THE SECOND INTERVIEW

Control It

Decisions are subject to change without prior notice or consultation. Especially if you are a trained JOB HUNTER and do not know the meaning of the word NO.

I closed the last section with the first interview departure followed by the sending of the after interview letter, which says how marvellous you are and what an asset you would be to the company. You have already told your interviewer this several times, and have left documentary evidence in the form of a CV, references and other relevant information.

No matter. Your interviewer's memory is like everyone else's: fallible. It's a bit like a layer cake through which the not so attractive content has to be waded to get to the bit that matters. The more often a layer that is beneficial to you can be injected, the better.

That is why you send letters repeating exactly what you said face to face at interview and in your support material.

When the letter arrives your name and file get looked at again and you, for a fleeting moment, are back at the forefront of your interviewer's mind. The fact that you have written such a letter when no other candidate has will ensure that you are placed firmly on top of the pile when candidates are looked at again and second interview selections made.

Three days later, not one day, two days or four days you telephone your interviewer. You say:

"Mr. Interviewer, I hope you don't mind me calling", (as if you cared)," the reason is to see if my letter arrived in time, before you decided on the short list of candidates for second interview."

What do you suppose your interviewer will be thinking now, at this very moment? All will be confusion. Bewilderment.

Do not even stop to consider. On the other end of the 'phone is someone who, if running true to form, is stunned into silence. Someone whose action could influence the direction of your future career.

Your interviewer can only speculate as to your motives for making the call. You have had an interview, like everyone else; what are you doing on the telephone?

Believe it or not some job candidates consider it to be bad form, not quite cricket don't you know, to try to influence the selection of a candidate for a job. I know this to be true because I have met and spoken to such people.

Sorry pal, we don't live in the world of Bertie Wooster any more, you either want the job or you don't. It's no skin off my nose. I've got a job, the one I want for the time being. It's is up to you to consider what's cricket and what's not.

If you want the job, and are comfortable making unexpected telephone calls, go on to say:

"I'm new to job hunting, just finding my feet. This vacancy is by far the most attractive I've encountered so far. It's a post in which I am certain I could do well, for myself and the company. It's the job I want Mr. Interviewer.

Can you tell me, are you able to tell me if my letter has arrived in time, before you make the selection for the second interviews?"

Interviewer is almost certain to say "YES it has" because, if your timing is right, the interviews were only completed the evening before. If a dialogue develops, so much the better. You are no longer a name on a C.V. with interview notes attached. You are an individual. He or she will recognise your voice, be able to picture what you look like from your conversation, the inflections in your voice, your phraseology, all the things that project your personality.

Above all, you are firmly established in your interviewer's mind, as though you were the last person to be seen.

Close the conversation with:

"Are you able to say when the second interviews will be held?"

If, in the unlikely event the answer is "YES" and a date is volunteered say:

You've got this far, you might just get a date and time. If you do, get a letter off straight away, that evening, confirming what has been agreed.

You have re-stated what has been said before, established the information in your interviewer's mind more firmly than before. You can do no more.

Your second interview should be more relaxed than the first but many of the same rules apply. Code of conduct remains the same.

A couple of days before, ring up your interviewer, find out as much as possible about what is likely to happen, what format the meeting will take, etc.

Get as much as you can on the following:

1. Are you the only one who's been asked back for a second interview.
2. If not how many candidates have been invited back.
3. Who's going to be in on the meeting. Names and positions.
4. Is an offer going to be made on the day.
5. Who has the final say.

There is a problem with 5). Whilst it may have been mentioned early on in the interview process that so and so decides who gets the job, so and so, when the time arrives, may turnout to be the world's greatest procrastinator.

Certain people, a great many people, who find themselves having to decide on the selection of personnel simply find the task too much of an ordeal. They put it off, they ask their colleagues, they ask their wives or husbands. Men are bigger procrastinators than women, but all are guilty of putting the decision off. Very often they live in hope, although they may not realise it, that their Managing Director or immediate superior will take the decision for them, thus relieving them of the task.

