How to Ace Later Round Interviews to Get the Offer
Madeline Mann breaks down later-round interviews using her seven-rung Interview Ladder, which diagnoses gaps in competence, communication, fit, and logistics. She covers five interview formats, shares tactics like T-charts to map qualifications to examples, and explains how to follow up when companies go silent.
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Well, hello. It is so good to be here with you live right now. I'm Madeline Mann. Go ahead and say hi in the chat. And today we're going to talk about how to ace later round interviews so that you can land more offers. It is so frustrating. I was talking about this to one of my clients the other day. She's— she went from basically getting rejected every first round interview to now making it to final round interviews. And You know what? She got rejected in the final round. And she was devastated. She said, do I have to redo everything? Do I need to change everything? I said, no, you are making amazing progress. Like the fact that you went from failing most interviews to now making it to the final round. That is incredible progress. But the challenge many of us have is, okay, but now let me get that offer. How do I then get to the level where I'm not just making it to later rounds, but I'm actually getting the offer. And that's what we're going to talk about today. It is the hardest part to do. Now, of course, we have to accept that sometimes people are more qualified than us, who are a better fit, all of that. So when we get this far in an interview process, we have to notice that this company really likes us. It is a huge vote of confidence that everything you were doing up until that point is working and you're doing amazing work. Now, all of that doesn't really matter if you are not then getting the offer at the end, and because that's super demoralizing, you feel like you've put in so much time and effort. And even this client said it was— it felt easier to get rejected in the first round than the final round because you had put so much of your time and energy into it. You'd pictured yourself in this opportunity. You had pictured this new future. And it is so demoralizing. And so let's undo that. And I've helped thousands of people make it over that hump. And truly, the thing that's going to happen is you will win by inches, not by feet, not by miles, right? You will win by just those inches once you actually are landing it. So, oh, look, we have folks joining us here. Good to see you. I'm seeing Mer from New Jersey. who has a final round interviews. Perfect timing. Kristen from Michigan, hello. We have Rick here from San Diego, Joe from Orange County, Jennifer from Buffalo, New York. That's where I am from originally. Barry from Oregon, Dana from Houston. Joe has 3 third round panel interviews and gotten rejected. Oh my gosh, Joe, definitely put your questions in the chat today because that's what I'm talking about. And I'm so sorry to hear that. And it's really tough when that happens. And like I said, it is tougher than sometimes getting rejected in the first, maybe second round, because you really have put so many hours into that at this point, not just the hours in the interview, but even the research that goes ahead of it, the preparation, all of that. And then also you picturing what your life is going to be like. My resume is working and I'm getting interviews, but no offers. Ended in second place 3 times in 2 months now. Oh my gosh. This is exactly why we're doing this session. Oh my gosh. Then when I have someone that says, I have a final round in a couple hours. Oh my gosh. John, Old Man Johnson's Farm is here from Mississippi. Hi, Julie. Hi, Joe. Yes. Gertz here, um, and Chandler. Okay, so let's dive into this. As I said, this session is a live session, and I do this very intentionally of— this is your time to interact with me. This is the time to actually have a conversation. You know I have tons of videos, um, I'm on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, all of these platforms. LinkedIn, and you can get amazing information there. But this is really the only place besides my private coaching where you can actually interact with me. So I am here to answer your questions. And yes, oh my gosh, Rick has a panel interview coming up, awaiting an email for scheduling. Let's go, Rick. Okay, so the reason why it's so much more challenging at the final interviews is because that's where it gets more competitive. That's where You know, if we're looking at the first round interview, there's three things they're looking at. The first round interview looks at competence. So are you qualified? Okay. Do you have you done this? Have you done that? Have you done that? Okay. A lot of you are checking those boxes. The second thing they're looking at is your communication slash likability. So do they like you? Do they think you communicate well? Do they think you have cohesive ideas? Are you not rambling? Are you seeming like you're honest? Do you seem like you're not? Reading your answers, because if you're reading your answers, that