Putting the power of job change in YOUR hands
Before a job interview there are a few things that would help for you to know. I recently wrote a much a longer version of this, but for simplicity sake, here is the handy-dandy condensed version — with a few extra tips.
Hopefully this will help you review your pre-interview “must dos” quickly. And feel free to add your own suggestions, ones that will help add to your feelings of confidence and interview readiness.
I just found “why do I get so nervous during job interviews?” among the search terms used to get to this blog. In fact, there are quite a few of you looking for help with job interview nerves. Clearly, being really stressed out by the interview process is not an isolated problem. (To say the least.)
So why do job interviews make us feel really nervous, even if we know we’d be great for the job? A good question indeed. I’ll do my best to come up with some answers. And offer tips to help you fight those annoying nerves that may be keeping you from the job you want.
The situation itself puts us out of our comfort zone. None of us like to give up control to others when it comes to something as important as your career. And almost everyone gets nervous during interviews to one extent or another — sometimes even the interviewer is nervous!
I hope it helps to learn that most interviewers expect you to be at least a little nervous. But for some of us, the mere thought of being on the answer end of an interview question makes our nerves run wild — way beyond a little nervous! And that can be a problem.
Actors are usually told to take their nerves and turn them into performance energy. It would be great if we could do this in interviews. And it’s worth trying. But of course we don’t get to rehearse our exact words the way actors do. For most of us, the only thing we gain from a bad case of interview nerves is a strong desire to run!
Worst of all … as much as we want to gain control of ourselves and our nerves during an interview, the more we try to control our nerves, the less relaxed we are. But of course what we want more than anything during interviews is to relax and just be ourselves.
Luckily there are some things you can do to help. But first let’s answer the question I found…
Hello Ronnie Ann. It’s been nice to read all the advice you have given. Still waiting for job offer to be officially approved seems to be the worst waiting game for many of your readers. And now I am in the same boat.
Here’s my story. I flew in for a the job interview on July 7. And it went very well. My contact there (the hiring manager) tells me that I’m their top candidate. So now we are all waiting for job offer to get the final sign-offs.
About a week later, the hiring manager called and said that he put something together for me that should be a good territory. And it just has to be signed off on. I spoke to him the week after, and he said it is now in financing to be approved. So for now it has been two weeks and still nothing official.
I spoke to my contact again on Monday, and he said that he is still waiting for it to be approved, But once again, he assured me that I am still “their guy”. This has me wondering. Do you think that I have anything to worry about?
It seems like things are going pretty slow. Especially after how quick they flew me in to interview, from when I submitted my resume. That only took 2 weeks.
Another question I had is, how often should you contact the hiring manager to inquire about the progress? One thing I don’t want to be is annoying to them.
~ David
Hi David,
As far as I can tell from what you wrote, all is on track. Internal processes can take weeks — often much longer than the whole initial interview process. Nothing’s for sure of course, but things look good. So relax, have faith, and find something to do in the meantime. Maybe a project or something you want to learn — or anything to keep your brain occupied!
As for how often to contact the hiring manager … there’s no hard and fast rule. In your specific situation, you might send him an e-mail toward the end of next week. Just let him know you’re still interested, and ask if there’s anything more you need to do.
Truth is, at this point they know who you are, so unless you get another offer, give them some time. I once waited about 5 months to find out I was the top candidate. And I only e-mailed them every now and then. 🙂
Good luck! Please let us know what happens.
~ Ronnie Ann
About the author…
Ronnie Ann, founder of Work To the Wise and Work Coach Cafe, bases her real-world advice on her many years as an organizational consultant where she helped interview and hire people, added to a certificate from NYU in Career Planning & Development, as well as her many adventures as a serial job seeker.
[Post updated in 2020]
Job interview nerves. We all get them. Really. So please don’t think you’re alone. Even if you prepared perfectly and have every qualification, it’s easy for doubt to creep in. And for many of us, doubt not only creeps in, it takes up residence in our heads.
But the good news is that you can do some things to help you feel better during the interview — and even beyond. And it starts with the all-important “P” word: PREPARE!
