Job Interview Preparation Questions and Answers - A six-step guide to successful job interviews

Dầu gội sạch gàu Clear Loại sạch gàu, giảm khô, hết ngứa Với tinh chất bạc hà mát lạnh! Clear.vn

Interview questions and answers are only part of the whole preparation.

Interview. The interview is the big event. All the time spent finalizing your application, presentation of your CV, covering letter and respond to offers, all tailored to the work you have done thus far. Over the next several posts, I am blogging on information that will provide you with key steps to perform at your best and put you in the optimal position for a job offer

Step 1: Knowing the companies always helps your preparation for interview questions and answers. What type of interview will you be in? Will it be conducted by a panel or an individual? If it is a panel, how large a panel and what is the makeup? Are you being interviewed by the HR department or the person who will be supervising you, or maybe future colleagues? What kind of company is it? Is it privately held or publicly traded? How long have they been in business? Who is their target market? Are they the industry leader or a strong competitor? Where are their corporate headquarters located? Do your research and make notes on your discoveries. Collect and verify annual reports, business / industry news they have on their website, Hoovers, if possible, talk to current employees or the past, etc.. The more you know of the company's history, niche, competitors and business and growth plans, the more prepared you'll be to discuss their needs and how you are the person to fit their culture and address their issues.

Step 2: Anticipating and responding to their questions and answers from Interview. The typical interview lasts a good 60 minutes. During the first few minutes, that interviewer usually sets the tone, providing information about the company and the position. They will then refer to your resume, cover letter, portfolio, and any other information you provided, and begin asking you questions. Be involved, prepared to work with the standard interview questions and answers. Some of these interview questions may be uncomfortable for you. There is no excuse to show your discomfort. Practice your responses. Consider role-playing to help with someone objective regulate your answers.

Step 3: Prepare penetrating interview questions for your audience. If there is a panel make sure that you make sufficient copies of your resume, cover letter, portfolio, etc., for each person. My standard rule of thumb is to have 20 questions ready to go. During the interview, many of your questions will be addressed, so you have 20, you are required to show a few remaining for your interest and have critical thinking skills. The questions you ask during the interview are just as significant as the answers you give. It is acceptable to notebook questions you are willing to talk to you. You can not possibly remember all of them; nor are you expected to. However, make sure you do not fix your eyesballs to the notebook. Remember that presenting yourself as being polished and professional is imperative. Remember, first impressions do last.

Step 4: Once again, preparing for questions and answers from interview is only part of equation. You have a single shot at making a dynamite first impression. Your audience is obviously eager to meet you, or they would not have invited you to the interview . Capitalize on their enthusiasm. Show up 10 minutes early. Wear appropriate clothing. The standard is is too dress appropriately, with polished shoes, cuff links and tie for men of power. For women, business suit or other appropriate business attire is required. For an informal setting, a button-down shirt and blazer, the men are adapted and trousers, skirt or shirt and jacket will be perfect for women. It sounds simplistic, but these two things can make or break if you are not on time and you are dressing like you are going out on the town instead of out to an interview. Beware of too-casual and hide the skin and minimize the jewelry and cut down on the make-up ladies.

Next to your interview questions and answers, how you present yourself is next in line of importance. Just think of how often people are judged on their looks before they even open their mouths. Many coaches believe you can never overdress. Dressing out of alignment to the job or your audience risks giving the wrong impression; resulting in the possibility of minimizing yor chances during the interview. In cities with conventional expectations, this is a small problem. In my community, we have a population of 400,000 and wearing a suit in a business casual environment is a quick way to get labeled "too stuffy", which makes for a negative first impression.

In addition to dress, confidence, smiling, shaking hands firmly with everyone you meet (yes, that means that women too), have good posture and eye contact. And, of course, remember your manners.

Step 5: Communicate effectively. Nonverbal communication accounts for 93% all messages (38% tone and 55% body language). Leaving less than 7% of communication is the result of the words we say real. To truly communicate effectively, your non-verbal communication has to be in agreement with what you are saying. Nod your head to acknowledge agreement and to welcome the other interview questions that follow. Maintain eye contact. Sitting in front of the crowd. Keep your arms and hands pointed toward your audience. Smiling often and show enthusiasm. Also, be mindful of your audience's body language. They are always looking at yours? Have you engaged in an effective way? Providing effective interview questions and answers requires congruence in your body language, tone, specific language.