either, you know, subconsciously or sometimes even consciously reads as, oh, is this person lying? So that's super important to, to keep track of. And then, uh, the final piece is— what do you think is the third thing they're looking at in the first round interview? Logistics. Okay, logistics. Can you commute to this location? Can you start on this date? Can you take this salary? All those things. Um, so then we start. Um, so, okay, wow, we have a lot of questions coming up. Um, okay, so let's dive in. Wow. Okay, so— oh, and Kristen has a second round interview too, y'all. This is happening. There's momentum. I love to see it. All right. So I had 4 first-round interviews last week. It's so tough to know if things went well. They wait so long to hear back. I know. I know. I'm in the same predicament. I get interviews but no offer. I have 3 interviews this week. Oh my gosh, y'all. I'm so glad you're here. Let's dive into this. So Jennifer asked, what should I do different in final-round interviews from previous interviews? Yes. Let's talk about that. So it really depends on who you're interviewing with, and what level you are, and that kind of stuff. What I do with my clients is, of course, I evaluate, okay, what is your role? Who have you already interviewed with? Who are you going to interview with? What is the role in the company? I also have this tool called an interview ladder. The interview ladder has 7 rungs, and if you're able to hit on all 7 rungs in an interview, you basically have— you'll have offers falling out of the sky. So I put them through an evaluation to understand, okay, which of these rungs of an interview ladder are you missing? And most people are missing quite a few. And so if we are looking at some final round interviews, there's a few different ways it can, it can take shape. First, is it more of a skill-based interview? Okay, this is typically not the final round, but depends on your role, it could be. So that could be a case study. It could be a scenario. It could be, give me examples of when you've done this before. It could be a skill test. So that can happen. And it kind of depends on who you're interviewing with. Of course, it'd have to be someone who has your skill set. The next it could be is more of a character-oriented interview. So this might be asking a lot of behavioral questions to really understand how you respond in certain employment situations. Um, so tell me about a time when you did this. Tell me about a time you had an issue with an employee. Tell me about a time you failed. And they're trying to understand what it would be like to work with you. That can sometimes be it. Um, Also along those lines, how many of you have done a, like a, a who or a top grading interview before where they go very detailed through your past and they ask a series of very specific questions? In my coaching program, I just did a workshop on this and literally the, like within a couple of days, one of my clients goes, oh my gosh, I just went through a who interview. And if you haven't gone through one before, it can be really overwhelming because they go so detailed into your past and you don't necessarily know exactly the best way to approach it. Um, but it is a really common interview style that, especially as you're getting to like the final rounds, can definitely be one that they implement. Um, and then one thing we have to think about is more of— and this is really common if you're interviewing with a CEO or an executive— they typically won't prepare for the interview. They'll go straight off of vibes, and sometimes they'll make it a you-ask-me interview. where they will just expect you to ask all the questions. And so then you have to really make sure you're coming in with really solid questions. Um, um, and so Jennifer asked the best way to answer tell me about yourself. So the, the way that I've seen work really well for my clients lately is actually quite a short version. So there's lots of different ways you can do it, but this way is super effective. So instead of thinking of the question as, tell me about yourself, tell me about your background, imagine they asked you, tell me what you've done in your career that's most relevant to this role you're interviewing for. I swear your answer will transform, and you can even use that language in your answer. So you might say something like, well, we'll say because I'm, I'm, you know, I worked in human resources. I might say something like, well, I'm a human resources professional in the technology industry. As far as my most recent role, the things I did in that role that are most relevant to the role you have open now is I built this and I did this and I did that. Now, the things I just said, those might not have been the main things I did or the most impressive things I did at my most recent job. But notice what I said. I said the most relevant things. And that's all they want to hear. They actually don't care about your career switches and these other really cool things where you got recognized for this. Mainly they're saying, make sure that I know that you are the right person for