yeah...fuck."
I knew that I needed to break the silence and those were the only words that came to mind. They were not good words.
I showed up for an interview (one of my first interview ever) like 45 minutes in advance, and everybody from the receptionist to people walking by were giving me super weird looks thinking “what is he doing here so early? Is he homeless or something?”
The interviewer was super annoyed by that too as he anticipated the interview by like 15-20 minutes, was super irritated from the start and treated me like s**t. Didn’t get an offer, with hindsight a blessing.
that's fine i usually go about 30 mins early to take a shit and rub one out, really gets you into the mood and makes you feel like you're on home ground
Taking a dump at the enemies' field is a hell of a way to establish dominance. I 100% back that up.
Pretended to be a left-wing retard since I knew one of the analysts in my interview was one as well.
So, except for the political leaning, you were just yourself?
Final round interview during a Super Day with an EB. Fourth interview in a row on that day, this time with an MD and a Senior VP.
Senior VP: "I see you did housekeeping for a year in parallel to your undergrad. I am really impressed by this."
Me: "Yes, it was my side-hustle to finance studies. I've been polishing the the toilets, now I am looking to move into polishing the slides, you see..."
MD looks like she doesn't believe I've just said that. I don't want to believe that either, but I realize I did. Senior VP just pretends to smile. After very awkward 30 seconds we move on with the interview.
Still somehow got the offer and Senior VP offered to grab a lunch once I start.
does anyone realise that "needless to say, i did not receive an offer" is starting to become a meme lol
Hope that your dad is okay by now.
ok not me but this is my favourite interview story.
At the time I worked in a small company (c.30 staff) and we had only one accountant aka Finance Director. He hated the place and wanted to move. Personal life - early 40s, recently divorced, no children.
So the Accountant goes to another shop and the interview is going great. He is interviewed by HR and an MD and he is a great fit, nails technicals etc. Towards the end of the interview, MD asks typical question to find out more about his motivations.
MD asks “If you could have anything in this room, what would you have?”. And this mad lad answered “I’ll have her - the HR lady. I’ll appreciate it if you leave the room and give us some time.”
HR lady later gave him his info and said they will contact him soon and they will keep in touch.
Mad lad got the offer, decided to reject later.
i love that guy.
Quite a few, mostly going back to when I was interviewing for undergrad intern positions when I was totally clueless, but even some even during my MBA:
IB analyst at midtier IB:
Two interviewers, they're late to interview b/c their flight was delayed, clearly not in a good mood. I try doing the initial chit chat but not getting anywhere with them, stone cold. They then ask the typical "why do you want to work at (crappy midtier IB)." I say something along the lines "well (crappy midtier IB) has to fight for business and I like working hard and being on the underdog team." Interview might as well have ended there.
ER at regional brokerage:
I already had a job lined up, but our career office had a policy that they would blackball you if you cancelled with $200. Get on bus back to hotel and pass out. Never heard back from them so win/win.
Analyst at large AM:
Fly in early and stay at hotel next to their office. Wake up early, very well prepped etc. It's starting to rain outside but I don't have an umbrella and time is getting a little tight so I decide to run for it. Thunderstorm from hell erupts in that one block and I get soaked, I mean down to the bone. I play it cool, nobody says anything and I ended up getting an offer.
Midtier consulting firm:
Candidates invited to pre-resume drop dinner at Mexican restaurant. They invite dozens of people so it's really just to screen out the clueless. Naturally I order fajitas. Of course, this isn't exactly fork and knife type of fare and it made a huge mess during the dinner. I end up looking like a slob. No interview invite.
Top tier consulting firm:
First round interview goes well, typical behavioral questions, I'm riding high. Second guy comes in, midlevel guy from their Mexico City office. Meaningful language barrier and the case has something to do with telecom and was pretty technical. After 10 minutes I get stuck, and he won't throw any bones at all. Keep going in circles for 20+ minutes. At some point you'd think he would get tired of this too and drop some hints, but no.
Top tier consulting firm:
Get random invite via career service office to "learn more about the opportunities at M/B/B and dine with our professionals". Dinner is at a very high end sushi place, so why not. I had no interest in consulting and never claimed to, so spend the entire dinner having fun like I'm at dinner with friends. Other candidates are trying to butter the interviewer up, asking the typical BS like "what is the culture like." Anyways, nothing really awkward but I'm sure everybody involved was trying to figure out WTF my angle was.
