How to nail a 2nd interview? Is this overkill?

[SapphosRock]

I really want this job.

It's currently between me and 1 other. We both have 2nd interviews with 2 senior directors next week.

I am thinking of doing a brief presentation for them on how my skills match the job requirements even though I already did a presentation in the first interview (to different people).

Is that overkill?

Unless they've asked for a presentation errr yes overkill. Presumably they know what they want to get out of you on the second interview and have planned questions/tasks accordingly. It would be very arrogant of you to turn up and decide to ignore their planned activity and give them a presentation instead.

No I don't think so...another possibility to think about is to do a 30/60/90 day plan.

That works really well...

^ the upside to the 30/60/90 day plan is that you can take printed copies and just sort of bring them out when it makes sense to do so without making it into a 'big presentation'

We'd have already established you can present - we wouldn't want to waste time testing that skill again unless we weren't convinced the first time - so we wouldn't be thrilled - we'd have an activity planned to test a further set of skill and knowledge not tested as thoroughly at 1st interview.
I think it's a big risk people might get pissed off with you wasting their time. Then again we interviewed a Senior Manager - he refused to answer the question he was asked (because of a unique set of circumstances) and decided to answer his own question - the recruiter was not impressed with his arrogance...I felt very differently about it, the question he decided to answer was more relevant and I liked how he didn't passively accept a question that would not give us good quality information - he took control and not in an aggressive way - he got the job and he continues to comfortably challenge at all levels - exactly what we wanted from a senior manager!

I wouldn't be impressed if you tried to present to me in a second interview when I hadn't asked for it.

Good Lord op
If they’ve not asked for a presentation
Please please don’t do this!!

Are you fairly inexperienced in applying for jobs?

Not a criticism but the fact you ask this question…

Yeah they're going to be looking for different things in the second interview. If you're at an interview with directors stage they've already established you have the relevant skill set.

Yes overkill. They will lead the interview, expect more difficult and specific questions this time round. Research the company and the role. Understand the JD. Prepare as many answers as you can using examples from your past experience. It's a good idea to use the star format: Situation Task Action Result.

Do not do that.

They have allowed time for a particular structure to the meeting and, if you hijack it, you will cause the interview to either run significantly over (and piss off the panel), or they’ll stick to the same allocated time and you’ll lose the opportunity to cover what they’d intended (and piss off the panel).

Where I work, we ensure that every applicant gets the exact same interview process so this wouldn’t be allowed, and would cause a very awkward conversation if you rocked-up saying you were presenting, only to be told no.

I’ve had candidates come to interview with supplementary information that they’ve asked me to “read later” and I’ve always refused. It’s so arrogant and definitely shows a poor fit with my organisation.

Meant to add-

I wouldn’t see it as overkill, I’d see it as inability to follow clear direction.

@VodselForDinner

Do not do that.

They have allowed time for a particular structure to the meeting and, if you hijack it, you will cause the interview to either run significantly over (and piss off the panel), or they’ll stick to the same allocated time and you’ll lose the opportunity to cover what they’d intended (and piss off the panel).

Where I work, we ensure that every applicant gets the exact same interview process so this wouldn’t be allowed, and would cause a very awkward conversation if you rocked-up saying you were presenting, only to be told no.

I’ve had candidates come to interview with supplementary information that they’ve asked me to “read later” and I’ve always refused. It’s so arrogant and definitely shows a poor fit with my organisation.

All of this. Our interviews are structured to try and minimise bias as much as possible and give everyone the same opportunity (admittedly it's not perfect). As an interviewer, I have a set number of questions to get through and I set amount of time. I'm probably back to back with meetings so can't run over. If I can't get through my questions, you won't get scored and therefore you won't get the job.

I can’t even imagine how cringe worthy it would be for how you would begin the presentation

Would you ask or just launch in to it?

Excellent advice, thank you so much for stopping me preparing the presentation! I wouldn't want to piss them off.

I do use the STAR technique for interviews and I can tell my experience is a good fit, just wondering how I could shine compared to the other candidate.

I don’t know how we can answer that not knowing what the job is.

@Marmitemarinaded

I can’t even imagine how cringe worthy it would be for how you would begin the presentation

Would you ask or just launch in to it?

I can see what you are saying. I imagined it would be along the lines of:

Interviewer: Tell be about the time when you lead the project in (area of expertise)?

Me: I have prepared a brief presentation showing how I did it in my previous role and how would plan to do it in this role

Agree with the advice on here, don't waste time on something they haven't asked for.

Instead, do your homework. Research the company, read their mission and values, understand their strategic plan and how this role fits into it. Reflect on your own experience and what you've learnt from it. Have a series of examples that demonstrate how you meet the criteria. Also think about what you would need to learn in the new role - what will be your steepest learning curve and how would you go about tackling it? If they have already assessed that you have the skills for the job, they may also be looking at attitudes and approaches. How can you demonstrate that you have a positive, can-do approach to problem solving? A flexible attitude? A team orientation? A growth mindset?

*Interviewer: Tell be about the time when you lead the project in (area of expertise)?

*Me: I have prepared a brief presentation showing how I did it in my previous role and how would plan to do it in this role

Interviewer: inwardly grown and scratch your name off list

* Also think about what you would need to learn in the new role - what will be your steepest learning curve and how would you go about tackling it?*

Risky if they want someone to hit ground running. Very risky

@Marmitemarinaded

* Also think about what you would need to learn in the new role - what will be your steepest learning curve and how would you go about tackling it?*

Risky if they want someone to hit ground running. Very risky

I'm a CEO, I have interviewed a lot of people over the years for a lot of jobs. If candidates lack the self awareness to know what they don't know, and haven't even given any thought about how they mightbegin to address any gaps, I'm not really interested in hiring them.

Of course, the OP needs to demonstrate that she fully meets the criteria of the job, but showing some awareness of what she might need to learn over and above those requirements is not a risk in my view. People who assume that they already know everything just come across as ignorant and arrogant.

To add, those who have already identified what they need to learn before they start in a new role tend to hit the ground running much more quickly in my experience.

No, not unless they've asked.... absolutely not.

@Marmitemarinaded

* Also think about what you would need to learn in the new role - what will be your steepest learning curve and how would you go about tackling it?*

Risky if they want someone to hit ground running. Very risky

Oh no, I like this approach. Recently interviewed a great candidate who had all the technical skills but didn't understand the country-specific landscape (he was English, job based in Scotland, very different). I would have liked a reference to this - an awareness that he would have a learning curve in that particular aspect of the job, and a couple of nods as to how he'd fill that gap.

As a pp says, an awareness of what you don't know is really important.

OP, I think this is where you research, research, research. Also make sure you have good questions to ask them, including questions around culture, fit, what they're looking for, initial targets etc. Don't be passive, it's as much about how much you like them as the other way around.

I imagined it would be along the lines of:

Interviewer: Tell be about the time when you lead the project in (area of expertise)?

Me: I have prepared a brief presentation showing how I did it in my previous role and how would plan to do it in this role

So not actually answering the question they asked then? Really poor form in that case. Unless you're being interviewed to be a parliamentary candidate in which case answering a completely different question to that asked would probably be ideal!

@titchy

I imagined it would be along the lines of:

Interviewer: Tell be about the time when you lead the project in (area of expertise)?

Me: I have prepared a brief presentation showing how I did it in my previous role and how would plan to do it in this role

So not actually answering the question they asked then? Really poor form in that case. Unless you're being interviewed to be a parliamentary candidate in which case answering a completely different question to that asked would probably be ideal!

In my mind it would have been answering the question with some additional visual aids. But we have established it's a terrible idea.