Step 6: Follow up is critical. Be sure to collect business cards from all over during the interview and all those who have interacted with on the way. This includes the person scheduling the interview, the receptionist you spoke with on the phone, etc. All received a handwritten letter of thanks. Make sure all names and titles are spelled correctly and get the notes mailed within 24 hours. In the message, add something interesting in the message to confirm your personal skills and the desire for the position. In order to earn the job offer, you have to interview effectively! 

 

Article source: articlebase.com

Business Thank You Letter

A business thank you letter or a letter of thank you after a job interview is one of the most under-utilized ways of obtaining employment there is. Send them a thank you letter for the fact that they called you in the first place. They invited you because they have a strong curiosity concerning you. I always look at an interview as mine to lose. They wouldn't have me pass through their doors if there wasn't a high degree of interest.

Quite possibly the most important and effective two words in any language are 'thank you.' In general, the world can use more shown appreciation. Exhibiting ones appreciation is undervalued. It is also a sign of maturity. A great leader once said, "'thank you' frequently expressed will cheer your spirit, broaden your friendships, and lift your lives to a higher pathway as you journey toward perfection. There is simplicity - even sincerity - when 'thank you' is spoken."

The fact that they considered you in the first place for a job interview should never go unnoticed and a business thank you letter should never be overlooked. I believe that it is one of many qualifiers considered when choosing an applicant for the job. I would personally believe that if they don't appreciate my calling them in then their value as a team member is diminished. Not sending a letter of thank you shows that he or she shows a lack of interest in the job and an absence of diligence. Basically, they are not the right candidate. Perseverance is a trait most desired by many employers. It is a handy quality especially in sales where rejection is common. If you are not a strong consideration for the job your tenacity may help change their mind.

Like the suggestion in our 'cover page design' article you will want to write as if you are speaking to them in person. Don't' try to get too fancy or make it flowery. Just write in certain, easy to understand terms. You are kissing up to them but don't make it obvious. You don't have to send the most astute note or come up with clever sayings. Just let them know you appreciate their considering you.

Send thank you notes after each of multiple interviews and send one to each person with which you meet. Send a letter of thank you after a phone interview. It is truly a thank you letter for acceptance because they took the time to talk with you. Don't waste any time in getting your letter of thank you to them. When leaving the interview ask the receptionist for the interviewer's email. You can let them know of your intentions of wanting to write and give thanks. If they hesitate to give out the email address then be sure to get a letter to them as soon as possible. Overnight delivery is appropriate. Where possible, deliver it in person.
There is much involved in obtaining gainful employment. If it were easy everybody would be doing it.

Article Source:EzineArticles.com

Investment Banking Interview Preparation

For undergrads and MBA students, the news that they have been selected for an interview at an investment bank comes with both excitement and dread. A position as an analyst or associate in corporate finance can be the first step towards a highly successful and highly lucrative career. Investment banking interviews, however, can be some of the most intimidating interviews out there, so let's take a look at how to get prepared.
Before we jump into interview practice mode, we should take a step back and think about how we want to come across in the interview. In short, investment banking candidates should come off as bright, confident and likable.
In the final cut of selecting a hire, investment banks have already determined which candidates are smart and capable, so the decision comes down to who they like the best. So in addition to knowing a thing or two, candidates must remember to come across as a fun person to work with as well.

Know Your Story
Like any interview, candidates should have stories prepared about their lives that discuss their past, present and future. These are great answers for the standard questions:
"Tell me about yourself." Or "Walk me through your résumé."
"Why are you interested in investment banking or this firm?"
"Where do you see yourself in five to ten years?"
Candidates are highly likely to receive these or similar questions in any interview, and having succinct, practiced answers to them will give the impression of a polished candidate.
Your past story should highlight events that have qualified you for or gotten you interested in investment banking. Your present story should demonstrate why you want the particular position, how it is a logical step from where you are coming from and perhaps touch on where you hope the position will lead.

