Beating Out Another Candidate in the Final Interview

You've had a phone interview and an in-person interview, and everything has gone remarkably well. Now it's time for the final interview. But it's just a formality, right? Wrong. Don't make the mistake of thinking you've got it in the bag. Chances are, you're still competing with another individual or two in this final round, and you want to do everything you can in the final interview to outshine the other candidates.

Have Confidence in Yourself and Be Authentic

Bruce Eckfeldt, career coach on The Muse, offers several pieces of advice for those job seekers who find themselves in the final round. The first is to remember that there's almost always competition when there's a job opening. That doesn't change regardless of what round of the hiring process you happen to be experiencing. The good thing is you've made it this far, and obviously, you've got some skills and abilities that have impressed the higher-ups enough to bring you to this final interview. Continue to be the authentic self that snagged this awesome opportunity. Be calm, confident and professional. Don't go into the interview with the preconceived notion that you've got the job, because you don't, at least not yet. A cocky, too-confident attitude will make you seem presumptuous and may not give the employer the best impression of your personality, especially if there are new people in the interview room whom you've never met before.

Reiterate Your Strong Points and Build Up Any Weaknesses

Most job candidates have gone away from an initial interview and realized they wished they would have done something different. Perhaps they didn't answer a question the way they would have liked, or maybe they didn't remember some part of their experience that was relevant to the position. The final interview is the perfect opportunity to revisit the answers to those questions, and highlight your strengths and position your weaknesses so they aren't a detriment to the company. You could say something like, "During my phone interview, Mr. Hanson asked me about the experiences I've had leading a sales team. While I believe I detailed some great experiences, I completely forgot to mention the time I led a workshop about best strategies for personally handling key customers. As a result, the sales team increased its sales projections by 25 percent over the next quarter."

Don't Pretend There Isn't Any Competition

You probably want to pretend you're the only contender for the job since "out of sight, out of mind" keeps you the focus of the final interview rather than your competition. But this is the time to own your expertise and how well you can contribute to the company versus someone else. The employer has to make a decision to hire you or another job seeker. Why not outline how your hard and soft skills meet all the criteria for the job and even go above and beyond what the job description detailed?

Beating out the competition in the final interview doesn't have to be an ugly race to the end. Instead, take this time to be authentic and confident, and show the company why you're the better hire over the other person.

Photo courtesy of xianrenduja at Flickr.com