One of the best ways to help tame job interview nerves is to PREPARE. Really take time to follow these steps. They can make a huge difference to the way your mind and body react on the day of the interview. Winging it may sound great, but it can leave you feeling very exposed. [Read more…]
One of the hardest things about job search is the time you spend waiting AFTER a job interview. Sure, the interview itself can be nerve-wracking. Still, at least you’re in there fighting for yourself during the interview. But once it’s over, you’re in the hands of fate — and the all-powerful hiring team.
As I well remember, each day of waiting can feel like a year. So what do you do while waiting to hear back? Here are a few suggestions to help get you through with at least some of your sanity still intact! [Read more…]
Some “experts” will look you in the eye and tell you there are guaranteed ways to ace your job interview. How? By giving the “right interview answer” to job interview questions. Or so they assure you.
Well, please know this: There are no absolutely guaranteed right answers. The interview selection process is far more complicated than that. Luckily, there are some practical job interview tips that can help.
1. Take time to prepare – Find out all you can about the company. You aren’t expected to know everything, but if it’s a public company there is no excuse for at least not knowing their business line(s) and a little about their products.
2. Read the job description CAREFULLY – It will help you aim your answers toward things they are actually looking for. Not that you should simply give them back what they asked for, but you can use the description to help guide you.
3. Know your resume very well – This may sound obvious, but I’ve interviewed people who can’t quickly remember a job I referred to that was on their own resume. Review the order of your jobs, the tasks at each job, and the reason(s) you left.
Also look through the resume to remind yourself of some stories where you found a problem and solved it, came up with a ways to save the company money, etc. A good story that rings true can make a big difference.
In many cases the answer is a resounding “yes”. If they reposted the job, odds are that there’s a very good chance it is no longer available. But there are also exceptions to the rule, which I’ll discuss later on.
Unfortunately, the letter I got from a reader asking me that very question probably isn’t one of those exceptions. Here’s what she wrote:
Hello Ronnie Ann!
I’m actually crying right at this very moment only because I can’t seem to understand why people who do job interviews can be so calloused. [Read more…]
You work so hard preparing for your job interview. Then finally the big day arrives. And you do your best to make a good impression. Before you know it, your job interview is over! And there you are, stuck in the old waiting game,wondering about your chances for a second interview. With no idea what impressions you leave after an interview!
Did I do as well as I could have? What kind of an impression did I make? Could I have answered my interview questions better? What are they really thinking about me now that the interview is over?
Well, I can’t speak for everyone. But for me a job interview is kind of like tasting fine wine…First, there’s the initial impression. The way it tastes while drinking. And the feeling you’re left with afterward. And it’s that very feeling (memory impression) that can make all the difference.
Maybe too bold? Or too acidy? Not yet mature? Too mild-mannered? Possibly too complex? Not complex enough? Worse yet, not memorable at all? Or is it (hopefully) exactly the right blend of characteristics?
A reader asked “how do I know if my job interview went well” Great question. How can you tell a good interview from a bad one? Although you usually have some feeling about how you did, truth is you really don’t know how you did on the interview until you hear back from the employer.
Maybe you’ll get a good-news call soon for another interview. Perhaps even an offer. But maybe just a prolonged silence (while they figure out next steps), that might not be bad news at all. Just really annoying!
Even if the job interview went well, you still might not get the call-back or the actual job. Final decisions are all about fit — and of course depend on the other candidates. Sometimes there are more than one good candidates and so, even if they loved you, you still might not get the job.
I’ve interviewed plenty of people that I liked a lot. Sometimes I even bent over backwards during the interview to help them relax enough to show us their true potential. But, in the end, I also knew enough about the particular job and personality of the place to know when they — even some wonderful candidates — just weren’t the right fit for us.
Can weekly follow-up calls and emails after an interview help get you the job? Is it the best way to get noticed? Short answer: Noooooooooooo!
People wonder what to do after the job interview. Of course, that’s normal. You want to take action and help yourself. But you also don’t want to hurt yourself.
On that point, I just read a comment from one of my readers:
“I still haven’t heard back from them after my job interview and they stopped answering my weekly follow up calls and emails so I just assume they don’t want me. I think that’s rude not to respond to me, but oh well. I will continue applying for more things!”
