Leave a Job Interview in a Manner Which Increases Your Chance of Success
Many times interviewers have seen candidates leave the interview room dejected. They don't know it, but an interviewer can see it in their faces and the interviewer usually knows how they are feeling. They know they could have said something or other to improve their chances of success. Whilst they can't start back over again there are a few job interview tips here to help you regain your confidence.
Steps
- Get the finishing and leaving of an interview correct. It is important that candidates leave the interview room in a positive frame of mind. Whilst they know they could have said something or other to improve their chances of success, they can't start back over again and how you behave in the face of adversity can be reflected in the interviewer's final decisions.
- Know when it's finished. It may seem obvious, but you will know when the interview is over when the interviewer tells you that they have concluded the interview.
- Show what you are made of. This is your opportunity to maintain the same poise and control as when you began the interview. If you are offered the interviewers hand end with a firm, confident handshake (ensure you don’t grip too hard) and a self-assured smile. Even if you feel you could have improved on some aspects of the interview, a self-confident exit can go a long way to salvaging the interview for you. Whether you think it or not you will convey this confidence to the interviewer and you will leave a positive lasting impression.
- Remain professional; remember the job is not yours until you have been offered the post and signed your return copy of the contract! Thank the interviewer for the time that they have afforded to you, say goodbye in a friendly manner and leave the room.
- Leave the interview as if it was an absolute success. Whether or not you feel that the interview was a success or not, it's important that you put it completely out of your mind when you leave the room and only reflect on your performance at a later date. Many candidates do this. When you occupy your mind too much on what you said or could have said it can have a destructive impact on any job interviews you may have in the future. At the very least you should be confident that it has provided you with tremendous experience for the next one. Like all interviews, you must prepare in exactly the same way for any further interviews to follow.
- Reflect on your performance and learn from it. It is suggested that you go back and reflect on the interview a few days later to determine how you performed on the day. Run over the particular areas where you felt you mentioned the wrong thing, gave an incomplete answer or there were things you wished you had said but left out.
- Don’t worry about your performance to the point of beating yourself up. Many people do this after the interview and needlessly beat themselves up and overanalyze every aspect of what was said, or what wasn’t. Remember you may have mentioned numerous valid, relevant points and hit on the main acceptable answers and these are the positive aspects that you should dwell upon. Just take a note of the plus points of your interview, for example, how well you prepared, your interview technique, positive answers you delivered and how you could improve in the future. By doing this you have reflected this on paper and ensures that you don’t forget these aspects for any future interviews.
Tips
- Remain poised and in control.
- Maintain your self confidence to leave a lasting impression.
- Learn from any mistakes, write them down and keep on improving.
- Reflect on your interview a day or two after leaving - not before.
- Remain professional.
