8 After the interview
There are some practical steps you can take immediately after an interview.
Firstly, send the interviewers an informal thank you note. They paid you the compliment of inviting you to interview and gave up their time to see you. A follow-up note is not only polite, but reinforces their memory of you. Even if you are not offered the job, other vacancies may arise and you want them to have a positive recollection of you.
If you are not offered the job, telephone or write a letter asking if it would be possible to have some feedback. Not all employers offer this, but if they do, it can provide useful tips for future applications and point you in the right direction.
Also, think about the questions and your answers. Did you do yourself justice? By now, in this course, you are very familiar with the benefits of reflecting on the things you have done, or said, so that you can decide if you want to change your approach in the future. So, conduct your own mini reflective review after each interview. Remember – write it down! The chances are you would have forgotten some of it by the next interview.
Now you have nearly finished this week, it is time to think back to how confident you were about interviews at the start of the week.
Activity 9 Interviews: how do you feel now?
Look back at the notes you wrote for Activity 1 in which you rated your confidence in interview situations.
Do you now feel more confident about tackling different types of interviews?
Rate yourself again. You might also find it useful to jot down any tips from this week you particularly want to remember for your next interview.
Comment
Hopefully you feel more confident as a result of what you have learned and practiced this week. By putting these ideas into practice in the future, you will certainly be able to build on this confidence. Remember to reflect on each new interview situation and to build your skills.
This finishes your work on interview techniques and was the final topic for the course as well. It’s time now to complete this week’s quiz.
7.3 Dealing with difficulties