Use Your Head to Get Your Foot in the Door (26 page)

 

 

 

Second interviews come in all shapes and sizes.

In her book
Tearing Down the Walls
, Monica Langley describes how financier Sandy Weill settled on Robert Lipp for a leadership role at Commercial Credit. Lipp, who was then with Chemical Bank, had signaled Weill as to his availability to make a move, and a successful first interview had taken place. Shortly thereafter, “the Weills invited the Lipps to dinner . . . Knowing full well what was [going to happen], Lipp told his wife . . . that the evening would be the ‘requisite dinner’ to see if Sandy and, more important, Joan [Weill] thought the two men could build a partnership.” For Sandy Weill, his wife, Joan, was an important assessor if Lipp and Weill could team up.

Social settings, far from being relaxed get-togethers, are often critical milestones where a candidate who has passed the first hurdle is eyeballed by a trusted adviser—someone who may not even play an official role in the organization. That’s why it’s so important to gather as much research as you can on important interviewers, their most influential counselors, and how they make decisions.

Generally, your warm-up for a second interview round should be even more rigorous than it was for the first series of contacts. The following pointers list some of the most important preparation pointers.

Carefully review your notes from the first interview round:

Try to find out what other candidates have made the first cut and what particular advantages and strengths they may offer compared with you.

Definitely talk with your executive recruiter, if one is involved, and learn what you can about the company’s reservations and attractions to you as a candidate. You need both to play to your strengths and to address your weaknesses.

Prod the recruiter to learn who are the most important decision makers who will determine if you will be hired or not.

In a second interview, you really need to shine. Many recruiters will ask you if you are a morning or afternoon person and will try to schedule key interviewers to fit with your peak performance hours. If the recruiter doesn’t ask about this and this is a major issue for you, still do your best to have the schedule work to your advantage.

Study the names of receptionists and assistants from your first interview so you can recall them easily on your next visit.

Research the company to see what is new since your first visit.

Are there changes in the roster of interviewers for the second round? If so, why?

Develop a strong, clearly worded, and compact set of reasons why you want to work with this organization in this job and internalize them. Interviewers will be probing for your enthusiasm, commitment, and clear-headed reasoning.

As you look at the list of interviewers, think back about the previous conversations. Recall topic threads from your earlier conversation with each individual to 1. identify themes you can build on in the next meeting, and 2. assure people you felt your first conversation with them was memorable and engaging.

Give your terms and desired compensation and benefits further thought. Reflect as well on your career objectives and advancement expectations. It’s likely someone will ask you more detailed questions about these topics.

Look at your notes from your other second-round interviews in the past with other companies. Some people clutch as the prospect of success increases. Others become euphoric and overconfident. When you
didn’t
succeed in second-round interviews before, what were the reasons people gave you?

In Google, enter the following two terms in quotes: “Dean Tracy” and “Round Two Interview” and you should find the Web address for an important article by Dean Tracy, a California recruiter.

In it, Tracy uses the term
pain-points
to refer to particular stresses the interviewing organization may be under. They could be budget issues, staffing shortages, timetable pressures, or a number of other challenges. I would emphasize that you should be listening very carefully for pain-points in the first round of interviews. In the second round, you should be ready to offer tangible suggestions about how you can immediately help to alleviate pain in an organization.

Tracy also gives some excellent advice on how to prepare the three major ingredients of your “value proposition”: “having a vision/overview for the job, establishing trust with clients and colleagues, and being able to identify and set goals and objectives.”

Never forget you are a salesperson, and the product you are selling is you. You have already succeeded in convincing the prospect that she should consider buying your pitch. You’re now at what salespeople call the closing stage. The more you can persuade the interviewers that they can be confident and at ease in picking you, the greater your odds.