this interview. And that's huge. Hi from Toronto. Does your strategy work up north? Oh, absolutely. I have tons of clients in Canada. Um, oh my gosh, Charmaine says same story here, final round 4 times and no offers in the past 3 months. Let's lock in today, you guys. Let's do this. Um, so how many folks are, uh, not converting interviews into jobs are over the age of 50, age of 40? So I would say, I would say 30 plus percent, actually, it might even be closer to 40%. It's, it's around 40 or so percent of my clients. So 43% of my clients, I know this for a fact, report that they are worried that ageism is an issue in their personal job search. And a large percentage of my clients are in that over 40 age demographic. And when I'm looking, especially in this job market, of time to hire, when I've like looked at that based on age, I'm seeing no correlation between age and time to hire. They're all— they're, they're getting hired just as fast as people under the age of 40. Now, of course, these people have me in their corner I'm giving them strategies that they were not utilizing before. And frankly, a lot of people who are in their 40s and 50s are focusing on the wrong things on their resume, in their interviews. They think that experience and tenure is their strength. It's not their strength. That's not, that's not the advantage. That's not the currency of this job market. The currency of this job market is having updated skills, having recent accomplishments, being on the bleeding edge, constantly leveling up. And a lot of folks— now there's a lot of different things. I coach based on the individual person. But a lot of folks kind of will lean on their wisdom versus leaning on their energy, their curiosity, their hunger for learning. And so that is something that when you make that pivot, your energy starts to shift in the interview. Oh yeah, we have some other folks here who are saying, I'm 38, I'm over 50, 57. Yeah, so much of my audience is over 50. Well, so much of my audience is over 40, and then a good chunk is over 50 as well. That is super, super normal. Oh yay, Joe says, I love your book. By the way, Madeline picked it up four days ago. Incredible! I'm so glad to hear that. And what is a huge, huge help is if you like the book, go ahead and leave a review because reviews are the the gold standard of the book world. All right. So I have two panel interviews coming up. Last time I went in the same position, I went through about five last round interviews until I got the offer with the. Oh my gosh, that is absolutely grueling. Technical competency for tech jobs, usually a second round thing. Correct. Technical competency, competency, skill competency is typically second round. You typically get the first round screening and then the second round more technical. Now, it depends on how complex the role is, or maybe if there's a little bit more soft skills involved, that sometimes can be the final round. Or like a lot of times you'll notice for a lot of roles, the final round will be like a presentation where you had to put together something and then present about it. So I would also say that I wouldn't necessarily call that technical competency, but I would say that that is more of a skill-based interview that often is in final rounds. Okay, let's see. Madeline, since the last live, I got 4 interviews lining up and And, and first recruiters reaching out. Thank you. Yes, I've been doing a lot of lives about how to get, you know, more inbound opportunity, how to land more interviews. So I'm so glad to hear that these teachings are helpful. And keep it up. I've, I've had been interviewed for federal jobs and ended up not getting the job. For example, I interviewed for a voluntary service experience, but ended up getting rejected. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. And Tyler got rejected after 2 weeks of waiting. So tough. So I'm interviewing for a lot of European sales director roles and working on a 6-month accelerator plan for them to stand out. Do I send it before or after the interview? And what do I say? I wouldn't send it. I would, I would bring it onto the interview. So, you know, if your interview is happening, like, why don't you discuss it on the call? Why don't you talk about it? Right? I mean, you could send it after if you wanted to, if you felt like you didn't do well in the interview, and you kind of want that as a Hail Mary to hopefully get the next interview. But why not bring that into the call? But yes, you could send it in between calls if you're worried you're not going to already get the next interview. But if the next interview is scheduled, I wouldn't send it ahead of time or anything like that. I would, I would bring it to the call. Oh, Laura says, I'm— my problem, I'm overly honest and start to ramble trying to explain my actions and the situation. Very complex examples and situations. Yes, this is very common. So this is one of the— especially as you're moving up in your career, this is probably the number one thing that loses people like manager and above Opportunities is rambling. Here's the thing: you like one