Your future story should discuss how investment banking will lead to where you want to go. Good future ambitions might be a managing director position in investment banking, a principle at a private equity firm, a CFO or perhaps and entrepreneur. In any case, you should communicate that those are long-term ambitions and you look forward to the experiences you'll have in the position you're interviewing for.

Know the Industry and Firm
Where investment banking interviews begin to get trickier is that firms will expect you to know what you're getting into. If you confuse an equity analyst position with an analyst position in corporate finance, for example, you will not make it any further in the process.

You should understand the major divisions within an investment bank - sales & trading, corporate finance, research, etc. You should understand the hierarchy of positions within corporate finance - analyst, associate, vice president, managing director - and what each position does.

At the macro level, you need to understand the major differences between bulge bracket investment banks, middle market and boutique investment banks. You should also have a good answer for why you would prefer one type over another (and be sure that you prefer the type you're interviewing with).
You should also understand the particular expertise that your firm has - transaction types or business sectors where it is active. Find some recent transactions that the firm has completed and be able ask smart questions about some of them.

You may be asked if there are any other firms or companies that you are interviewing with. If you are interviewing with other investment banks, you can be honest and say that you're taking the opportunity to get to know the investment banking landscape. You want to communicate that you're most interested in the firm you are speaking with and be able to give good reasons why.

Most banks will see it as a plus that you are interviewing elsewhere and may be more inclined to try to hire you. If you don't have other interviews with banks, be sure to network and talk to people at other banks. If you can respond that you've at least been doing some networking in the industry, you'll come across as a stronger candidate.

Know Your Financial Models
Candidates should also know what they'll be working on when they come to investment banking. Having a basic understanding of pitches, deal execution and the ebb and flow of the corporate finance office is important.
To that point, you should also be familiar with some of the financial models you will likely be using - discounted cash flow, comparable companies analysis, precedent transactions analysis (sometimes called M&A comps) and LBO analysis.
Understanding how these models work and the theory behind them will help you to answer a lot of the technical questions that might get thrown at you in an interview. Know the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) and how to calculate the weighted average cost of capital (WACC). Know how to un-lever a beta.

Know the Marketplace
Be sure to get up to speed on financial markets. If you can read financial news regularly and follow the reports of an economist or two, you'll be prepared to answer questions that might get thrown at you about the markets:
"Where do you see interest rates headed over the next six months and why?"
"Where did the Dow close yesterday?"
"Do you have any stocks that you follow? Tell me about them."

Brain Teasers
Another type of question you may encounter in an investment banking interview is a brain teaser. These questions are meant to catch you off guard and see how your mind works.
"How many golf balls will fit inside Yankee Stadium?"
You should be able walk through your thought process and come to a logical answer, even if it's not the right one. You could say:
A golf ball is a little over two inches in diameter, so you could fit about five across in one foot of space or 125 in a cubic foot. It's about 400 feet from home plate to center field, so Yankee Stadium is about one thousand feet long.
It's shape is like a half sphere, so you could use the formula for the volume of a sphere - four thirds pie r cubed - divided by two to calculate the volume in feet. Then you multiply by 125 to figure out how many golf balls would fit.
That would be an adequate answer to a brain teaser. If any of your assumptions are wrong, it doesn't matter as much as your logic. Get out a piece of paper during the interview and write out your assumptions if you need to. Get a hold of a list of brain teaser questions and have someone practice with you.

Ask Good Questions
Before the interview is over, you should always ask some good questions. There has been a lot of change in the investment banking landscape, so there are lots of great questions to ask:
"How has the merger with such-and-such firm gone?"
"How has the role of private equity changed since the financial crisis?"
"Do you foresee a surge in M&A activity in any of the industries you work with?"
There are many more questions out there. You will usually be given an opportunity to ask questions, and this is your chance to take control and show that you're prepared. Write some smart questions out before the interview and take them with you. No matter what questions get thrown at you, you can at least demonstrate that you can ask smart questions - a valuable skill in investment banking.

