Career Advising at EOU

An invitation for a plant, home office, agency, or school visit may follow your initial screening interview. This visit, if offered, will allow you to talk more in-depth with an employer to determine how your qualifications and interest match the needs of the organization.

If you receive an invitation to visit the employer for a follow-up interview, recognize that the employer is very interested in you. It has been said that those who are invited to a follow-up interview receive a job offer 80 percent of the time.

When you receive an invitation, the employer will normally suggest a date with one or two alternative dates from which you can select. 

If the suggested dates are not suitable to your schedule, advise the employer of the conflict and suggest alternative dates. In any case, prompt acknowledgment of the offer for the follow-up interview is imperative.

The follow-up interview will be conducted in much the same manner as was your initial screening interview. However, you will undoubtedly meet more people, and the length of time spent with each will be longer. Therefore, you will be expected to be more conversant about the employer, your personal background, your academic and work experiences, your career and life goals, your activities, and how all of these accomplishments, put together, will make you a valuable member of the employer's team. Because of the extended time spent with each individual, you will have more time to ask questions. It will be very important to have prepared yourself for that part of the interview process.

Plan to spend most of one day with the employer. Though the time spent will differ by employer, you can expect your day to begin at approximately 9:30 a.m. and end by approximately 3:30 p.m. Remember, this will be a stressful situation in many cases. Always get a very good night's rest beforehand.

If all goes well during the follow-up interview, you may receive an offer of employment prior to leaving. This, however, is not always the case. The offer may be made within a few days after the interview. Therefore, don't be alarmed if you leave not knowing whether you have an offer.

After the interview, sit and record your observations. Doing this will assist you, should you have a need to ask the employer additional questions. This will also help you in comparing one employer with another. This practice will be very beneficial when it comes time to make a decision. You should also write a thank-you letter expressing appreciation for the interview. If you are very interested in the opportunity, send a thank-you letter to everyone who spent time with you that day. This little courtesy may be the one little extra thing needed to cause you to stand out among all applicants.

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