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11C h a p t e r

Closing the
Job Interview

The difference between landing a job offer and the employer’s choos-
ing to hire someone else could lie in your close to the interview. You’ve
meted and greeted, and you’ve answered some tough questions. Now,
you need to make a good exit. A simple handshake and the exchange of
a few pleasantries are important—expected traditions to keep in mind.
However, those are not enough to win the interviewer’s consideration.

To complement these conventional practices, consider the following
four strategies:

1. Find out if and when any next rounds of interviews will take
place. This information will give you an opportunity to ask for an invi-
tation to that next round. For example, “I am interested in participating
in the next round. When can I expect a call for scheduling?”

2. Ask the interviewer whether you answered all the questions sat-
isfactorily. In addition, ask outright if the interviewer has any concerns
about your application. You may be hesitant about asking this, perhaps
fearful of the answer, but the reality is that, if the interviewer has con-
cerns about your qualification, you want to know what they are before
you leave the meeting. This may be your only opportunity to squelch
those misunderstandings and misgivings. For example, “Before we call it

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