thing I do with my clients is I cut out a lot of the context. Often we think that companies need to know a lot more context about what we did in order for it to all make sense. We include industry-specific terms. We we include the name of the software we're working on, but it's like an internal title. We include all these different details and it's actually making it more confusing. And so actually kind of taking out a lot of the jargon and say, instead of saying, you know, we, we worked with the forward-deployed engineers to, to launch phase 2, it's like, okay, why don't we just say the sales team helped us like launch the product or something like that, right? Where we're just speaking in, in actual, like, you know, simpler terms and kind of cutting out a lot of the noise. I know it's tough. It's tough to do. It's tough to edit your own answers. So I totally get how it's really tough. Does it have to match the job description that stand and that stand out to match? Okay, wait. Does it have to match the job description that stand out to match? To to stand out to match. I'm going to guess maybe, maybe are we talking about a resume? Are we talking about a tell me about yourself answer? Maybe, maybe this is about a tell me about yourself answer. Yes. So if you're, if you're answering tell me about yourself, you want your answer to match the job description. Um, so you don't want to, don't want to give details about your past that don't, that aren't in line with that. I just had an interview with 2 people. Do I need to write a thank you email to both together or separate? Why not? Why not treat them as two individuals, right? I, I mean, you could, you could send the email together and still, I would say that that is an effort that most job seekers don't do. But why not? Why not email them each individually? You know, that's what that's— I like to make people feel like they are, they are individuals. Yes, Joe says over 50 and getting some interviews but not getting past final round in those. Exactly. It is so tough. Yes, and Rick agrees. I would do separate to make it personally professional. So what are red flags in your answers from the interview? But South Africa does things a little different. I don't know I don't know if you went that far out with help. So what are red flags in your answers from the interviewer? So I would say one thing a lot of us don't think about is, again, tailoring our answers to the company. We will give our best accomplishments, our best examples, without thinking about what's most relevant. So that's huge. Also, we'll let on that we are not super focused On this next opportunity, so we're never going to say like if they ask you why do you want this opportunity, which there's all this discourse online saying like that's such a stupid question. The answer is because I want money, and I know it's like a cute answer. Haha! Of course, that's the reason you want the job. But they're not actually. It's a poorly worded question. Really, what they're asking is what do you? Why did you choose to like want this job versus? basically all the other jobs in the world. We're trying to understand like what motivates you, which is a very valid question if they're going to pay you tens of thousands or maybe even hundreds of thousands of dollars. And they want to understand like what motivates you. I'm gonna have to manage you. I'm gonna have to pay you. What do you like? What do you do? You know, and so it's a very valid question. And so if you let on that you, you know, that you are kind of flexible with a lot of different professions. Or even if you're saying, well, I was really interested in this opportunity because I, I really want to work remotely right now. I'm going into office 3 days a week and you all are fully remote. And I think that's wonderful. Absolutely not. Right. Uh, it's, it's like saying, you know, well, why do you want to date me? And you say, oh, well, because I like, I like blonde hair, something like that. Right. It's like, that's so shallow. Like that has nothing to do with who someone is. So Um, yeah, exactly. We want to be a little bit more specific. Yep, they want all of our experience, but they don't want to pay us for it. Jennifer is here. She's 61 in the house. Um, Tyler asks, how can you tell that the company just put you through a final round and formality to get your experience for free? Um, so, you know, I would say that sometimes we, we just have to not— I mean, so, so it depends specifically on the situation, right? There could be a situation where, yes, they, they were trying to do that. I mean, I, I think that's pretty shady. I have had to do, and my clients have had to do really extensive projects and all that kind of stuff. And what I tell companies is the project you assign to someone should not— should be different enough, or, or, you know, not relevant to the work you're— not necessarily not relevant, but like it should be a fake example, a fake company that is not related to the company that you're interviewing for, so that work cannot be used. Such as, I think I once had, um, someone who was interviewing