Final Touches
When you finish the interview, be sure to smile and thank the firm for talking with you. Try to get a hold of business cards and send thank you emails when you get home.
For on-site interviews, be sure to treat everyone you encounter with respect including administrative assistants, analysts and associates. Even analysts may have the opportunity to comment in the hiring process of associates, so it's important to make a good impression on everyone.
Be patient with the hiring process. Ask about the firm's hiring timeline and respect it. Don't follow up until after their deadline has past.
Investment banking interviews can be some of the toughest you will come across in your career, so be sure to take preparation seriously. Focus on coming across as a bright, confident and likable candidate, and you will put yourself in the best position to get hired.

Article Source: ezinearticles.com

How To Clear 4 Phone Interview Hurdles

As the popular movie line goes "you had me at hello'. Sometimes first impressions says it all. Sometimes you can wow the company during your first hello and then there are other times you can blow it. Examples of some blunders are the first date that lasts only 30 minutes, the sports team tryout that lasts only 15 minutes and the scheduled 45 minute phone interview that lasts for only 10 minutes. It should be clear that these are not good signs that the results will be positive for you. Clearly I understand there will always be exceptions to the rule.

Like the other examples above you can control the phone interview so that you achieve positive results. Its clear many companies have reduced their recruiting budgets and operate with limited resources. In the past jobs were posted and qualified candidates would be called in for face to face interviews. Keep in mind that most local companies will receive hundreds of resumes for each position posted. For regional and national companies this number could approach a thousand resumes per job posting. These companies will not commit HR time solely to screening and interviewing hundreds of candidates. Those days are gone and the current candidate selection approach is to have your initial interview via telephone to eliminate unqualified candidates.

Phone interviews are designed for only one purpose and that is to prequalify you for the position while reducing the candidate pool. This prequalification is needed because it allows the company to save time and money during the selection process. Good news for the selected candidate is that you will get a chance to interview for the job. This is a great opportunity for you to present your qualifications and experiences for the position. Your preparation for a phone interview should be viewed with just as much importance as your preparation for a face to face interview.

Today's Job Candidate must view the phone interview differently than the face to face interview. Keep in mind that you must make it past this interview or there will be no face to face interview. The four hurdles you must clear:

1. Preparation. You must prepare for the job by researching the company. This should include knowing what products and services the company offers plus know their competitors. Take time to review the company's mission and vision statement. Do your homework and make sure you are qualified for the job by matching your resume to the job description. If you do this you have cleared the first hurdle.

2. Phone Presence. Let's face it; this is a tough one. You can have the best qualifications and may be ideal for the job; if you can't present well over the phone you will not clear hurdle number 2. Can you clearly present your qualifications during the phone interview? A proven way to assure that you are answering questions correctly and not rambling is to use the STAR technique when answering questions. [S] Situation [T] Task [A] Action [R] Results. Some HR Professionals will listen for STAR responses to determine if you are communicating clearly. Standing during your phone interview will help reduce anxiety as well as allow your voice to project more confidently. If you do this you have cleared the second hurdle.

3. Index Cards. Having index cards handy will allow you to have notes to refer to during your interview. If there are key points you want to capture about the company or position, you will want to make sure you include on the index cards. Every interview will end with a "do you have any questions for me"? You are guaranteed not to forget because you have your questions already prepared and in front of you. If you do this you have cleared the third hurdle.

4. Close. Yes you must close during your phone interview. You have to show that you are excited to be considered for this job and you want to be a part of their team. "Jane Smith, thank you for allowing me to present my qualifications to you this morning. I know my years of experience and professional accomplishments will be a tremendous asset to your organization. I am excited for the next step. Do I have your support to advance me to the next stage of the interview process"? Bottom line; companies want to know that you are enthused and want to be a part of their team. If you do this you have cleared the final hurdle and crossed the Phone Interview finish line.
Utilizing proven interview techniques can be the differentiator when competing in today's tough job market.

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

4 Powerful Tips For IIM MBA Admission Personal Interview Round

Here are 4 useful tips that will elevate your chances for clearing that all-important Personal Interview.

