Second interview - I am nervous

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Anglewannabe

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Well, I must admit, I was quite shocked today. I was told after my interview, I would not hear back until next Monday since both the hiring manager and the HR person would be on vacation this week. Yesterday was a holiday in Canada. Today I got a message from the HR person’s assistant and I have an interview next Monday.

Well… The last time someone called me before they said they would, they treated me like gold and then did not have the courtesy to let me know I did not get the job. I basically sent them an email inquiring and within 5 minutes they sent me the standard we decided to pursue someone else. I know not every company is alike but nonetheless, I have the memory

So I will be meeting with the hiring manager as well as the department head. I have almost a week to pray and think of good answers

Pointers will be appreciated

Angie
 
Anglewannabe said:
Well, I must admit, I was quite shocked today. I was told after my interview, I would not hear back until next Monday since both the hiring manager and the HR person would be on vacation this week. Yesterday was a holiday in Canada. Today I got a message from the HR person’s assistant and I have an interview next Monday.

Well… The last time someone called me before they said they would, they treated me like gold and then did not have the courtesy to let me know I did not get the job. I basically sent them an email inquiring and within 5 minutes they sent me the standard we decided to pursue someone else. I know not every company is alike but nonetheless, I have the memory

So I will be meeting with the hiring manager as well as the department head. I have almost a week to pray and think of good answers

Pointers will be appreciated

Angie
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I am not familiar with other posts of yours, so forgive me if I am suggesting things you already know! 🙂

Read up on the company and become familiar with who they are in the marketplace, who their competition is, etc.

Write down on an index card at least three questions regarding the company and ask those during interview when asked if you have any questions.

Dress like you already have the position.

Give **specific examples **of how you would handle certain situations.

Good luck!!!
 
Put your faith in God… He knows what is best for us and will always do what is best for us. I will keep you in my prayers.

God bless,

John
 
Be prepared to answer a question like:

In a group of the best candidates, why should we hire you?

Your answer should be something positive that they might not hear from anyone else. For example, some contribution you have made such as having walked in the boss’s favorite charity walk/supported a community project or cause that the boss likes, before you ever heard of this boss. Alternately, if you already have samples of your work on their shelves, you can say that they already have some examples of what you have done for them.

The answers about how you’re a faster This or more competitive That or whatever, those should already have been shown in previous resumes and interviews. Now they’re looking for someone who is a good fit to the corporate culture, who “clicks,” who “feels right.”

(In fact, if they don’t ask that question, you should ask and answer it yourself when they say, “Do you have any questions for us?” Alternately you can ask the people interviewing you, "Can you tell me how your careers unfolded here at X Company?" Never walk out of an interview without a question for them!

Prayers and good wishes!
 
Smile a lot! Make very good eye contact and I will pray to St. Cajetan, patron of job seekers.
 
Angie,

They obviously liked you in the first interview, and appreciated the answers you gave.

I would suggest that you don’t overthink things too much or try to predict every possible question that may come your way. Try to go in with a clear mind, rather than one cluttered with multiple rehearsed responses to questions that may not come up, or may be asked in a different way than you anticipate. In all likelihood you’re as well prepared as you can be in terms of potential answers etc. Your goal should be to build good rapport with them, and that means being open to how the conversation flows, and showing that you can fit in well, rather than being scared to death about which questions they might ask and exactly how you should answer them.

I know you’re probably not the most self-confident person naturally, but try to exude confidence (though not arrogance of course). Remind yourself just how good you are at what you do. Have that at the top of your mind when you go into the interview, rather than rehearsed answers regarding your weaknesses, which will sap your confidence.

So I suggest you focus on - building good rapport - promoting your strengths.
 
