Page 148 - Oscar Adler - Sell Yourself in Any Interview_ Use Proven Sales Techniques to Land Your Dream Job (2008)

SELL YOURSELF IN ANY INTERVIEW

can be sure the company is interested in you. It usually means
that you have passed through to the next, often last step in
the hiring process. A second interview may mean that the
company has reduced the number of candidates to a small
group of finalists, and it needs additional information to make
a decision. Other times, a second interview means that your
candidacy is being given a final stamp of approval and that
negotiations are ready to begin.
In either situation, you probably will meet with the hiring
manager again, and this may be when you meet his or her
supervisor for the first time. In this case, the interviewer who
invited you back will have a vested interest in your perfor-
mance during the second interview. In a sense, your success
or failure will be a reflection of the hiring manager’s inter-
viewing skills. If you have a few private minutes, gently ask
the first interviewer if he or she has any hints or advice for
you when you meet his or her supervisor.
Preparing for the second interview starts immediately
after the first interview is over. Chapter 8 discusses in detail
how to conduct your own performance review after each
interview and includes the “Interview Review Form,” which
has been designed to help you with this postinterview self-
evaluation. It’s vital to know where you stumble, as well as
what you did well enough to warrant being invited back for
a second interview. The review will help you to remember
what you said and enable you to address your weak spots, as
well as reemphasize the benefits that impressed your inter-
viewer the first time around.
If you worked with a recruiter or headhunter, contact that
person too, and go over any trouble spots from the first inter-
view. Ask whether the recruiter has received any feedback
that will help you to prepare for a second interview or if the

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