Perhaps there is some deep rooted psychological reason for this. Whatever the reason, the condition exists and is the cause of much frustration for the candidate.

Preparation for your second interview should include a session on Google plus any other information you can find.

Any product information, perhaps even a profile of the company should also form part of your armoury. Pick this material up from reception. Ask if none is on display.

The impression you are striving to project is of someone who has done the required homework for the meeting, and possesses as much information as is reasonable without going over the top.

This will enable you to talk intelligently about the company, its products and services, and above all the job.

We must now concern ourselves with the meeting.

The last, but not the least, important of all the activities you have been involved in so far. End of a long chain of events. The last chance you will have to influence the direction that personnel selection will take.

I am going to assume that all necessary preparations have been conscientiously carried out, and skip forward to the meeting. There is no way of telling what format this will take but certain assumptions may be made.

1. There will be more than one person present.
2. At least one of them will be senior to your original interviewer who may or may not be present.

The same rules apply as when a structure is needed but more care must be taken in this situation. If a Managing Director is present who just wants to give you the once over before offering you the job then it is in your interests to remain quietly composed and answer questions when asked.

The likelihood is that the people who are calling the shots at this meeting will be looking for other qualities than your original interviewer.

The first may have emphasised the day to day activities of the job, quite justifiably if the interviewer was a department supervisor or manager. But the senior management people you may now be talking to could be looking further ahead to filling retirement vacancies that are due to come about.

Perhaps your original interviewer was the head of a department, a bit of an incompetent and not very sure of himself.

Perhaps he was hoping to engage a docile type who would pose no threat to as he coasted to retirement. Not an easy jungle to navigate.

Many conclusions have to be drawn in a very short space of time and appropriate action taken.

All you can do is relax and take your time. Nobody ever won Brownie points for babbling. Assess the situation as quickly as possible and play your hand accordingly. Draw conclusions from the information flow, the level of management present, the atmosphere, the body language and any other snippets of information you can pick up.

Keep your wits about you, look out and listen for anything that gives an indication of the direction the interviews are taking.

Don't assume that it will be the same as that taken in your first encounter. Stay non - committal until you are sure of what they want. Bear in mind that the first and most important piece of information required is the sort of person they are looking for to fill the post. If this should be a yes man it's no good you charging in hell bent on reorganising the company structure on day one.

If no structure emerges during the first few minutes then you must introduce one.

It often happens in a situation such as this that everyone is waiting for everyone else to start the ball rolling. Though Managing Directors and Senior Managers are not going to get embarrassed easily, Middle and Junior Managers may.

Spare them the pain. Say something like:

"Mr. Managing Director, you and your Senior Management colleagues have not met me before and all you know about me is what you have read from my CV and other items of information such as the written personal profile."

Do not under any circumstances offer to supply any written material at this point.

If the people in the meeting have not seen your material then TOUGH. The underlings should have supplied it.

Just carry on as though nothing had happened with the words:

"Naturally I assumed you would have seen this, however, no matter. If I may I will tell you a little about myself, so that you may be assured I am sufficiently articulate to be able to converse with your company's customers and visitors."

Don't wait for an answer, press on.

"To begin with, my skills,..........."

Say what you have to say, handle interruptions politely, don't allow yourself to be sidetracked and work up to a close. Take your time.

The close is much the same as at the first interview but as you are addressing a Managing Director or at the very least a Senior Manager you slant your delivery slightly differently.

As at the first interview say how much you would like the job and how suitable you are in terms of relevant skills and experience.

The main emphasis however should incline towards what you can do for the company rather than what the company can do for you.

I do not believe that a letter similar to the one you sent after the first interview would do any good. The chances are a decision would have been made before the post arrived next day.

All that remains to be done now is to toddle off home, or to another interview if you have one booked, happy in the knowledge that you have done all that could have been done. You have conducted yourself professionally and worked your plan. You have behaved like a fully fledged, JOB HUNTER.