If you have been invited back for a second interview then
things are looking good! You have obviously managed to
impress your interviewer in the first place or else you
wouldn’t have been invited back for another go. Don’t get
complacent here though; it is just as important to do your
preparation prior to the second interview as it was your
first. Your interviewer has probably invited you back to get
a little more information about you or it may be that at
second interview stage a more senior member of staff wants
to meet you to ask you some questions. It may have been that
the interviewer has decided that you are the best candidate
in his opinion but needs his superior to meet up with you
and Vito his decision – who knows. Many employers use
recruitment agencies to carry out the first set of
interviews on their behalf to save them time and get a
pre-qualified shortlist of candidates, they will have
briefed the agency as to what type of candidate they are
looking for, qualifications, interpersonal skills etc, etc
so this interview may be the first opportunity you have
actually had to meet your potential new boss. If you have
not already sat a psychometric test or aptitude test then it
may be that this will be a requirement at the second
interview although, again, if this is to be the case then
the chances are that you will have been briefed about it
before you attend your second interview. Sometimes time may
have been against an interviewer at the first meeting and
there may well have been more questions that needed to be
asked so this could be another reason you have been invited
back for a second interview to clarify any outstanding
points that your interviewer couldn’t ascertain in the first
place. Remember that the second interview shortlist may have
several other candidates on it and you’re your interviewer
may want to explore your experience or interpersonal skills
in a more in depth manner. One thing is for sure though if
you have got this far things are looking positive so you
will want to be giving this next meeting your very best.
Your second interview therefore is unlikely to follow the same
format as the first. If another more senior member of staff is
attending this second interview then the chances are that the
interviewer will have already briefed them as to your background
and shared any thoughts or concerns with them however there may
be one or two questions asked that you answered at the first
interview. It could be that there are certain specific areas of
concern that your interviewer has and it may well be that they
will address these questions in a straight manner. There are
going to be specific questions your interviewer is looking to
find answers to or clarification of and they are likely to be
questions aimed at your ability to do the job should they offer
it you or questions based around your past performance with your
present or previous employers. So it’s a fair assumption that
some of the questions will be along the lines of “give me an
example of a project you have undertaken to increase your sales
turnover” or “how did you manage to increase your weekly output
from x to x”. These questions as mentioned are likely to be
aimed at specifics.
It
is fair to say that most second interviews usually follow a more
informal approach than the first interview. In addition, the
chances are you will already have met your interviewer once and
you therefore may feel a little less nervous than on the first
occasion so if you didn’t accept a beverage when it was offered
the first time because you were worried you would throw the cup
up in the air 6 foot whenever you were asked a question, you may
feel confident to accept one in a less informal environment.
Sometimes your interviewer may decide to conduct the second
interview outside of the office in either a pub or restaurant.
This can be done for a couple of reasons – it may be that the
interviewer feels if you are in a more relaxed environment you
will let your guard down and he feels that any questions he asks
you may attract answers that are more truthful as it appears you
are now his friend. Secondly, it could be that your interviewer
wants to assess your interpersonal and communication skills
outside of an office environment – something that may be
relevant to the interviewer if the job role is going to entail
entertaining clients socially. Whatever happens don’t get lured
into a false sense of security, keep professionalism at the
forefront of your mind and only say something you would be
prepared to say if the interview was being conducted back at the
office. If you are offered an alcoholic drink by all means
accept one if you think the circumstances are right (obviously
if you don’t drink you can say so) but try and keep it to one –
alcohol is a natural relaxant and if you do drink too much you
may let your guard down and you might end up saying something
you regret – like telling a joke that was perhaps not really
suitable for the occasion!
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