Third tier IB:
Not me but worth mentioning. Superday with about a dozen candidates. Candidates rotate between interview sessions, and in between sit in a conference room and wait. One candidate returns from bathroom - must have tried to redo his tie because his collars are still upturned 18th century English style. Nobody says a word to him even though it's obvious this guy looks like crap. Interviewer comes in to grab him and looks at this poor guy like he's a shmuck and says "that's quite the look you have going" and the guy cluelessly thanks him.
Midtier global IB:
Said bank requires an IQ test as part of their process. I schedule the test for Wednesday morning at 8m. I forget and the night before is $1 beer night at my university's local bar and I partake heavily. Wake up at 10am and have an oh shit moment. Call the bank's HR person that is administering the test and make up some excuse, he's cool and tells me to come for the afternoon session. I made it for that but was heavily hungover...I'm sure they thought I was a retard when they saw my score. No interview.
It was a friend’s birthday (at uni) the night before and we got absolutely smashed at a club. I had brought a friend and he and the birthday guy hit it off immediately (one is now in MM S&T, the other is in Tier 2 Consulting) and bought me drinks all night it was unreal.
Anyway - I wake up around 9.45am (no alarm) and just lay in bed knowing that I DEFINITELY had something to do. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it but I can just tell I’m about to have my ass pounded. I realise at like 9:56am that I have a call with a recruiting agency (think Dartmouth Partners/Freshminds) for a budding tech boutique (quite a few £1bn+ deals) at 10am. I jump out of bed and get on my laptop (only in my underwear) and immediately google recent deals on the firm but the deals are between companies that I cannot recognise despite their size.
The phone inevitably rings and I pick up completely distraught. The interviewer asks how I am etc and for some reason but I hesitate then say I’m ‘a bit under the weather’ (ikr). He asks why and I say (whilst shaking uncontrollably) tell him that my friends and I went on an impromptu night out. He pauses then asks if I’m still free to do the interview. My half drunk brain somehow manages to convey “yeah I’m fine don’t worry about it haha” to a combination of about sixty thousand of the most convoluted instances of flowery diction that I am currently attempting to exemplify using this word construction.
We end up going into the interview and he starts asking me shit like ‘why tech IB specifically’, ‘what’s a recent trend in tech markets that will the biggest impact on _____’ etc that I would have been unprepared for even if I was sober. It was a disaster and the most cringe interview I’ve ever had and it felt the alcohol had awakened some dysphemia in me or smthn. The funniest part is I actually moved on the Skype interview and had my best phone interview ever the next day for the firm I am currently going to intern with (American BB). The shit interview definitely was a powerful learning lesson though.
Told an interviewer freshman year about a great short idea I thought I had. Tough way to find out “shorting a stock” doesn’t really mean buying then selling it after a "short" period of time...cringe every time man.
Removed
Hahaha Vikram Pandit at Citi really got you
Not an interviewing mistake exactly but I had the offer for this M&A gig and was communicating with HR over email about some final details like start date etc.. Now a while ago I watched Borat and I have no idea why but I changed my names on gmail to "Azamat Bagatov" after the fat dude from the film and the profile picture to match. I had completely forgotten about it. So the HR was basically emailing Azamat Bagatov from Borat for 2 weeks until my dumb ass caught on and changed it.
When I was in college, I was taking Chinese classes along with my Finance major. One week in Chinese class we learned how to say HaoJiLe, which means “Awesome" but literally translates to "good to-the-ultimate-extreme good" (literal Mandarin translations to English are always oddly funny).
Anyways, that afternoon I had coffee chat with an MD at a second tier IB. He asks me: "Nice to meet you, hows it goin?" I reply: "Good. Good to-the-ultimate-extreme good, actually" and I chuckle a bit.
The MD looks at me with the most confused look ever. I bet that coffee chat only lasted 15 minutes lol.
Over the next few years I matured a bit, continued studying mandarin and actually got a job (at a different bank) because everyone loved my mandarin skills so it paid off. Always funny thinking back on those days though.