for a role at my company to do an action, um, in the interview, but it still was kind of like creating work, um, where it was like they were creating, I think, marketing for a, a course on how to get into law school, right? So I would not be able to use any of that copy or any, any of their ideas because it's how to get into law school, right? Like, that's not, that's not my business, but you could see how it is related to the job search, how to, you know, how to land a job. And so that's how I would kind of show to candidates, there's no way I'm going to use your work. I'm simply trying to understand your expertise just from seeing an actual work sample. So sometimes it's about, you know, maybe, you know, having, having different prompts and all that. I didn't get an entry-level position. I walked in, everyone was super young. I didn't Didn't get the role. Got it. Let's see. Lots of people sharing their stories in the chat. This is really cool to see. This is the fun part about us all being live here together is is seeing like all the different anecdotes and and seeing how a lot of our experiences are also overlapping. Any tips on how to not ramble in later rounds? I ramble when I'm trying to explain. Explain my previous experience and trying to answer their question fully? Sure. So when you go into the interview, before it, I want you to take a— draw a T-chart on a piece of paper or do it on a Google Doc or something. On the left-hand side, write all of the main qualifications of this role. On the right-hand side, name when you've done that qualification. Now set that down in front of you. Okay, you're not going to talk about anything else in your experience besides what is on the right-hand side of that T-chart. The second thing I want you to do is if the first time you're explaining a lot of your experiences is in the interview, and I'm not, I'm not just talking about like, oh, I wrote, I thought through all my answers and I wrote them all down. No, no. I'm saying like the first time you say it out loud is in the interview, you are likely going to ramble. So you need to be speaking out loud in low-stakes scenarios. You need to be practicing interviewing. It could even just be you staring in the mirror. But you should— if you notice, if you were to tell the same story to me 3 times, every single time you get more concise. Yet why are we not doing that in the privacy of our own homes? All right, made it to the assessment for social media manager, although the title didn't match the posting and got rejected after completing it. Oh my gosh, right? So that's really tough because basically what you're saying is you had to, you know, possibly like complete social media stuff and maybe they even use it or whatnot. I know that's super frustrating. I had an interview where I found the questions more difficult as the interview went on. Also, no questions were rephrased to me. Is that— is this a good sign? Says Edward. Also, no questions were rephrased to me. So were you asking— were you asking follow-up questions? So if you're ever confused about what a company is asking, um, you can absolutely re— ask, like, ask follow-up questions. A lot, a lot of times Um, we forget to ask follow-up questions, or we think that we're— it's almost like we're taking an exam. Remember that an interview is not an exam, and a lot of the interviewers don't think through the wording of their questions very well. And so if there is any confusion about what they mean, just ask a follow-up question. Um, if, if they were intentionally not rephrased and the point they were just like Nope, like no follow-up questions, just answer the question. Then it's like this, it's like this interviewer psychology where they just want to see how you interpret things and you come up with conclusions on your own. And in that case, lean heavily on speaking out loud your thought process because that's the most important thing that they are trying to figure out. Okay. Which strategy to choose if company is asking to prepare a presentation? Is there any suggestions? So this is really common that they will ask you to do a presentation, and what I recommend there is to always think about— this is something I really coach my clients through and I help them come up with ideas— how to be a step above. So let's say they tell you, hey, you need 5 slides in this deck and all that kind of stuff. And just try to think about what would make me one step better than other candidates. Could it be that ahead of that presentation, you did a quick survey of the people in the room who were going to be in the room, and then you put the results on one of the slides during the presentation? It was kind of like this, huh, like, wow, that was great pre-work. Or you also brought worksheets, like if it was in person, that go along with the presentation. Or, you know, when you're having examples in the presentation, you're using like the names of the CEO or the leadership team, and you're using the colors, the company colors and their logos, like just kind of ways that you were showing almost like you're already one of them, right? All