Top 5 Hacks to Ace Your Follow Up Interview

By Ray Holder

Share on: 

So you nailed your high-pressure interview at that firm you always wanted to work for? Bravo! But there’s another round of questions coming your way - is the anticipation of the follow up interview making you bite your nails?

While initial interviews are nerve-racking, follow up interviews come with their own set of pressures. I can guarantee you that they will be more specific and more intensive because their purpose is to turn a “maybe” into a definite “yes” or “no.” So if you have been called back for a follow up, it means that your potential employers are on the fence about whether or not to hire you.

Here are 5 great tips that will definitely push them over the fence!
 

1. Well Begun Is Half Done

Since you have been called in for a follow up interview, it means that you have already made a good impression and aroused a healthy amount of curiosity. Use this to your advantage and maintain the impression you have already created by coming across as professional and confident.

However, there is no guarantee that your follow up interview will be conducted by the same person. So, keeping this in mind, remember that you need to continue to use the same techniques that you did in the initial interview (in addition to your preparation for the follow up) to create a good and lingering impression.

Porter and Chester, a career school in the Unites States, says that what employers really value are punctual and dependable workers. In your follow up interview, you HAVE to make your interviewer believe that you are just that.
 

2. Don’t Let Your Guard Down

It is very easy to take a follow up interview less seriously. Usually, the environment is less formal, and you will probably be given a tour of the office, you might be introduced to potential colleagues, and in general, you might not feel the pressure of an interview.

Beware! No matter how casual your interviewer or the environment may seem, do not give in to it. Remain professional and keep that formal tone throughout. Remember, you haven’t got the job yet. So your impression still matters, it is still an interview and you are still being evaluated at every step by the interviewer. 
 

3. Quiz ‘Em!

Asking intelligent questions will give the interviewer the impression that you are knowledgeable, and serious about gaining long term employment with the company.

Here are a few questions that you can ask:

  • How many employees work here?
  • What are the company’s short term and long term goals?
  • What is the company doing to achieve these goals?

Do some thorough homework about the initiatives the company has taken on in the past 5 years and ask questions based on that. For example:

  • I can see that your clientele has increased by 30% in the last 2 years. How did you do that?
  • Why did you choose to start outsourcing your writers?

Questions like these are bound to impress the interviewer. It will show them that you have done your homework and are completely dedicated to landing this job.

If you think you have built a good enough rapport with the interviewer you can also conclude with:

  • What has your experience with the company been?
  • What do you like best about working here?
  • What career advice would you give me about working here?

Just because you are being interviewed doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be asking your own questions. In fact, you will come across as focused and keen on getting the job (in a good way, don’t worry) and it may even be the feather that tips the scale in your favor. 
 

4. Sell Yourself

The second interview is where you can really sell yourself. If you try this in the first interview, it may come across as off-putting. But now you have been called back and they already want to hire you. They are just looking for you to give them a good reason.

Talk about specific techniques that you learnt in career training or in your previous job. Talk about your strengths and don’t be afraid to mention specific crises that you have handled elegantly in the past.
 

5. Be Yourself!

All interview tips (just like this one) go on and on about how to come across as professional, intelligent, confident, etc. However, in the effort to do this, people tend to put on completely different personalities altogether! Danger zone! Stay out of it.

The key is to be all those things but still be you. There really is no need to show them that you are something that you aren’t. If you get hired, you will find it hard to keep up that façade and it will begin to affect your work. 

If the interviewer doesn’t like you, as sad as it may seem, that probably isn’t the job for you. In all fairness, you have to fit with the job just as much as the job needs to fit with you.

So there you have it, 5 terrific tips to help you ace that second interview! Good luck.
 

Ray Holder is an independent career counselor. Connect with him on Twitter @holder_ray

 

About the company

The Social Hire team never just do social media marketing.

Is it important to you to increase the digital footprint of your business by utilising digital marketing, but can't work out how to begin?With the professional understanding of our marketing managers working in your business, you can begin to see interaction, brand loyalty and enquiries get better without having to take your team out to spend time on in-depth marketing strategies, or spend money on a internal marketing manager with a view to get results that may not deliver!

The social media marketers in our company are the best in the business at helping our partners enhance their online marketing. We outline and implement cutting-edge social media marketing plans that help our customers realise their organisational objectives and further their social media presence. Our experienced team of digital experts do your social media strategy creation and management in an uncomplicated monthly plan that is cost-effective and is genuinely useful, whatever results you demand from your marketing team.

Our team of managers are a team that assists our partners improve their digital presence by producing online marketing services on a regular basis. Our service is transparent and economical, which ensures that you get a great service and results that make a difference when you utilise our services. We arrange many different marketing services for enterprises from small businesses to large corporations to help make the most of of your company's social media marketing.

You might like these blog posts 5 Small Social Media Mistakes Which Can De-value Your Brand, How to Create a Successful Marketing Team, Case Study Reveals How a Management Consulting Business Can Use Social Media To Generate Leads, and 6 Action Items to Include on your Social Selling Agenda.

  Back to Candidate blogs