4 Ways to Keep Multiple Job Interviews Straight
Posted September 10, 2014 & filed under Hiring Resources, Interviewing
It’s not hard to get mixed up when you’re juggling multiple job interviews. Many a candidate has referred to an interviewer by the wrong name, showed up at the wrong office at the wrong time, or prepared the wrong responses. Essentially, you’re studying for two tests concurrently that have similar answers and very similar information. Yet if you provide yourself with the right tools, you can keep everything moving smoothly.
1.) Assemble Notes in a Clean & Clear File – Employers can quickly blur together when preparing for multiple job interviews. To keep the lines defined, create a spreadsheet or segmented Word file. Include important names, dates, titles, and any other information (job responsibilities, company values, growth opportunities, etc.) that can come in handy. You can make your list as long or as short as needed.
2.) Keeping Track of Employers – Without a face to place with the name, your interviewers can get switched in your head pretty easily. Beforehand, seek out each employer on LinkedIn. That way, you have a visual to match up with each person’s name and company.
Then, come up with a mnemonic device to keep employers straight. It can be as simple as breaking a person’s name into several pieces (i.e. Mac-In-Tire for MacIntyre) or creating mental pictures that link the interviewer’s name with the company’s name. Creativity will help you keep things straight.
3.) Immediately Set Reminders – Very few things are worse than showing up at an interviewer’s office on the wrong date. The moment you find out an interview’s date and time, make sure to copy it down. Don’t wait until later or your risk following the wrong schedule for your multiple job interviews.
4.) Review the Right Details – Each job interview should have its own specific list of examples and anecdotes prepared. Since no two companies are the same, you shouldn’t be using all of the same examples across multiple job interviews. However, you don’t want to swap the perfect response for one company for the perfect response for another.
Have the gist of your responses to common interview questions written out in advance. Don’t script them, but know enough of the general details so that you aren’t fumbling for words. Then, read it over the morning of your interview. That way, you’re less inclined to get your responses muddled in your head.
by James Walsh