of these creative ideas to just seed to them. You know, it's not like you're, you're destroying the conventions of what they asked for, but you're trying to think of ways, how can I be a little bit better than the next person? And frankly, it's not about being like this huge blowout, like, wow, this person's so interesting, they put their presentation on a cake, whoa. No, it's about just like being a little bit more thoughtful than the next person. And that's honestly probably the people who are beating you right now. They're just slightly better. They're slightly more thoughtful. They're slightly more confident. They're slightly better at communicating their ideas, having structured thinking, not rambling, and they're winning. I have a 3rd round interview with a multidisciplinary group. Any suggestions? Yes. So I'm guessing that this is multiple people at one, right, at once, right? That we call this a panel interview. So we kind of touched on this a little bit earlier, but you want to make sure that you're individually researching each person. So you're not just kind of going in being like, oh, it's just a blank. So you should ask ahead who's going to be interviewing you, research them, and then have individual comments and questions that might point to certain people and acknowledge certain people, say their names. You know, I think we often get a little too intimidated in panel interviews. where we just kind of treat them like a blob of, of judgmental people versus more of like a conversation. And if someone feels like you notice them more, you will start to get them more on your side. So that, that can also be really great to help you out there. Y'all, there's a lot of questions in the chat. We are cruising. So Rick says, I had a past ghosting experience after a phone screen with a recruiter. With one company, what do we do about that? Yes, I'm sure there's lots of people in the chat who have been ghosted after an interview. Let me know in the chat. I actually, you know, I'll do. I'll go ahead and pull up some follow-up emails for after an interview, and the feedback I have gotten on these these these email templates are like holy cow, Madeline. Weeks of being ignored and they responded because of this email. And so that is, uh, I'm gonna send that over to you. I'll put this in the chat right now. And then also after this, I'll, I'll, I'll share with you the free resources page I have on my website. There's just tons of resources there. So here, follow-up email templates. that actually get responses. Uh, and then I'll also just put on my full, my full page of resources where this, this resource is on and just a bunch of others, including how to answer tell me about yourself. Um, the job search assessment where like, what is the thing standing between you and a job offer? Definitely. Oh, that's a— even if you just go to www.madelynmann.com/quiz, take that assessment. That will also help you in the interview. Um, uh, so free resources that'll help you in the interview if you're trying to figure out like what, what's going wrong, what's going wrong in my interviews, why am I not getting the offer. Take that assessment. People have said, oh my gosh, that this is so accurate to me. Um, okay, amazing. So that can definitely, definitely help there. Might I add that I'm overqualified, but I ran out of unemployment, so I'm willing to start over. Oh, I hear you. Um, what are your thoughts on unpaid case studies throughout the interview process? Here's the thing. We as humans demand to try before we buy a lot of times. The app you downloaded, you got a free trial. You know, you got to do a few yoga classes before you bought the whole bundle. Maybe you got to try a sip of that wine before you bought the bottle. And a lot of you watch literally hundreds of hours of my videos before purchasing my coaching. And I don't think you would, you would hire me and, you know, get this life-changing coaching if you didn't already have confidence in my abilities. So now flip it. The company's now asking you, hey, we're not sure that you're good at what you do. Can you show us? Like right now, like I'm currently working for free for you right now, right? I'm giving you coaching and you've paid nothing, right? That is essentially what companies are asking you to do. And I know it's really frustrating, but that is often the the way for them to feel secure that, that they're confident that you have the abilities. And so you're right, it absolutely can cross over into a realm of it being an inappropriate amount of time and commitment. So that's another thing I, I, you know, you have to pull up barriers, such as I would never do like a coaching session for free, right? It's like that, that would be like if I just started handing out free coaching sessions, I would never see my family. I would not be able to pay any of my bills, right? Like, I you can only do it, you can only do it so much. Um, but exactly. So it's like, you, you— I definitely think that, that doing, showing your skills is also really good for people who maybe you don't have the sparkling resume. Maybe you don't have