The Second Interview

http://www.careerealism.com/nail-2nd-interview-part-2/

http://www.quintcareers.com/second_interviewing-dos-donts.html

http://www.careereducation.columbia.edu/resources/tipsheets/finding-a-job-second-interview

What, you mean there’s more than one!? Argh, and I was just getting choked up and nervous over having one interview for this job...

The bigger the company where you are interviewing, the more people have a say in who gets hired. And that means the more people want to talk with you, up close and personal.

• Human Resources may want to make sure you’re not a raving lunatic.
• The head of the department or unit may want to know you have the technical skills to do the job at hand, and perhaps to move up out of a beginner position.
• Your immediate supervisor wants to make sure you don’t have B.O., and so won’t be stinking up all the cubicles next to yours.

Okay, some of that was tongue in cheek. But these resources have some solid advice for “what if” situations:

• What if you feel like you didn’t do well enough to be called back for a second interview? What are some good “recovery” strategies?
• What if you were underwhelmed by the interviewer, not sure you want to work for this company? How can you probe to make sure that was a fluke, and not an indicator of a horrible place to work?
• What if you feel like you’ve given it your all, and have nothing more to say? How do you avoid simply repeating what you told the first interviewer—who may well be sitting in on the second interview?