How to Professionally Close an Interview

karlmontgomery • January 15, 2018

In the grand scheme of the recruitment process, the interview is more often than not your last chance to impress the hiring manager before they decide whether to offer you the job or not. Ideally, you want to finish the interview confident and leaving a strong impression on the interviewer. But, why leave the job interview questioning whether you were successful and landed that job?

There are techniques and methods you can use to close an interview professionally, so you leave the interview knowing if you’re a good fit for the role and knowing what the next steps are. The interviewer leaves knowing you’re interested in the role and you have eliminated any concerns.

When it comes to this part of the interview remaining professional is of the utmost importance, I would suggest analysing the body language and manner of the interviewer to determine whether they would react positively or negatively to these questions. I would suggest the best method is to take an open and honest approach and come across genuinely interested and excited about the role.

Following what we have discussed during the interview, do you have any concerns about myself for this role?

This is a reverse question, as it tries to uncover any potential issues about your background, skills, or yourself as a person. The benefits of asking this question are 3-fold. Firstly, if they say that there are no issues, then both parties leave the interview with that as the lasting memory from the interview. If they do suggest there are some concerns, this actively gives you the opportunity to address these concerns and attempt to eliminate any suggested limitations. Finally, by asking the question it shows that you are open feedback and can remain professional when receiving criticism.

What are the next steps in this recruitment process?

This will help you understand what steps are left in the recruitment process and it will highlight if there are more candidates to interview. Allowing to understand how much competition there is for the role.

How long until you make a decision? And do you require anything else from me before you make a decision?

This closing question will help to highlight to the interviewer that you are still interested in the role after gaining much more knowledge about what the role will entail. Obviously, it will put a timeframe on when they plan to make a decision and highlight when you should start to follow up if you haven’t heard anything. It will uncover if there is anything else you need to do to move the process along, such as providing any required references.

As I said previously, understand the environment and the interviewer, then choose the most appropriate questions to ask, always thank the interviewer for their time and ask for a business card, so you have all their relevant details for chasing up a decision if required.

Interviews are a nerve-racking environment, even for a seasoned pro. Recruit Mint is here to help through the entire process and will provide all the support you require for the interview stage. So, why not register today and let’s get practising those closing interview questions.

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