the Ivy League university on there and the branding companies, but you are going to win because when you get to show your abilities, you actually outshine the people who have like the, the pedigree. So, you know, that's a more positive way of looking at it. But you're right, I think I definitely in my past canceled some interviews where I was like, I, I'm just gonna go with this other opportunity. I don't really want to go through all this song and dance. Oh, you're the best! God bless you, Madeline. Thank you for all you do. Oh my gosh, I'm so— uh, it's absolutely my pleasure. Thank you so much for coming coming. Should I reach out if the second interview was 3 weeks ago and the portal says I'm still in consideration? Yes. So I would say I just put some follow-up email templates in the chat. Use those. Okay, use that for this and go ahead and follow up now. I felt— I feel strung along by these companies, says Joe. After the final round interview, one canceled the position. Another said I lacked medical device experience, which was clear from my resume. Isn't that ridiculous? It's like, you already knew my experience. Why did we go this far? And it's actually— the thing is, is like, yes, that's what they convinced it. Basically, when anyone makes a decision, they make it with emotion and back it up with logic. So something happened here. And if you're my client, I'd kind of work through the interview ladder with you. And I would also listen to your interview recordings. That's a huge thing I do. is I listen to interview recordings and I give people feedback on that. Also, if you are interested in coaching, we are doing an info session tomorrow. Essentially, our coaching program is super hands-on. A little, a little taste is as soon as you join, we help you redo your, your resume and your LinkedIn, and quickly we start applying for you. So our team does all the applications. We typically start seeing you landing interviews in like a week, maybe less. We, we just had someone, he, the first week he got 5 interviews, his second week he got 2 interviews. So we help a lot with that. So then you can sit back and say, all right, let me focus on preparing. Let me focus on getting to the end zone. And then it also helps you to relax a little bit because you have these opportunities in progress. It makes you kind of lose that desperation in the interview and makes you more confident, allows you to say to companies, I'm super interested in you. I am in, in some later on interviews with other companies, but I'm really interested in you. And they go, oh my gosh, pick us, pick us. Don't pick those other companies. I will go ahead. Let me actually grab the link. So anyone who wants to go to the info session tomorrow, it's with a member of our executive team. Um, it's like a Zoom session, so I'll go ahead and put that in the chat so that, um, so program, uh, info session. I'm gonna go and put that in the chat and you can head over to that. That, that's happening tomorrow. Um, yes, Anna says, is the ladder you mentioned available somewhere to look at? Yes, so it's in my member site. So when my clients log in, it's like, it's like an assessment that they take, and then they get the results of where they are in their interviews ladder. Exactly. So yeah, if you're interested in that kind of stuff, I would say go to the info session. Um, so, so check it out. Oh, Laura says thank you all for your— thank you for all of your help. Oh my gosh, I'm so glad this session is feeling enriching, and there are so many questions. I'm going to keep plowing ahead to make sure I can get through as many as humanly possible because these are dang good questions. So let's see. Whoa, cool. David says, thank you for the LinkedIn session next week. So I did a, I did a webinar last week. I posted another user's post and added my own comment, got 10% LinkedIn page view from that. That's cool. I'm not a fan of sharing, resharing other people's posts. I like intentionally left that out. But that is, that is better than doing nothing on LinkedIn. So I like that. That's like some good momentum. Final interview today, later today. Third round question is, they made me do a practice assessment beforehand. Should I bring up in the final interview if they have any feedback and if they have any feedback for me? Yes. So I would— I think you should be prepared to discuss that assessment. You know what's even more important, Brittany, is a very common question they'll ask you is, how do you think you do? Or it depends on like— it depends what you mean by assessment. If it's like truly like a test, like a graded test, then this might not be as appropriate. But if it's something more of like you had to do some sort of like work sample, they might say like, how do you think you did? What— how— critique yourself. So be ready to critique yourself. But yeah, discussing the feedback and stuff like that and bringing in your curiosity of, well, I made these choices on the assessment, but how would you do it? Right. Having that curiosity is really great. So let's see. I'm in marketing and had a couple 3-hour in-person