1. Show initiative by researching the chosen career objective.
If you picture yourself in finance, do some research on what differentiates Trade Finance from Merchant Banking and how Investment banking differs from Private Equity? You do not have to show your exact chosen area as even the Personal Interview panel knows you cannot make such an early decision already, but having knowledge of the basic differences of these different fields shows a heightened sense of awareness

2. Show composure under pressure by replying well thought-out, meaningful questions.
When you are asked a question, pause for 2 seconds to think the answer through. Don't blurt the first thing that comes to your mind (I don't know). For example if asked a question on - "How would you solve the dispute between the ASEAN and India's bilateral trade agreement" Your reply should be "Well there are 3 parts to the issue (1) Final duty levied (2) Point of origin of goods and (3) Sensitive agri- commodities effect on Indian farmers" - from there you can frame your further reply

3. Show your savvy by connecting your own educational experience and achievements to the specific needs of the chosen career profile.
This is particularly important if you are young fresh out of college, and don't have any job experience. Stress upon the activities that you have performed; you have run a youth group, that may have sharpened your leadership skills. If you published the campus newspaper, you will certainly have communication skills. Talk about how these skills make you right for the job.

4. Show energy through your body language and tone of voice.
Sit up straight in the chair, lean forward slightly to listen as the interviewer speaks. Nod and smile appropriately to show you understand. Inject enthusiasm into everything you say. Nobody wants to hire someone who sounds bored with the job before he or she has even got it!
Using these tips to prepare well will improve your chances in the final Personal interview round.

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

A Thank You Note That Cost Him the Job AFTER the Final Interview!

Everyone knows that a follow up thank you note should be sent after each interview during the hiring process. Some feel it is just a task to hurry up and do, a two liner note that shows the hiring manager that you have a great sense of urgency by whipping the thank you e-mail out within 10 minutes of leaving the interview! It is quick and it does show a great sense of urgency and it can show a few more things too; like you didn't take the time to prepare a well thought out or written thank you!
That is exactly what happened to a man that I wanted to hire when I was a Division Sales Manager, let's call him Tom, it is a true story.

Tom was a native of the state where my open sales position was located. He knew all of my customers and they loved him! He was well known in the area and he was a workhorse. Tom could sell and I knew it, he knew it and the local people in the industry knew it, but that said, he was also not the most sophisticated person in his style or manner. This was not a problem for the rather woodsy rural area he was going to cover, he was a local and they liked doing business with the "locals".

Tom made it through two rounds of interviews and a day in the field with my Trainer, all went fantastic. It was time for Tom to go to final interviews at headquarters to interview with all those Marketing, upper Sales Management and Human Resource folks back in New Jersey.

Tom did "ok" with the polished people back at headquarters. The general roundtable end of the day feedback was, "Well Linda, given his territory he will probably do fine, but certainly his level of sophistication will probably limit him from promotion opportunities or moving to one of our large city territories". So I got the green flag, albeit with muted blessings from Mecca, to hire him. I would call Tom in the morning, he was boarding a late flight back home as I received the news.

Tom arrived home late that evening and showed a great sense of urgency by writing the thank you note before he went to bed. I am sure he was feeling a sense of satisfaction as he hit the "sent button" with his thank you to each person that he interviewed with earlier that day.

The next morning, with coffee in hand, I walked down the hallway to my home office in anticipation of a non-stressful Friday office day. I was looking forward to an easy day; some sales representative conference calls, plowing through some e-mails and the highlight of the day, calling Tom to tell him he was hired! I finally got that difficult-to-hire territory filled! I was happy!

I opened my e-mails and Tom's thank note was waiting for me! I also saw forwarded e-mails from the home based management team with subject line's reading, "Tom's thank you, please read". This was not unusual, everyone shares an e-mail they receive from a final interview candidate. The "please read" seemed weird, but nothing alarming. I thought to myself, "Wow that Tom is on it and it looks like he sent everyone a thank you late last night" This is GREAT, this helps support my reason for hiring him!".

