Questions & Answers in a Final Job Interview
A final job interview can be a very tense time for both the interviewer and interviewee. The job-seeker is anxious to prove himself and land the job he wants. The questioner has gone through several processes to weed out bad candidates and is almost certain that the person in front of her is the optimal choice. A candidate's poor performance will force the employer to start the search again.
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Job Clarification
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If the employer does not ask the proper questions or misses some key information, results can be serious. A prospect could go through all the interviews and testing and appear to be a great candidate. However, if it was never discussed that work must be done on Sunday, and, due to religious reasons, the candidate can't do this, the employee search must begin again from scratch.
A prospective employee who isn't clear whether pay is commission-only or hourly might have wasted much time applying for a job she is not able to perform. The interviewer and interviewee must clarify all important issues by the final interview---including schedule, responsibilities, pay and benefits.
Specific Questions
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Though some information may have been covered in an initial interview, it is possible the employer conducting the final interview wants to hear the information for herself. It is common for interviewers to repeat questions to which they already know the answers, to verify the interviewee is telling the truth.
General questions likely to be asked at the final interview will have to do with the interviewee's experience and skills related to the open position. For example, a company might be hiring someone to train end-users. The interviewer might ask a candidate with an IT background about his experience training others---but not about his network administration or SQL experience.
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Likely Questions
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The interviewer will likely ask for details based on what the prospect has written in her resume and what is written in the job description. If the position calls for knowledge of certain accounting software, the job candidate will be asked---or tested---in the final interview to be sure she is familiar with that software or has used something like it.
An interviewer may describe work situations and ask the prospect how she would react. For example, in a sales position, the employer may ask the interviewee what would she say if a prospective client said they didn't have time to listen to a presentation.
Practicing Answers
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An interviewee can practice answering probable questions of the final interview by making flashcards based on the job description, such as questions about needed skills. The interviewee should be particularly concerned with items in the job description that have not been discussed yet. For example, a teaching job might require using multimedia, but it didn't come up in the first interview. She should write down questions such as, "How have you used multimedia to teach?" "Cite an example of when you successfully integrated multimedia into a lesson," and "Do you think there's a place in the classroom for multimedia; why or why not?"
Mix up the flash cards and put one on the table. The interviewee ought to be able to give a concise, well-thought-out answer to each question as it comes up. She should practice this three or more times a day until every card brings an immediate, well-spoken answer without stumbling or pausing.
Interviewee Answers
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The interviewee should understand the motivation of the interviewer. She wants to verify his skills and experiences to see if he would make a good, responsible, loyal employee, and this is her last chance to check this.
When answering a question, the interviewee should state facts and experiences. For example, the interviewer might ask if the candidate is a creative problem-solver. The interviewee ought to cite an example of a problem, how he solved it and the result of his actions.
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References
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