You’ve made it through your first and second, maybe even third interview. Human resources has given the hiring manager a thumbs up. Now it’s your final interview and you’re in the home stretch.
What you KNOW: There are people in the organization who really like you. They’ve gone to bat for you because they feel strongly that there is a good fit for you and them to be working together.
What you DON’T KNOW: What’s on the minds of the other people you’re about to meet. You’re job is to uncover any objectives, motives, and personal interests that may get in the way of you getting a job offer.
Your Last Interview is About Removing Any and All Doubt.
These final interviewers know they have the final say. They’ll be evaluating your personal style, how well you can keep up and if you really understand the expectations around the job, and most importantly, how you will support them, aka be a good team player while doing your job exceptionally well.
It’s finding a right balance of fit with the team, their values, and the company’s culture.
Final interviews are about what you can do for them. Here is where you should have your top achievement stories ready, the ones that demonstrate your ability to perform and reassure them, based on proven past performance, that you can and will meet their expectations.
Watch out. Not many are keen to work with a braggart.
You’ll want to demonstrate that you have everything they need to help them build great products, increase sales, strengthen customer retention, whatever it is they need to acheive.
Again it’s about helping them to achieve their goals first, helping them look like heroes with their peers. This is key.
NOTE: Nothing demonstrates your ability to do this better than when you heap selfless credit onto others you have worked with in your past. Stay away from self-promotion
Do your homework. Then do more homework.
You need to find out everything possible about the company and their industry before you go in …If you can, call people in their industry to learn about the company’s strengths and the challenges they face in the market.
During the interview if you already know who their target customers are, and their vision of where they see the company going over the next 3-5 years, you’re already miles ahead of your competition. Segue that into how you can help them achieve their goals and overcome some of their challenges in your first 3, 6 and 12 months … YES! Now you’re really nailing it.
By now you’re dying to find out “what’s in it for me?”
No doubt having a career path and long term outlook is important to you, and I’m sure by now you’re dying to ask some meaty questions around how you’ll be rewarded for doing such a fantastic job for them. Warning – you need to be sure you’ve first reinforced and demonstrated your commitment to being a highly productive member of their team. Only if you feel there is an offer forthcoming should you start asking about what they can do for you in terms of money, career potential, training programs, etc.
By researching the heck out of your prospective employer’s business, and learning everything you can get your hands on about how to help them build their business, you’ll impress the toughest of interviewing panels. They’ll see that you’ve invested time and energy into them, just as you would their customers, without any guarantee or expectation of return.
“Whatever you want, give it away, be it respect, trust, gratitude, commitment, loyalty … it will come back to you in spades only when others see it in you first – goodness of heart, intent and attitude means everything.”
Barbara Ashton is the President and Founder of Ashton & Associates Recruiting.
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