Interview Skills                Second Interview


II. Second Interview:


After the first interview next step is second interview. When employers complete their initial interviews for a job opening, they ask the top candidates back for a second interview before making a final decision. The second interview is also known as the site visit, office visit, or plant visit. A second interview maybe the last step in the process before an offer is made. Both the employer and the interviewee should have specific goals during the second interview.

Employer's Goals:
  • 1. Identifying specific qualities – in the second interview employers will try to determine if you have the specific qualities they are looking for in a new employee.
  • 2. Identifying organizational fit – employers also want to see how others in the organization respond to you and if you fit their corporate culture.

Interviewee’s goals:
  • 1. Interviewee's goals are to view the facilities, meet employees of the organization. You have to determine if the company, the job and the people are a strong fit for you.

There are two categories to take into consideration when talking about second interviews:
  • 1. Structured Interviews – if each interviewer use specific criteria to assess you. One person may ask questions to determine your computer skills or your sales ability. Another one may ask about your educational background.
  • 2. Unstructured Interviews – the interviewer has to make a broad evaluation.

Second Interview Tips:
  • You should treat each interviewer with equal importance, because you may get similar questions but you should make a good impression. You should follow the tips described in the first section (I. Useful Advice And Tips).
  • You should be punctual and well prepared.
  • You should dress appropriately in order to make a good impression.
  • You should be able to ask about the management style of the company and be ready to answer questions about the salary you expect (of course you would have to keep in mind what other employees’ salaries are).
  • You should be friendly, professional and polite at all times (don’t smoke, don’t give away information about the company and so on).
  • You should maintain your confidence, enthusiasm and energy throughout the interview and should take the opportunity to build your professional relations (you could get a lot of business cards for further references).
  • You should be aware of the fact that the interviewer might be more interested in your interpersonal communication skills, some specific technical skills or in your personality at the second interview as he/she wants to know how well you can fit in the company culture. You should be ready to ask more questions as you would have more opportunities to ask them.
  • If you do not receive an offer at the end of the interview, you should ask about the next step in the process. You should consider your own comfort with the job and organization, because each company has a different “climate”.
    So, you may ask yourself some of the following questions about the work environment:
    • 1. What is the work environment like? Calm? Frantic? Stimulating?
    • 2. Do you feel comfortable, does it seem like somewhere you would like to work?
  • You should ask for the job, because no one will give you job, until you ask for it. Do not think that the interviewer knows that you want the job. Let him/her know that you want it.
  • You should write a follow up letter after the interview, because that is also an important part of the interview. If you interviewed with several individuals, plan to write individual thank-you letters.
  • Don’t forget to make each interview a learning experience – after the interview, write down what you have learned.
    You should ask yourself the following questions, because they can help you to improve your skills:
    • 1. Did I present my qualifications well?
    • 2. Did I talk too much?
    • 3. What can I do to improve my next interview?



Interview related links


JOB INTERVIEW TIPS
Some job interview tips are given below, please go through it, that will help you a lot. Preparation and confidence are very important tips. Good preparation always creates confidence. So the important thing to an interview is to be well prepared .

DONT'S
As we have to consider the positive things while interview, also we have to consider the worst interview blunders.

STRUCTURE OF SCREENING INTERVIEW
The screening interview is arranged so that the greatest exchange of information can take place in the least amount of time

HOW TO GIVE JOB-WINNING ANSWERS TO INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Human Resources personnel, professional recruiters and various other career experts all agree: one of the best ways to prepare yourself for a job interview is to anticipate questions, develop your answers, and practice, practice, practice.