I used to do a lot presentation skills training. I always told my clients that it’s important to end strong. I encouraged them to begin developing their presentation by figuring out exactly what they were going to say at the end. The same advice applies to interviews. You want to end strong. That means you have to plan out what you’re going to say as you finish an interview.
This article suggest four points you want to make at the end of every interview.
Just last week I was working with one of my career mentoring clients. He has an interview later this week. The night before the interview he is scheduled to have dinner with several of the partners of the firm with whom he is interviewing.
We spent about a half hour figuring out the points he wants to make at the end of the interview. Then we spent another half hour rehearsing. These rehearsals served two purposes. 1) He got comfortable with the words he will be saying, and 2) we were able to tweak the language until he thought it was perfect.
This is an important part of interview prep that is often overlooked by many people. They research the company. They come prepared with solid questions about the company. They prepare STAR (or as I prefer START) answers to questions they anticipate. But they forget how important it is to end really strong — so they don’t prepare a closing statement.
A strong closing statement will cement you in the mind of the interviewer. It allows you to highlight why you’re the best candidate for the job. Take the time to prepare for your next interview by developing and practicing your closing statement. You’ll be glad you did.
Your career mentor,
Bud
PS: I write this blog to help people create the life and career success they want and deserve. Now I’m going one step further. I’ve created a membership site in which I’ve pulled together my best thoughts on success. And, as a reader of this blog, you can become a member for free. Just go to www.BudBilanich.com/join to claim your free membership. You’ll be joining a vibrant and growing community of success minded professionals. I hope to see you there.
This is a wonderful timely advice for me, so far, my preparation may only think through how should I answer each questions and never think about how to start strong and end strong. I always thought the driver seat is the interviewer. Any example ideas on how to get start strong and end strong? Great thanks Bud!