Of course, my heart goes out to her. But I almost jumped out of my skin when I read how often she was following up with both phone calls AND emails after the job interview. I get that she was just eager to know “Did I get the job?”
But there’s good reason not to do what she was doing. What you do after an interview can count as much as before or during. And she was not helping her case by seeming so impatient and needy.
While I well understand the agony of waiting to hear back after the interview — and do love her positive attitude about moving on to look for the right job — I worry some of you, including this reader, may actually hurt yourself badly with an overly zealous approach.
Bugging a potential employer week after week, no matter how wonderful a hire you might be, is not going to get you the job. In fact, too many phone calls or emails can totally turn off the very people in the company you want to impress.
In most cases, the absolute power of a thank you note to win you the job is limited. Still, saying thank you after an initial interview or even later on in the hiring process is quite simply a smart thing to do. But the question of making it an interview thank you apology for nerves is another thing.
Whether you get those jittery interview nerves or stay calm and cool as a cucumber, here’s a basic tip on post-interview thank you notes: you want them to be short and sweet – a nice reminder of who you are and how well you would fit in with the rest of the company.
And if you do have something extremely relevant to add that will reinforce your value (a new degree, an award you just received, or a congratulations on something good that just happened to the company), by all means include that too.
For most people, the hiring process (and pretty much every aspect of interviewing for a job) triggers what I like to call the post interview temporary OCD blues. Although you want the decision process to move quickly, the time after your interview can feel endless. And brain-twistingly maddening!
I’m sure many of you can recognize the truth in this all too familiar-feeling scene:
“They haven’t called yet.”
I know.
“They still haven’t called yet.”
It’s only been five minutes since you last told me that.
“But I interviewed THREE whole hours ago. Why aren’t they calling me?” [Read more…]
You know the drill. You get the interview. And you ace the interview. In fact, it was the best job interview you ever had. While you don’t know exactly what happens after a job interview, you think you did well.
So you head home dreaming about the job you’re pretty sure you just landed. And then … you wait. And you wait. You wait some more. Until you just want to scream! Maybe you do scream. And rant a little. And even think of all the things you’d like to do to that stupid company you once thought was so perfect for you!
But before you decide the company purposefully designed some sick waiting game to torture you in, take a few deep breaths. And let me take you behind closed doors.
It’s time you learn more about the mysterious steps of the interview hiring process. What goes on inside the secret rooms. And why you aren’t getting any feedback from the company, even though you send e-mails and call them endlessly (please don’t) hoping for even the tiniest clue.
Hard as it is to believe, sometimes there are good reasons — really — why a company’s hiring process takes so long. And why all too often you have to wait forever (or so it seems) before you hear back from an employer. A lot happens after a job interview — including unexpected twists and turns.
Dear Ronnie Ann,
I am looking for a new job and was wondering if you could provide me with hints on how to handle a phone interview. Unfortunately, since we’re unable to see the recruiter, we can’t rely on visual cues.
I just had a phone interview 2 days ago (see: screening candidates) and felt things went well. This is an initial, first phase interview and successful candidates are then sent for an on-site interview. She did say at the end of the phone interview that she would certainly recommend me for an in-person interview and wished me good luck.
How long would it take (if I am selected for a 2nd interview) to receive a phone call?
NB
***
Hi NB!
So glad you asked. This is the third phone interview question I’ve gotten this week. Must be in the air!
In a recent exchange of comments on How to Tell If a Job Interview Went Well, the subject of how soon and how often to call an employer after an interview came up. One of my wonderful readers, CE (who recently got a job herself), was helping comfort someone anxiously waiting to hear whether she got the job.
Speaking specifically to the question of how often to call, CE wrote: [Read more…]
I get all kinds of questions about thank you notes to send out after a job interview. “What should I say in my job interview thank you letter?” “Do I even need to send a thank you after my interview?”
Good questions. Glad you asked. More of your questions: When do I send the thank you note? To whom do I send it? And please please please, Ronnie Ann, precisely what words should I use in my thank you letter even though you don’t know anything about me or the company?
So in response, I offer the following “secrets”: