You’ve made it to the interview, you’ve done fantastically because you were prepared (had experiences ready to share, did your diligence on the company and had great questions) and you’re just finishing and ready to pack up and go back to your car.

Time to coast it out, and wait for the job offer, right?

Wrong.

Think of the beginning and ending portions of the interview as the delicious bread on a sandwich, and don’t skimp. In other words, you’ve got to end just as well as you started. To do that, you want to end with 3 main things:

1. Ask if they have any questions or concerns that are still unresolved
2. Recap how excited you are for the role
3. Remind them why you’re such a great fit

Ask if they have any unresolved concerns or questions

This is the first thing we want to cover, and we lead with this because it has the potential for “negative” items coming into the conversation, and we want to get negative things out of the way so we can end strong. You never know what concerns or holdups they may have, so the best way to figure that out is to ask! You can tease this out with something like the following:

You: “Thank you again for taking the time to meet with me today. If I could ask you one last question”

            Interviewer: “sure!”

You: “Is there anything you are unsure of, or feel uncomfortable about from today’s interview or my resume that I can clear up before we end?

See how easy that is? The beauty is that this question does two powerful things for you:

1. It gives the interviewer freedom to voice openly any concerns they have about your strength as a candidate. Their concerns could be any number of things, from confusion about something on your resume to questions about your work history, breaks due to COVID-19, concerns about your distance to the office, etc. Whatever their concerns are, it is ALWAYS better to get those out in the open, especially because it may be a simple misunderstanding.
2. If there is nothing, it allows the interviewer the ability to say “no,” which is a powerful tool for priming negotiation. Former FBI negotiator Chris Voss mentioned in his book Never Split the Difference that helping them lead with a “no” primes them with the idea that they are retaining power and will actually help them to be more apt to “give in” to other demands you have later, as they feel less pressure to give in to your demands (or asks).

Once this is out of the way, we are ready to pour on all the happy, positive goodness. Think of it like the syrup on top of an ice cream sundae (who doesn’t want that?!?!). The syrup we’re going to pour on is to recap why you’re so excited about the role and the company, and the sprinkles are reminding your interviewer why you would be such a great asset for the company.

Recap why you’re excited

Removing any concerns about your history or fit for the role and giving them a chance to say “no” opens up the conversation to focus on the positives that came out during your interview. Start by covering all the great things about the role and the company, and why you’re excited. Make sure you mention:

• Things you learned about the company from your research (company growth, how great the culture is)
• What you’ve learned about the team you’ll be part of, and how awesome they are (people, projects they’re working on, etc.)
• Anything else that shows you paid attention to things they mentioned in the interview, and that shows you researched the company and the people you met with that day.

With that out of the way, you’re ready for the last part, which is to

Remind them why you’re a good fit

Remember, at the end of the day the recruiter or interviewer has a single goal in mind: to fill each job with a competent person who will excel in that position and fit in nicely within the company. The whole point of the questions you ask and the experiences you share is to stress that point over and over until they leave the interview thinking “This person is exactly what we’re looking for, and I’ll do whatever we need to get them!”

With that in mind, end the interview doing just that, pointing out how you will make their lives easier by bringing value to the company and delivering on their needs. Speak to the company needs or directives you learned out in your interview and how you’ll help make everyone’s lives easier by delivering those things, and you’ll walk in a good position.

Wrapping it up

The 3 questions above are how to finish the interview in the best way you can and will tee you up for success. They are designed to alleviate any concerns the interviewer may have before helping them see how you will make their job easier by hiring you.

Follow these steps and you’ll leave your interview in a great position!