The_Old_Maid said:
Your answer should be something positive that they might not hear from anyone else. For example, some contribution you have made such as having walked in the boss’s favorite charity walk/supported a community project or cause that the boss likes, before you ever heard of this boss.
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hmm… I would have NO way of finding out the bosses favorite charity. The closest thing I could do to win her over on the personal side would be to ask how her holiday was since I know she is on vacation this week
The_Old_Maid said:
Alternately, if you already have samples of your work on their shelves, you can say that they already have some examples of what you have done for them.
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Sadly, they don’t have samples of my work
The_Old_Maid said:
(In fact, if they don’t ask that question, you should ask and answer it yourself when they say, “Do you have any questions for us?”
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How could I word that in a way that is ‘smooth’. Anything I can think of would be arrogant or akward
The_Old_Maid said:
Never walk out of an interview without a question for them!
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One question I have is ‘Last time we talked about learning the software and there is no course, it must be learned on the job. Is there a test environment I can practice in if ever there is a bit of free time in my schedule?’

The other question is they mentioned a certain terminology in the last interview. I was thinking of saying ‘I was thinking about ‘terminology’ does it mean abc or xyz’

How do those questions sounds. The reason I want to ask them is because I am trying to show I went home and thought about the interview.

But back to why they should hire me. Here is all I can come up with right now

I am a very organized individual who likes to go above and beyond the call of duty. In my current position, the procedures were not written down. I initiated creating an audit check list which is now a departmental tool to ensure all tasks are accomplished. As well, when emails need to be sent out, they go to at least 5 different people. We had 2 different lists and a map of the states (I live in Canada). The map of the states was not broken down into 52 states but 7 regions. I used my negotiating skills and when to the manager of the department who creates the list. I asked if I could make a friendly request to create one big list. I also mentioned that since this would be a big benefit to my team, perhaps if she needed a resource to create the list, we could ask my team lead if I could be allowed to help. She said that since it would benefit her team as well, she would the person who creates the list to combine them but I would have to wait 4-6 weeks. I thanked her and when we received the emails, I thanked her and the lady who created the list.

How does that sound?

Angie

Prayers and good wishes!
 
underacloud said:
I would suggest that you don’t overthink things too much or try to predict every possible question that may come your way. Try to go in with a clear mind, rather than one cluttered with multiple rehearsed responses to questions that may not come up, or may be asked in a different way than you anticipate. In all likelihood you’re as well prepared as you can be in terms of potential answers etc.
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Actually, you make a good point. Here is my plan (which when I was in school worked well before a test). I will spend the next 3-4 days really thinking of good answers so I have some ‘material’ in the back of my mind. My interview is on Monday, so I will spend the weekend having fun and thinking of other things
 
That’s good news. My “second interview” when I got my current job was simply to answer a question or two, fill out some paper work, and be told where to go from there. Good luck!
 
anglewannabe said:
one question i have is ‘last time we talked about learning the software and there is no course, it must be learned on the job. Is there a test environment i can practice in if ever there is a bit of free time in my schedule?’

the other question is they mentioned a certain terminology in the last interview. I was thinking of saying ‘i was thinking about ‘terminology’ does it mean abc or xyz’

how do those questions sounds. The reason i want to ask them is because i am trying to show i went home and thought about the interview.

i think both of those questions are possibly pointing out a negative. They must have already told you that the software will be learned on the job. Just leave it at that. To suggest that you will have free time in your schedule does not sound good. If they are calling you back, they obvious think you are capable of learning how the software works. Leave it at that.

Same for the terminology question. You will learn it once you start there.
but back to why they should hire me. Here is all i can come up with right now

i am a very organized individual who likes to find solutions to reoccurring problems at work. in my current position, the procedures were not written down. I initiated creating an audit check list which is now a departmental tool to ensure all tasks are accomplished.
As well, when emails need to be sent out, they go to at least 5 different people. We had 2 different lists and a map of the states (i live in canada). I asked if i could make a request to create one big list.

