Firstly, if you are reading this having just invited for a second interview, may we say Congratulations! You have done really well to pass the first interview and thereby overcome the first hurdle – now it’s a case of leaving the interviewer in no uncertain doubt that you are the best person for this job.

Whilst in general, a lot of interview advice is very similar, each stage of the interview process can vary and require your preparation to differ slightly. To help you out with this, we have put together some basic Top Tips for Preparing for a Second Interview.

Preparation is still vital

Just as at you did for the 1st interview stage, it is absolutely essential to prepare for this interview. Yes, you have impressed the interviewer thus far, but so too have other candidates. You are extremely unlikely to be the only interviewee at this stage. Don’t lull yourself into a false sense of security and assume that the job is yours. You should again review your CV and the job advertisement and description. Also, try and establish what the format of the Second Interview will be. Will it be a panel interview? If so, who will the interviewers be? Will there be other elements to the interview, such as an aptitude test, presentation etc?

Even think of practical preparation like what you will wear. It is best, if possible, to wear a different suit, or at the very least, a different, shirt and tie or blouse. This may seem irrelevant, but details like this do get noticed.

Update your Company Research

It is likely that a few days or perhaps weeks will have passed since your initial interview. In business, a lot can happen in a short time. Make sure that you again review and familiarise yourself with the company website and see if there are any updates or news articles of interest.
Check out the company’s Social Media sites and see if there have been any changes and do the same for their competitors. Look at industry forums, periodicals and magazines and update yourself with the latest company or market sector knowledge. By showing that you have taken the time to be fully up to date with the latest company information will be showing the interviewer that you are genuinely serious about the job. Check out our previous post on Researching Companies here for some additional tips.

Reflect and learn from your First Interview
Leaving an interview is often like leaving a room after an exam. We look back and wish we had answered things differently, or we remember things we should have said and had forgotten to. The good thing about a Second Interview is that you are effectively being given an opportunity to remedy that. If there were questions that you struggled with, or that you felt you could have answered better, then spend time planning how you will answer them should they arise this time around. If you there were areas that perhaps your knowledge was lacking in, identify if you can improve that before the Second Interview. It is likely that the interviewer will have noted any potential areas of weakness and may focus on these during your Second Interview. By reflecting on your interview performance, identifying what these areas are and trying to improve them, you will let the interviewer see that you are self aware and that you have in a sense learnt something from the first stage.

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