So feeling VERY good about everything, as I took that much needed gulp of morning coffee, I decided to open my thank you from Tom first. The e-mail opened and I almost spit the coffee out of my mouth and onto the computer screen as I read the first sentence, or I should say, tried to read Tom's first sentence. I began to feel a little panicky, surely he must have had a drink or two on the plane, or maybe he was just super tired crossing a time zone or maybe he had both going on!

As I continued reading the jumbled four paragraph note, that rambled on with incorrect spelling, fragmented sentences and grammar, I began feeling weak and was now almost sure I made a big mistake. Then I had a calming positive thought, "Maybe he messed up ONLY on my thank you note, he put all his time and energy writing a great one for the others!".

The last thing any Division Sales Manager wants to do is send a candidate in for a final interview at headquarters and have them bomb. A final interview candidate is a reflection of the Manager's decision making ability! Tom got in by the skin of his teeth and he had no room for error. Certainly this would be a first for me, a person bombs AFTER they get through the interview process!

I quickly flipped to the other forwarded E-mails from management marked "Tom's thank you, please read". As I opened one after another I quickly realized there was no need to open them all, he had copied and pasted the exact horribly written e-mail to everyone. He did take the time to type in and insert the first name of each person as if the thank you was written just for them! In addition, he had a typo in two out of the five names! He couldn't even get that right.

As I sat there in amazement, a new e-mail popped into my box from my boss marked urgent, "Please call me to discuss Tom and his thank you notes". I looked at the message and thought, "is it really correct to say notes, when he only typed only ONE note and cut and pasted it to all?". It was the only humor I could find in the situation. I called my manager and there was little to discuss, I agreed with him, Tom was out and I was embarrassed. How could we tolerate someone without basic writing skills and the lack of business judgment?

I poured over Tom's simple previous e-mail notes he sent to my Sales Trainer and me earlier in the interview process. They were brief, four liners, but nothing to worry about. His written business plan that he presented in the second interview was excellent. What happened? I needed to find out.
I called Tom and I was upfront, I told him the job was his until we received the thank you notes. He was floored, he did not read them since he sent them. I suggested that even hitting spell check would have eliminated some of the problem (it was not loaded as an auto program back then). When I asked him what happened, he indicated he was tired and just wanted to get it done, but also writing was not his strong suit (no kidding!).

As for his previous correct correspondence? He shared that his wife would edit all his e-mails and written work before he would print or send anything important. I asked him what happen to his wife last night? He replied, "she was in bed sleeping and he did not want to bother her". I wasn't sure if I wished he would have given her a good shove to wake her up or if I was lucky he let her sleep!

He was highly regarded in the territory and I knew he could knock out the sales numbers, but he was now too risky to hire. I did not need to have management on my back if by chance he did not perform. Tom called me back 30 minutes after our conversation and was very upset. He said, "Linda, I went and printed out my sent e-mails and I would have never made those type of mistakes if I was not exhausted. My wife would alter some things, but never the amount of correction that was needed on that e-mail". I had to sadly tell him it was over. I did not share with him that the thank you notes were circling around the office now as a joke of sorts.

The bottom line is that Thank You Notes do matter! Thank You Notes can be a powerful tool to help you develop and solidify relationships, set yourself apart from others (preferably in a positive way!) and be instrumental in helping you land a job! I just finished the follow up piece to this article revealing the 3 elements needed in every Thank You to build The Strategic Thank You Note that will help you secure that job! Do you know the 7 Basic Tips? It would have saved Tom this job if he had known!

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

Understanding the Interview Process

Understanding the typical interview process, especially at larger companies, is helpful when searching for your new job, and essential when you manage to land an interview. This article will explain a fairly standard process used at many Fortune 500 companies, including the one I am currently at in the role of an executive.

Creating a Position
It all starts with a job requisition being opened, or "job req" for short, by a manager like myself. Typically we have identified a need for a position, worked with finance to ensure our budget allows it, and then we submit a formal job req often through an automated tool. This tool routes the job req through various approval cycles [my manager, my finance partner, and often human resources]. The job req has information about the position such as title, job code within the company's hierarchy, expected salary range based on market data from HR, is relocation in the budget and if so how much, and desired start date. Once everyone signs off on the req, the recruiting process begins.

