Interview Assistant - After the Interview |
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5. After the Interview
1. Send a typed thank-you-letter or email to the individuals with whom you interviewed, preferably within 24 hours of the meeting. Letters sent through the mail will show that you took extra time and care. Using email is recommended in cases when a decision is going to be made quickly and you may be in close competition with another candidate. Your thank-you-email or letter may be what separates you from the other candidate and gets you the job!
2. A few weeks after the initial interview you may get an invitation for a second or follow-up interview. These interviews may last several hours to a full day and may involve testing and socializing.
3. Do not be discouraged if you don’t get an offer after the first few interviews. It’s normal to go through numerous interviews before finally being hired and with each interview you are gaining valuable practice and expertise for handling the next one better.
Follow-up interviews are intended to decide between two or three candidates and usually are going much more into details related to the job position and personal concerns like housing, spouse or children. The employer may outline a problem that the company is currently facing and ask you for suggestions on how to solve it. This sometimes is called a “pragmatic” interview. Remember that most employers not really expect a solution, but they want to figure out how you approach the problem to analyze possible alternatives.
In some companies, you also might face a so-called “stress” interview in which you will find the employer deliberately difficult. Stress interviews may include controversial or political discussions and you should be prepared how to response to actual hot discussed public topics. Try to stay calm and think carefully about your responses. With this interview style it is intended to evaluate your behavior and maturity in difficult situations. Such an interview may come at the end of the day when you are tired and feel most defenseless.
6. Psychological Tests
Pre-employment psychological testing is making a comeback to select candidates for employment. The practice had fallen into disfavor after legislative responses to unfair and discriminatory testing practices, but studies now reveal pre-employment psychological testing to be an excellent indicator of prospective employees' future performance and longevity. Psychological profiling can supplement interview and resume information to give an employer a more complete picture of an applicant’s ability to succeed on the job.
Most assessments measure what is called a “five-factor framework”. Five-factor tests evaluate crucial traits that are present to one degree or another in all personalities: agreeableness, extraversion, openness to experience, conscientiousness, and emotional stability.
In order to prepare yourself for a psychological test, we recommend the best-selling book “How to Master Psychometric Tests” by Mark Parkinson where you can find valuable information on the latest developments in online testing and learn to improve your performance by dealing with nervousness and answering typical questions. A compilation of more than 1000 test questions with explanations can be found in the book “The Ultimate Psychometric Test Book” from Mike Bryon.
You can complete a full psychometric test, looking at your Verbal, Numerical and Abstract Reasoning Ability, and receive a personalized feedback report. To access the test you will need to enter the following details:
Client code: | pfs |
Access code: | masterpsych |
Password: | teamfocus |
Click here to access the test. We recommend using this free tool to become familiar with psychometric or psychological tests and to improve your chances to get the job you want.