If you make it to the third round in most organizations you are in the running for the job. At this stage you have been qualified for the position. What they are really trying to discern is whether you will work and play well with others. Hiring managers will try to make sure you see everyone who has a say in the hiring decision. (Firms hate rescinding offers almost as much as they hate hiring the wrong person.) If your sponsor within the organization has set you up properly, your candidacy should have so much momentum that you are almost a presumptive hire. Later-round inter- viewers often sense this and go easy on you, if for no other reason than you could be a colleague soon. If you get the same questions again, give the same answers—they worked before. Resist the temptation to elaborate unless you really blew one. By the end of the interview, you should be able to visualize yourself working there. Subsequent interviews, if any, are hope- fully just a formality to getting an offer.
Occasionally, though, an interviewer who is opposed to your candi- dacy will appear on the interview schedule. Interviewers predisposed to be negative usually have a problem besides you. It could be they were left out of the loop, dislike your prospective boss, or are just insecure and threat- ened by your presence. Defuse their hostility by being highly deferential
and emphasize what a team player you are. Smile. A little Dale Carnegie goes a long way.
You should follow up immediately after the interviews. If you get strung along, try not to be dispirited. Make a habit of phoning the hiring manager once a week to check in. If the hiring process suddenly stalls there could be a problem. Sometimes the firm is bringing in another candidate. In other cases, the hiring manager has gotten ahead of the organization and is waiting for the green light to hire. Be patient, not all companies are butter-smooth at hiring.
If all systems are go, they will probably ask you to fill out paperwork or provide references. The names you give them should be “ringers” who have agreed to serve as references; there should be no chance any of them will say something negative about you. Although they will be checked, do not assume your references will be relied upon for making the hiring decision. In many cases, unless you are fresh out of school, your prospective employer will check you out on the sly to get an unbi- ased perspective. If you irked somebody at a prior job, you could get rejected and never know why. To a certain extent, there is nothing you can do to prevent such backstabbing. One countermeasure is to preemp- tively strike by contacting former colleagues and ask them to put in a kind word for you if contacted. Even real turkeys will usually help if you ask. After all, it’s no real effort on their part.
Another method occasionally used to evaluate candidates is the per- sonality test, administered by a psychologist. Do not fear...these things are really hokey and, if you are clever, you can figure out what kind of person the firm would like you to be and answer the questions accordingly. Also, credit reports may be pulled to see if you have deadbeat tendencies (if yours is in bad shape, or you think it might be, see “How to correct your credit report”). Recent grads should be mindful not to exaggerate grades— transcripts are easily obtainable.
Should you get to the offer stage, remember: If you don’t ask, you won’t get. Profitable firms did not get that way by always offering the maximum they could pay. Be honest about your salary requirements, but don’t insult them with an outrageous number. Once you come to terms, get the offer in writing. In no case should you feel pressured into accept- ing. (So-called exploding offers that expire in a few days are degrading and should not be tolerated by experienced hires.) If the offer letter is not to your liking, explain why and request changes. You may be surprised that economic factors are easier for big firms to negotiate than non-economic ones. The reverse is generally true for smaller firms, where a higher quality of life and stock options can make up for lower salaries.
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Sometimes plain old luck is the key. We are reminded of the true story of a fellow coming out of college with outstanding grades. He went through on-campus interviews and several on-site interviews with a major bank, was offered a position, and accepted. After he had been on the job a few weeks, his supervisor informed him that, due to a clerical error, they had hired the wrong person by mistake. The good news was that he was doing so well he could keep his job.