Only 2 Things Can Happen After an Interview

You've done the research, applied to the job and you've had the interview. Now what? There are only two things that can happen after an interview.

Number One: they offer you the job.

• This is the pinnacle because you have achieved your objective. Going into any interview, your goal is to be the chosen one and to get an offer of employment
• Once you have the offer, you have the power to negotiate salary, vacation time, start date, schedule, and more. Once an organization decides to offer you the position, you have leverage. They have decided that you are the best candidate, they do not want to re-open the selection process and circle back to a lesser candidate. They do not want to organize another candidate and prepare a new offer. Once they offer you the position, they have completed a task and no one likes to have to re-do a task.
• Then you need to take some time and decide if this position or organization is right for you. Do you like the people you met with, the culture of the organization, is the salary where you need it to be, do you trust the organization, and does it meet your must-have list of requirements?
• You can now relax and decide if you are going to give this organization your most valuable commodity – your time, in exchange for building skills and being paid

Number Two: you will gain valuable interviewing experience and improve your skills.

• You often do not know why you are offered a job or not. Many times it is out of your control based on the company not disclosing what is important to them. The company will have built-in biases and criteria that you might never know about. The number one question in the back of any interviewer’s mind is “will this person fit in with the team?”. This often is a subjective decision based on a 45-minute meeting.
  
• After every interview walk through a checklist of important interview objectives:
  • Was I on time?
  • Did I research the organization and position well?
  • Was I dressed appropriately?
  • Was the interview like a conversation?
  • Did I connect with the interviewer?
  • Was the introduction smooth and comfortable?
  • Was there anything awkward or uncomfortable?
  • What answers did I get exactly right? Write down notes on why it was great so that you can review it before your next interview.
  • What questions did I not answer the way I wanted? For each question that you were not happy with, develop and prepare a better answer. Research and write down notes so that the question becomes a strength in your next interview.

Your research and awareness will direct you to apply for the right job or organization, your networking and resume will get you an interview and your interview will improve your skills or provide you with your next great opportunity.

Your goal is to get the interview and whatever happens after that is a big positive.