- What does the position entail?
- What do you like and dislike about the position and the company?
- Did you make any mistakes or have trouble answering any of the questions?
- Did you feel you were well prepared?
- If not, what could you do to improve your performance in the future?
Be sure to record the name and title of the person you interviewed with, as well as the names and titles of anyone else you may have met. Ideally, you'll have collected their business cards. Don't forget to write down what the next agreed-upon step will be. Will the recruiter contact you? How soon?
Writing Your Follow-Up Letter
It's fair to say that follow-up letters won't necessarily help you secure the job, but not sending one will most certainly hurt your chances. You should write a follow-up letter immediately after each interview you have, ideally within twenty-four hours. The letter should be brief (no more than a page) and personalized. In your letter you should be sure to:
- Express your appreciation for the opportunity to interview with the recruiter.
- Express your continued enthusiasm about the position and the company.
- Recap your strengths, being careful to relate them to the requirements of the job and the company.
Allow the interviewer five to ten business days to contact you after receiving your letter. If you still haven't heard anything after that time, you should follow up with a phone call. Express your continued interest in the firm and the position, and inquire as to whether or not a decision has been made or when you'll be notified.
In the meantime it's important to keep your candidacy fresh in the interviewer's mind. Send work that intrigued the interviewer (for example, brochures or writing samples). If the conversation during the interview pro-vided any possibilities for follow-up, such as reading an article or book, drop a note to the interviewer mentioning how much you learned from the piece. Or if you discovered during the interview that you share common interests with the interviewer, such as sailing or rock climbing, consider sending the person a great article you just found on the topic. Not only will this ensure that you don't get "lost in the shuffle," but it will help you establish a sense of camaraderie with the interviewer. Though this technique won't guarantee you the position, it certainly can't hurt if it gets the interviewer in your corner!
Taking the Next Step
Don't be discouraged if you don't receive an immediate response from an employer-most companies interview many applicants before making a final decision. Take advantage of this time to contact other firms, and to schedule more interviews, so that if a rejection does come, you have other options open. Continuing to job-hunt and to interview will have been a good idea even if you end up receiving the job offer. Ultimately, you may have a number of opportunities to choose from, and you'll be in a better position to negotiate terms.
If you place too much importance on a single interview, not only are you bound to be unduly disappointed if the offer doesn't come through, you'll be wasting valuable time and energy. So keep plugging away!
Handling Rejection
Rejection is inevitable, and it's bound to happen to you just as it happens to all other job hunters. The key is to be prepared for it and not to take it personally.
One way you can turn rejection around is by contacting each person who sends you a rejection letter. Thank your contact for considering you for the position and request that he or she keep you in mind for future openings. If you feel comfortable, you may want to ask the person for suggestions to help you improve your chances of getting a job in that industry or for the names of people who might be looking for someone with your skills. You may want to say something like "What would you do in my situation? Whom would you call?"
Two cautions are in order: First, don't ask employers to tell you why they didn't hire you. Not only will this place a recruiter in a very awkward position, you'll probably get a very negative reaction. Second, keep in mind that if you contact employers solely for impartial feedback, not everyone will be willing to talk to you.
A well-written thank-you note, mailed within one or two days of receiving notice of rejection, makes a positive statement. When Danny P. was turned down for a position as a publicity director, he quickly wrote his interviewer a letter that expressed his disappointment at not being offered the job, but also his thanks for the company's consideration of his qualifications. The interviewer was so impressed by Danny's initiative that she provided him several contact names to assist in his continued search.
In your letter emphasize an ongoing interest in being considered for future openings. Also, be very careful to use an upbeat tone. Although you may be disappointed, you don't want to put the employer on the defensive or imply that you don't respect his or her decision. Above all, don't give up! Stay positive and motivated, and learn from the process. Success could be right around the corner!
Strategies for Later Interviews
When filling professional career positions, few companies will make a job offer after only one interview. Usually, the purpose of the first interview is to narrow the field of applicants to a small number of very promising candidates. During the first meeting, then, the ideal strategy is to stand out from a large field of competitors in a positive way. The best way to do this is to emphasize subtly one or two of your key strengths as much as possible throughout the interview.
During later interviews the competition for the position will drop off, and employers will tend to look not for strengths, but for weaknesses. At this point you should focus on presenting yourself as a well-balanced choice for the position. Listen carefully to the interviewer's questions so you can determine his or her underlying concerns and try to dispel them. On the other hand, if later interviews are primarily with people who are in a position to veto your hiring, but not to push it forward, you should focus primarily on building rapport as opposed to reiterating and developing your key strengths.
Another way in which second interviews differ from first interviews is that the questions become much more specific and technical. The company must now test the depth of your knowledge of the field, including how well you're able to apply your education and past work experience to the job at hand. At this stage the interviewer isn't a recruiter; you may have one or more interviewers, each of whom has a job related to the one you're applying for. Typically these interviewers will represent your potential boss, professional peer group, or executives who oversee the work group.
The second round of interviews can last one to two days, during which you might meet with as few as several people or as many as fifteen or more over the course of the visit. These interviews typically last longer than initial interviews. For many executive positions you may also have meetings around breakfast, lunch, or dinner. In all cases, remember-you're still in an interview. You may be having a dinner conversation about a recent topic of concern to the industry as a whole-be ready with opinions, and be equally ready to listen and to ask good questions. You may be asked to demonstrate how you'd go about performing some aspect of the job; be ready in case you're presented with a tough problem and asked to tackle it as though you'd already started your first day on the job. Use what you said in the screening interview as an outline (It's gotten you this far!) but be prepared to build on this outline in meaningful ways with more developed details, examples, and ideas.
Usually you can count on attending at least two interviews for most professional positions, or three for high-level positions, though some firms, such as some professional partnerships, are famous for conducting a minimum of six interviews for all professional positions. Though you should be more relaxed as you return for subsequent interviews, the pressure will still be on. The more prepared you are, the better.