How does that sound?
it sounds a bit too wordy. I have edited your own response and changed the wording on one sentence to be more specific in what you like to do. Your previous wording was vague and overused.

angie

prayers and good wishes!
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Best interview advice I’ve ever received: when they ask if you have any questions for them, ask “Do you have any concerns about my ability to effectively do this job?” This sets you up to respond to anything that may be harming your chances. If they say, “Well, we were hoping for someone with a little more experience in X”, you can bring up an internship you had in college that fell off your resume a couple years ago. Or if they say “Well, you don’t have any formal training in accounting”, you can mention a class or two you took in college that relate to the area that they wouldn’t have otherwise known about because you have a biology degree (just throwing out examples).

This impresses decision makers every time.
 
My wife and I have only not received offers two times. Between us we have probably interviewed 50 times. Not only that but my wife is on hiring panels and has been part of the other side of the table hundreds of times (this is probably the best experience for interviewing you can get)
My advice for you is to practice with someone who can feed you common interview questions and a few outside the box ones. “What is your five year plan” can be followed up with “What spirit animal would you be?” (I have been asked that.

A second interview is very good, but one of the two jobs I did not get was because of the second interview. It was all on me. I completely misjudged the situation and went in too confident, too strong, and too opinionated. I nailed the first but bombed the second.
Be loose, be adaptable, and whatever you do, don’t argue! (That can be second nature for some of us) When asked to provide examples, don’t tell them “I can’t because you don’t know the job or situation.” Make it understandable for anyone. Remember that many interview questions are not seeking a specific answer, but rather some indication of the type of employee they are looking for. ( Self starter, vs Team player) A second interview means that someone you will be speaking with WANTS to hire you, so it is yours to win or lose.
 
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Irishmom2:
Thank you for your feedback Irishmom 🙂
 
BlueEyedLady said:
Best interview advice I’ve ever received: when they ask if you have any questions for them, ask “Do you have any concerns about my ability to effectively do this job?” This sets you up to respond to anything that may be harming your chances. .
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I think that is awesome. My only concern is I don’t have the ‘flair’ to pull it off. I will practice a few times and use my judgment if I think I could do it
 
Anglewannabe said:
So this means you don’t want to give feed back on my answers?
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No, it means some of us don’t have any internet and when the lab closes, we have to leave, done or not.

Much of what I mention is what I learned from www.Monster.com anyway … that, and www.careerbuilder.com .
hmm… I would have NO way of finding out the bosses’ favorite charity.
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Many employers have a LinkedIn page, a professional social media community. Not all, of course. If you can’t find a social media page for someone, forget it. You can ask about the company’s community involvement instead of a specific person, if you feel more comfortable with doing it that way.
Sadly, they don’t have samples of my work.
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Is there a third party that would? ("Have you visited Place X since it was redecorated or upgraded / heard of the ad campaign for Product X? That was mine.")
How could I word that in a way that is ‘smooth’. Anything I can think of would be arrogant or awkward."
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Just tell them that, “I heard an interview question that I liked to the effect of, *In a field of strong candidates, why should we hire you? *I respect that I’m up against other good candidates, but I think I’m the best fit because [insert unique and positive answer here].”

Other questions you might ask include,

Where do you see the company in five years?

(unless you should know that already from their publicity – then it should be more like, Your press releases say that the company plans to achieve X within the next five years. I think I can contribute [insert points] toward that goal. What additional aspects do you think are going to be required to achieve X?" Then show how you might be a good fit for that too, either in terms of actual experience or showing that it’s a natural progression toward your mutual goals.)

Also, any time an interviewer asks how you would handle a “problem,” they aren’t necessarily asking how you deal with a problem employee, customer, or obstacle. They may be more interested in how you diagnose potential problems in advance to catch them and stop small problems from becoming bigger ones. They’re asking if you solve a problem by running to tell, or by being the one that others tell, or by being the one that others look to when it’s time to write policy or otherwise shape the corporate culture.

BlueEyedLady makes some great points too, about mentioning strengths and experiences that wouldn’t necessarily make it onto a resume. For example, anyone involved in church and/or their children’s schools may sooner or later do some committees, purchasing, advertising, or other service.

Prayers and good wishes!
 
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