After the Interview
Take Notes
Immediately after a job interview, find a place to sit down and write some notes for yourself. Record the following information before you forget:
- The interviewer's full name and title
- The receptionist's name, and the name of anyone else you met
- What was agreed upon as the next step? When?
- What are the job's duties and responsibilities?
Evaluate Your Performance
Now ask yourself the following questions and write down your answers for future reference:
- How adequately was I prepared for this interview?
- Was there anything I should have known about the company – but didn't?
- Was I dressed appropriately?
- Which questions did I handle poorly? Which questions did I handle well?
- How thorough were my answers?
- Did I illustrate how my knowledge, skills, and accomplishments will benefit the employer?
- Did I ask pertinent questions?
Improve Yourself
Use your answers to help prepare for the next interview. If you're asked knowledge-testing questions during an interview, research all the questions after the interview to verify your correct responses and learn the answers to questions you got wrong or couldn't answer. Search Engines on the Internet are a good place to start looking for answers.
If you can't find answers to some of the questions, phone the interviewer to find out, indicating what effort you've made in finding the answers yourself. Employers are usually happy to answer questions but they also appreciate people who show initiative in searching for answers themselves. It's also true that the more effort you put into searching, the more likely you are to remember what you find.
Write a Thank You Letter
Always do this after every interview, preferably as soon as you get home.