Had an interview at a small boutique IB in nyc early in the cycle. I arrive at 8:45 hoping to impress. I was nervous, high on caffeine and was having an urge to take a leak. The HR comes in at 8:50, tells me to have a seat, leaves abruptly out of the office for some reason before I could ask her where the bathroom was (probably outside the office).
Around 9, the MD comes out of his corner office and asks "Hi, how are you doing today?" to which I reply "Thanks, where are the urinals?". There was an awkward silence for a minute there. He gave me directions reluctantly. He was so pissed off that he did not interview me, instead sent one of his analyst to fill his time. I was escorted out of the office soon after.
My first ever interview was with Morgan Stanley, I wasn’t given any insight as to who I’ll be interviewing with, just that I’ll receive a call at 9am on the day.
The interview started and after running him through my CV, he asked me to pick any topic within the markets and for us to have a debate on it. I wanted to pick something that he would have no clue on so it would be fair and wouldn't risk me looking dumb.
Young naive me picked emerging markets commodities and the impact of oil prices on china’s economy. I made it up on the spot as I thought it sounded smart and guessed he was an m&a banker that would have no clue. Straight after saying it, I realised I had no clue either and had nothing to say.
Turned out he was senior research analyst focused on emerging markets and originally from China - he completely destroyed me. I never made it to the second round.
I should start by coming clean. I was on the receiving end of this one rather than its genius author but here we go. A few years ago I interviewed a grad for a researcher role. The interview had gone fine but nothing extraordinary. When I brought the interview to a close and asked the candidate why I should hire him, he replied: "in the words of Kanye West - harder, better, faster, stronger". I hired him on the spot. And then I said "now for your first lesson, these were in fact the words of Daft Punk, who are far more talented".
A long time ago I interviewed at an EB, had 2 of my cringiest moments.
The interviewer's last name was "Stoner." Trying to make small talk, I said "you must have had a blast in college" and gave a huge grin. Still remember the dumbfounded look he gave me.
An MD asked me how I would have built the pyramids. I mentioned the various work streams, one of which is labor. My initial position was "trade education and food for labor." Over 20 minutes, he convinced me that slavery was the best option (which I admitted out loud).
Needless to say, I did not receive an offer.
I was wrapping up a superday at a small shop and after shaking the hands with the founder and the other MDs. As everyone is heading towards the CLEAR GLASS conference room door, I walk head first straight into the door thinking it was open. It was very silent and then I asked the MDs who their contact was for glass cleaning and everyone died of laughter. Ended up getting the offer.
One time I accidentally realized my skirt got stuck in the top part of my thong and I was walking out of my interview and my butt was definitely being flashed!! It was so embarrassing.
definitely got the offer
During my second year as an analyst at a boutique, I went to interview at a regional MM bank. I had my phone on in my pocket and in the middle of my chat with the MD, Siri bursts out “I’m sorry Daddy, I couldn’t understand you.” (I had drunkenly asked Siri to call me daddy sometime back”). It was weird. I didn’t get the offer.
I was a first year PE associate and was interviewing for a role with the strategic investments team of one of the tech giants (Google/Amazon/Facebook). The head of the region I was interviewing for had actually posted on his Linkedin that he was looking to add to the team, without listing any specific requirements, and I reached out to him directly. After a while of coordinating with his assistant, I was able to finally confirm a time for the interview.
I get on the phone with the guy, who must be in his early 40s (I'm about 25 at the time), and it becomes immediately clear that he's not so much as glanced at my resume. I ask him something to the effect of 'what type of person is he looking for for this role' and he responds that he's basically looking for someone to co-lead the region with him, be able to divide responsibility between the 2 of them. He also keeps using the term "Partner," either in terms of designation or that they would be his partner in running the business, who knows, but both don't exactly work for me. Mind you, I was looking for an associate role. He starts asking about my comp structure and how it is broken down into fixed, bonus, carry, other incentives. It's only after this when I explain to him that I'm on a pure fixed + bonus (which is largely fixed as well), that he seems to realize he's basically talking to someone 2 years out of college. The interview winds down rather quickly after that. Needless to say, I didn't get the job and never heard from him again.