INTERVIEW TIPS - Second Interview Questions You Can Expect And How To Answer Them
Posted 8th September 2023 • Written by Tracy Brower, PhD on forbes.com • • • • •
When you get to a second interview, you’re in a positive position to make an impact and secure the job you want. It’s evidence that you’ve passed the first hurdles for the role and the organization sees potential in you. But while it’s cause for celebration, it’s also cause for continued effort, intention and determination.
It’s a tight job market and there is plenty of competition—so your ability to demonstrate your commitment, current skills and future growth will be essential to setting yourself apart and putting yourself ahead of other candidates for the role.
What A Second Interview (Really) Means
When you get a second interview, it means the company sees something in you that they find interesting and see you as a possible match to the job and their culture. It’s an indicator you’re being seriously considered—so you’ll want to make the most of it.
Depending on the job, the second interview could be the final stage of the process, but you’re wise to keep your expectations realistic since there could also be additional rounds of interviews. For any job, there are significant numbers of applicants, so the interviewing process is designed to obtain increasing amounts of information and be increasingly selective—narrowing toward the most ideal person for the job and the organization.
As the pool of candidates is reduced, the number of people you meet with will typically increase. You’re likely to be interviewed by team members and senior leaders as well as HR and your hiring manager. And second interviews are usually longer. They can range in length from an hour to even a full day—as the company seeks to learn as much as they can about you from multiple perspectives.
In the second interview, you’ll be asked to respond to more specific questions which go deeper, are more specific and which are typically tougher.
The bottom line: You’ll have the opportunity to shine with a variety of interviewers, and the process will increasingly seek to dig into who you are and what you’re able to contribute to the organization. You’ll want to research, prepare and plan for the process in order to demonstrate your best.
This is what you’ll likely be asked—and how to respond.
Your Interest in the Role and the Company
You will certainly be asked more about what interests you about the role and the company. Interviewers may ask you questions like these.
- What interests you about this role and about this company?
- Why do you think this role is a good match to your skills?
- Tell me more about what draws you to this job.
You’ll want to be specific about elements of the job that match your skills as well as aspects of the company that attract you—especially based on what you’ve learned in the process so far. Be sure to balance your enthusiasm for the role and the organization. If you overemphasize the company over the job, the hiring leader may be concerned you just want to get your foot in the door of the organization and lack commitment to the job itself.
You’ll also be wise to demonstrate the research you’ve done on the position and the employer, but balance it with an understanding that you will have more to learn. If you come across as presumptuous in what you know about the job or the company, that can be a turn off.
Your Strengths, Weaknesses and Impacts
You’ll also be asked about yourself—in multiple ways. The interviewers will be seeking to learn about your strengths, weaknesses and the impacts you’ve had. Examples of interview questions include:
- In which parts of your last job did you excel? Which were challenging for you?
- What did you enjoy more or less in your last job and why?
- Tell me about a time when you failed or struggled and how you handled it?
- What is your greatest weakness?
- What have you done to impact or improve your previous job or company?
- Tell me about an achievement you’re most proud of.
You’ll want to answer these questions with plenty of detail and examples of your impacts, rather than generalities about your skills. This is the time to provide specifics about what you encountered, how you handled things and the outcomes. Interviewers will be looking for details and they’ll be turned off if you are too superficial in your answers.