Law Schools

The On-Campus Interviews That Sent A Law Student To The Hospital

Take care out there.

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Young woman lying in a medical bed. Hospitalization vector illustration in a flat style. Patient during blood transfusion procedure.What is your worst story of Biglaw interviewing? Well, we asked, and you answered! (Yes, please, keep ’em coming!)

This interview horror story is a reminder to take care of yourself during the interview process. Yes, it’s stressful and the pressure of this once-in-a-career experience can be intense, but your health is more important. And you can wind up in the hospital if you don’t take care.

From a reader:

I wasn’t feeling well going into OCI. I had a sore throat and was tired. But I knew I had one shot with OCI and I wasn’t going to miss it. So I started downing Tylenol and powered through two days of intense interviewing, including dinner (with the firm I ultimately ended up going to) at the end of day 1.

By the end of the second day, I knew I was not in good shape and my throat was still feeling awful. I was drinking liquid Tylenol like it was water at this point. I realized pretty quickly that I was in bad shape and needed to go to the emergency room (this was before the days of CityMD in NYC).

I got to the ER and waited… and waited and waited for a few hours. And while I waited the Tylenol wore off and I slowly became delirious. I remember that when the doctor greeted me, I burst into tears. They pumped me full of fluids and antibiotics. Turns out I had a severe case of strep with a peritonsillar abscess. I was admitted to the hospital and stayed for 3 days.

I cringe now to think of the symptoms I was hiding, and I really hope I didn’t get anyone else sick!

Oof, well if there’s any upside to surviving a global pandemic, it’s that we’re all much more aware of all the germs we could be spreading.

Have a terrible tale to tell about an interview gone awry? Please send it our way by email, subject line “Interview Stories.” We’ll read all the submissions and share our favorites in these pages.

(And remember, as we’ve previously explained, “The ‘horror’ in ‘interview horror stories’ is loosely defined. Stories that are somewhat embarrassing or mildly amusing will suffice.”)

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Earlier: Interview Horror Stories: When Ambition Goes Too Far
Interview Horror Stories: When Tragedy Strikes
Interview Horror Stories: How To Respond To A Raging Racist?
Interview Horror Stories: What Was She Thinking — Er, Drinking?
7 Epic Examples Of On-Campus-Interviewing Fails

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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