Final Round

If you have been invited to a final interview, you are a top candidate and should prepare carefully. You need to do some "homework" about the company, prepare and practice what you'll say and plan to sell yourself even more than you have done in previous interviews.

☛ Know Who Will Interview You

☛ Prepare Solutions to Problems

☛ Plan the Right Questions

☛ Prepare to Resist Talking About Salary

☛ Plan to Ask for the Job

The final interviews of top candidates are often with people other than the person who conducted initial interviews. If you have not been told who will do your final interview, ask who will be interviewing you. If it is someone you have not met yet, thoroughly research the title and position in the company and look for information that you may be able to use to build rapport with and impress your interviewer.

Prepare a few questions for the final interview that are designed to reveal any questions or concerns the employer may have so you can address them. For example, ask questions like "Have I said or demonstrated anything today that leaves you with questions about my suitability for the job?" or "At this point, what would keep you from offering me the job?" The response to these kinds of questions will give you insight into what to focus on in your closing statement.

You should feel comfortable laughing in an interview, you will have to be equally ready to get down to business. There are always some areas of the job that you want to be very serious about. If, for example, the role involves working with clients or managing others, you will want to be ready to lay down your experience in a way that inspires confidence. That means using an even voice to describe your qualifications-no nervous giggles.

Once you have reached this stage, you must discuss financial aspects and what salary the company is thinking of paying you.

Needless to say, this matter is best approached very subtly. It should not appear that you are only interested in the financial aspect of the job. In fact, if you play your cards right, the company and the interviewer will ask you what your financial queries are.

Sometimes interviewers can get a little too excited about showing off the office space or talking about the projects you will be helping them with and forget to actually give you a chance to really make your case for the position. After all, they are probably using this as their chance to convince you to take the job if they decide to offer it to you. But for you, this is the last opportunity to sell yourself as the right candidate for the job.

Interviewing is serious business, but that does not mean you can not have a little bit of fun with it. If you get the job, the people that you are interacting with today will presumably be the same people you will be spending eight or more hours a day with. Let them know that you will be fun to be around by smiling when you are speaking with them and even sharing a laugh if the opportunity arises.

Ask for the job at the end of every interview, and especially in final interviews. Practice asking for the job in an enthusiastic and persuasive way, restating what you have learned about what the company needs and how you can meet those needs once hired.

You do not want to seem arrogant. It is a fine line to walk, but one way to do it is to show that you are very self-aware about your weaknesses. The other finalists might have you beat in some areas, so you want to be able to show you are conscious of that and working on it.

The final round interview is typically held in the office you will actually be working in should you be offered the position. It is a way to give you a sense of what you are signing up for, so it is a good idea to show interest in this whole process. That does not necessarily mean vigorous nodding when the hiring manager points out the kitchen or the conference room. A better way to show interest and enthusiasm is to ask thoughtful questions.

Here is how to seal the deal:

☛ Do not Be Afraid to Brag a Little

☛ Know When to Address Your Weak Points

☛ Do not Be Afraid to Ask Questions

☛ Know When to Bring the Focus Back to You

☛ Do not Be Afraid to Laugh

☛ Know When to Be Professional

While many final round interviews will be about your fit with the company or team, they usually still have some technical component to (again) verify your skills. Feel free to show off a bit. Studies have shown that when it comes to interviewing, candidates who show a bit of narcissism actually end up being rated more favorably than more modest interviewees, so do not forget to brag a little.

You may feel that because you have been invited to final round interviews, you must discuss salary if the employer brings it up. Do not be fooled into revealing previous salaries, what your salary range is, what your bottom line salary is or any salary information. Salary discussion and negotiation should be done only after you have received a written job offer. If asked what your salary range is, respond with some variation of "I'm more interested in the best fit in a job than salary" or "I'm open to a fair market salary for my experience and qualifications."

When preparing for a final interview, think about solutions to problems you learned about in earlier interviews. Focus on what you can do for the company with concrete examples of what you have done recently in similar situations. For example, if you learned that the sales team has been under performing and sales are down, prepare some possible solutions to discuss and mention how you've increased sales in other positions.

If asked to add any information about yourself, you should make sure that you once again point out all the positive aspects that make you a good option for the profile. Remember that if you are at the final interview, you have already beaten many people in the race for this position and there are many chances that the final interview is only a formality, as you are already hired and they have only called the final interview for taking documents and other papers regarding your professional life.

Here are some tips for best questions to ask an employer:

☛ Spontaneous questions during the interview

☛ Be ready with set of questions

☛ Tactical questions

Here are more aggressive/direct questions:

☛ Ask for feedback - do they think your background would be a good fit?

☛ Do they think you qualify for the next hiring process?

☛ You may also ask if there's anything else you can do to present your skills for the job.

☛ Ask the interviewer for a business card or contact details.

☛ Ask if you may call or when they will call you.

☛ Share you thoughts - you believe that this is an ideal place for you.

How you format your question may serve you in another important way. If you ask questions that create a picture of yourself working in the job, the interviewer will also take this image in his/her mind.

Because every moment in the interview, including the time in which you ask questions, you actually:

☛ Show your skills, behavior and professional experience

☛ Demonstrate your overall interest in the job.

You must establish with the interviewer the mode (and the desire) to see you again in the next interviewing round. You build the bridge that will bring you to the next step of the process, until you get the job offer.

Here are some questions that show an interest:

☛ You may ask questions that are related to the projects/missions in which the company/team is working on now.

☛ You can also ask questions on duties and responsibilities for the said job.

☛ What are the next interviewing steps - the hiring process?

☛ Are they planning to check your references?

☛ When will the hiring decision be made?

☛ Share the positive things that you know about the company.

☛ You can also suggest sending samples of your work, if appropriate.