During and After the Interview

This is incredibly important. No excuses here: set your alarm, plan ahead, get there 15 mins before you have to. Most interviewers treat tardiness as a major red flag, even if you’re only a minute or two late. It’s not actually about wasting a few minutes of their time: when you show up late, they assume that you don’t value their time, or, worse, that you do and simply aren’t that competent. Multiple employers have told us that they would not hire someone who showed up late to an interview.

This is all a little more flexible on Zoom, but you should generally dress up a little bit for the interview. What this means will depend on where you’re working. Go to their website. Can you find any photos of their staff? What are they wearing?

If you’re unsure, err on the side of overdressing. You probably don’t want to wear a t-shirt, but a dress, blouse, or anything with a collar is probably fine. You definitely don’t need to wear a suit.

Make sure you’re on camera, and minimize external noise and distractions in the background. If possible, try to take the call on a computer, not a phone, and make sure you have a solid wifi connection. You want to make sure that the employer is totally focused on you, not on anything else that’s going on. If you’re worried that your background might be a little distracting, try using Zoom’s

blur feature⁠

.

After the interview, send your interviewer a thank you note! It can be pretty short and informal, but make sure to thank them for taking the time to chat, share 1-2 takeaways, and express excitement about the role. It’s usually best if this references the conversation or organization specifically (i.e. that you’re not sending the same generic note to everyone). This really helps — we promise!

We are rooting for you to succeed, and we’re confident that you’ll do really well during the interview, but it’s definitely possible that you won’t be offered the role. In case that happens, we wanted to offer a few pieces of advice:

Remember that you will be okay, and that a rejection isn’t a reflection of your worth. You got this interview because someone believed that you’d be a strong candidate for the role, which means that you’ll be a strong candidate for other ones, too.

It’s okay to feel frustrated or let down — rejection is tough! Give yourself space to feel those feelings, and to know that they are normal.

Generally speaking, if you made it to final-round interviews, there isn’t a good reason why you didn’t get the job. You advanced far enough in the process that the hiring manager thought you were qualified, and you likely only missed out because there was an even more qualified candidate in the pool –– not because there was something wrong with your interview or application.

Each interview you do will give you a better perspective into the space and more practice telling your story: in short, they’ll make you a stronger candidate who’s more equipped to succeed in your next hiring process.

Finally, and most importantly, please keep Sagal updated, and stay in touch with us! This isn’t your last shot with Progressive Pipeline: we routinely recommend candidates to multiple roles, and we love to continue to help you get placed. During and After the Interview