The Recruiting Step
Once approved, HR will assign a recruiter to help fill the job req. The recruiter will schedule a 60min meeting with me to review the qualifications of my ideal candidate - education, past experience, skills, personality characteristics, and other attributes I think are needed. They then assemble an interview guide that contains sets of standard questions meant to qualify candidates against these criteria. The recruiter then starts posting the position on major job boards, the company web site, and often may start a search on linkedin.com to proactively identify candidates, depending on the seniority of the role.

The Phone Interview Step
The recruiter will prescreen all resumes they receive against the profile we developed, and pass through about 20% to me for further review [so out of 100 submitted, 20 will get forwarded to me]. I typically will then select about half of those to further screen. The recruiter will then schedule a phone interview with that set to match them against our profile, and get a read on how they sound as a person.

Selecting Candidates for Interviews
Going with our previous numbers, out of the 10 that were phone screened, the recruiter will typically email me a summary and have selected maybe 2-3 that they think are strong candidates for an in-person interview. Are you following the math here - for every 100 resumes, maybe 2-3 will actually pass through the recruiters filters and result in an interview with me as the hiring manager.

Scheduling the Interview
So now the recruiter will work with my schedule, and the rest of the interview team's schedule, to find times that work for us and the candidates. Like most senior managers, my schedule if often booked out 2-3 weeks, so candidates can have a phone interview on a Monday and not have an actual interview scheduled for another 2 weeks potentially. The other interviews I select are peers of mine, or possibly managers of departments that the new position has to work closely with.

Conducting the Interview
At this point every person on the interview team has received an interview guide from the recruiter. This guide has different areas of focus for each interviewer, and suggested questions to ask, and a scoring sheet to rate the candidates answer to the questions. You won't see this during the interview, as we take notes on paper or directly on your resume, but within an hour of you leaving we will be transcribing our notes into a score across the categories contained in these interview guides.
Most interviews go from 30-60 minutes depending on the seniority of the position [longer of course for more senior positions]. While we try and fit all interviews into one day, often then may span 2-3 days depending on availability of the interview team.

Post-Interview Activity
After the interview, we of course all have filled out the scoring criteria in our interview guides. At this point the recruiter schedules a meeting or conference call with the entire interview team, and we each go through our impression of the candidate. We discuss the scores we provided under each area, and then overall impressions of the candidate's character, personality, skills, fit for the team, and energy and passion they exhibited. At the end of this call, it is solely my decision as hiring manager to decide next steps.
I can go against everyone else's evaluation [my gut], or I could feel comfortable we all arrived at a uniform assessment of the candidate. I have 4 choices at this point: "Hire", "No Hire", "Additional Interviews", or "Hold pending other candidates".

Hiring after an Interview
Once I make the decision to hire a candidate, here is what happens next. We will have gathered salary information during the interview process, and have a feel as to what we need to offer the candidate to stand a chance of getting them. The recruiter will contact the candidate by phone and make them a verbal offer - typically with basic information such as salary and bonus, and links to information about benefits such as health, vacation, 401k, etc. If the candidate counter offers in any area, the recruiter will get back to me and ask me whether I want to accept the counter offer, not accept, or negotiate further somewhere in-between. What is important here is my discretion - at this point the hiring manager has a fair amount of discretion around things like salary adjustments, vacation time, company cell phone, start dates, etc.
One the offer has been agreed upon verbally, it is captured in the job req system, and a written offer goes out to the candidate [often via email as a PDF file].

Accepting an Offer
We expect a response back within 7 days. It is rare to hold a position open beyond that, as if a candidate has other opportunities and wants to delay a decision on ours we would rather move forward with considering other candidates from the interview cycle versus waiting.
Once an offer is accepted in writing, the recruiter notifies me as the hiring manager, and I call or email the candidate welcoming them aboard!

Not getting an offer
If at any point in the process a candidate does not move to the next step, the recruiter will typically either send an email, or if late in the interview process actually call the candidate and let them know they weren't the most qualified for the position.

Article Source: EzineArticles.com/