Second Job Interview Blueprint

Congratulations! You've been invited back for a second job interview.

The good news is most of your competition has been eliminated. The bad news is you'll probably be competing against the top 2 or 3 candidates.

Only one of you will get an offer.

The second interview is where most people let their guard down. They assume--unfortunately for them--that the company must like them a whole lot to go through all the trouble of inviting them back one more time.

The pressure is off. Your ego kicks in. Surely this will be a meet-and-greet affair along with the perfunctory paperwork--and the offer is sure to follow.

The cigar is out of the box and you're looking for your lighter.

Put the cigar back in the box. We still have a lot of work to do.

Prepare just like you did for your first job interview.

Most likely your will meet with your future boss again, but usually in a second job interview you will meet at least 1 or 2 key decision makers above the level of your future boss. They could be Sr Directors, VPs, General Managers, or other executives.

A common interview mistake is assuming the second job interview is going to be more laid back. Often just the opposite happens. From the company's perspective, the second interview is another chance to meet with you to confirm you're the One.

Sometimes executives and higher ups play the role of bad cop to make sure their manager hires the right person. Expect several situational interview questions, and behavioral interview questions.

Tip: Try to find out who you will be interviewing with, and always get a copy of the interview schedule. Do your research to get as much intelligence as possible about the people you will be interviewing with.

Don't be afraid to ask the hiring manager for a little background about some of these people and if he/she has any advice for you going into your interviews.

Sometimes managers will give you valuable nuggets of information including their interviewing style and even a couple of their favorite questions.

It never hurts to ask.

If this manager really wants to hire you, he will want you to do well in your remaining interviews.

I remember one time a manager told me that his boss liked to ask this silly interview question: If you were an object, what would that be?

After we both got a hearty laugh out of that off-the-wall question, we discussed what this director probably wanted to hear...rock, scissors, or paper...yeah...let's play...you go first!

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