Closing the Interview on an Up Note

John Krautzel
Posted by in Career Advice


Candidates preparing for job interviews often focus heavily on interview questions and responses to ensure they are accurately detailing their experience, skills and knowledge. You may be forgetting the most important aspect of the experience if you are not preparing to leave a lasting impression. Close out the interview on an up note to show the potential employer that you have what it takes to make a positive impact on the company as a whole.

"Closing" is a common term used in sales to ensure that the customer buys the products or services, but this term is useful during a job interview as well. You want to avoid losing the sale after putting in the time and effort to display your professionalism. An interview is similar to the sales process. Your goal is to sell your skills, personality traits, experience and knowledge base to the hiring manager. Avoid leaving a potential employer's office feeling uncertain; gain confidence with a solid closing strategy.

A crucial element of the closing process of a job interview is to seek out details about the next step in the hiring process. Show the hiring manager that you are eager to get started and that you are confident in your abilities to boost the company's productivity and profits. Provide a brief recap of how you have the skills to work well with the team, the desire to mesh with the company culture and the knowledge to make an impact right away.

Close the job interview with interview questions such as "Can you see me being successful in this role?" to gauge the potential employer's interest in you as an employee. Candidates should also ask questions such as "Can we move me forward to the next step?" when exiting the interview to prompt the hiring manager to provide an indication of the hiring decision.

Candidates who are confident and personable during a job interview are more likely to make a good impression. Prepare a list of questions to ask the interviewer that detail your efforts to research the company, gain knowledge of the products and services of the business, and seek out a solid match for your future. Hiring managers are often seeking potential employees who know what they want and are determining if the job is a good fit for their career tracks as well.

Aggressive tactics during the close can be off-putting to potential employers, which is why it is important to show confidence in an assertive manner without making demands of the hiring manager. Close out the interview by thanking the employer for taking the time to review and investigate your skills, and remain professional even if the interviewer seems uninterested during the job interview.


Photo Courtesy of Voguemarle2010 at Flickr.com

 

Comment

Become a member to take advantage of more features, like commenting and voting.

  • Nancy Anderson
    Nancy Anderson

    @Keith we all believe the same thing as you. Unfortunately that is not the way things work in the HR/hiring world. When you are at the end of your interview, make sure that you have a business card for the interviewer(s) and then ask when you can contact him/her regarding the position. That puts them on the spot. If they really have a job and want to fill it, they will give you a date/time when you can follow up. If they are just fishing and don't really have a current position, they will probably hem and haw and then say that they will contact you. In that case, it's probably best to move on to the next position. Either way, though, make sure that you send a thank you note immediately following the interview. In my experience I have found that a handwritten thank you note works much better than sending a thank you email. It's easy to dismiss an email - one click and it's gone. But getting a hand-written thank you note sent by snail mail shows them that you are really interested. Just some food for thought.

  • Keith M.
    Keith M.

    I believe you are absolutely right in trying to be upbeat and positive during and at the close of the interview. What I have been experiencing lately with my last 5 in-person interviews is that the companies do not get back to you one way or the other regarding the position. I believe that if a person spends the time and energy to interview with a company, the least they could and should do is at least reply with some feedback yes or no.

Jobs to Watch