interviews. And in my folder, I had a bunch of printouts of some of my past work, like a one-pager recap example. Um, a one-page of a digital ad example and will reference the visual aid to support their relevant answer. Is that a bad idea? Nope. That's— I would always do that when I was interviewing. Um, I would have it in a binder, so it would be in like, uh, plastic, plastic, like sleeves. And so I'd put the papers in the plastic sleeves and I would flip through the binder. Um, but this, this totally works too. At that point, many of your questions have already been answered in the previous stages. What sorts of questions should I focus on, um, at those later stages? So here's the thing, even if questions have already been answered, companies are notorious for repeating questions as well. So I wouldn't— like, I listen to my clients' interviews. I listen to several interviews a day, you guys. So not only am I helping people, but I'm also listening to what people are asking candidates several times a day on a daily basis across so many different professions. And funny enough, they ask a lot of the same things. And funny enough, but it makes me want to take my brain and chuck it over a fence, is they— so many of them ask, tell me about yourself. It's like crazy. Like, why are we asking this question? We already have their LinkedIn profile. We already have their resume. Why are you asking tell me about yourself? It's so Stupid, but they do it. So make sure you have that. Even if it's even if it's a final round, be ready for tell me about yourself, which is crazy. But like I mentioned earlier, be ready for a character interview, a who interview, a vibe interview, and a you ask me interview, and then every now and then a skill-based interview. Oh my gosh! Have a dime forever every time I was ghosted by companies. I wouldn't need a job. Oh my gosh! For real. Um, so, uh, Julissa says, can you tell me more about how the video interview process works, um, on the hiring side? For example, once the interview is completed, who reviews it and how is it evaluated? I've completed 2 video interviews recently and wasn't selected, so I'm curious about how those interviews are reviewed and what the company looks for. Okay, so I'm guessing what you're mentioning is actually a one-way interview. So just, just so we're clear, video interviews typically like when there's 2 people and it's like done on a video call. And then one-way interviews typically, of course, yeah, there's a video component, but like no one else is on the other end. So I'm guessing that that's the one you're talking about. So with that, I would say the way it works is you're the— what you— that what you actually say is then transcribed. That transcription then ranks you in the system. And then when the recruiter or whoever is reviewing it goes into the system, they first watch the ones that were ranked the highest. So what's really important is the relevance of your answers, using, you know, using specific skills, referencing certain things that are highly relevant to your profession. The actual video component is then viewed by the actual recruiter. So that's when things like, you know, are you a little bit too casual on the video? Are you— do you seem like you're reading your answers? Like, these are all things that would get them to go, you know what, this person seems like they don't really know what they're doing. So really keeping those things in mind. I also have a full— I have several videos on this that go like really detailed. It's on my YouTube channel. Self Made Millennial. Um, I think I have at least 3 videos on this, uh, where it's like super in-depth of, uh, like several of the different platforms. So definitely check that out. I'm 61, and the fact that I'm looking to move to remote— from, from remote to in-office is not helping me. I think I need better closing, almost a request for them to hire me at the end, summarizing my strengths. What do you think? Oh, it is so tough to say without being able to like listen to your interviews and tell you. I will be honest, I think it has to be more than just closing well. Uh, you need to do more, right? It needs to be that consistently they're saying This person is strategic. This person is thoughtful. This person is an incredible communicator. They are eager. They're curious. They're hungry to learn more. They're excitable. They're specifically interested in this role in this company. They aren't going to get bored. They aren't feeling like they're overqualified. They aren't weird when I mentioned that maybe a lot of their team members. going to be significantly younger than them, or their manager is going to be younger than them or something like that. They're, they're open to it. They express a desire to learn from others, that they can learn from anyone, and that they are seeing this as a growth opportunity, right? Like, those are a lot of the things that you need to focus on. I think having like a good closing is, of course, a solid thing to do. But if you didn't get it from all of the exchanges and having a consultative approach and all of those things, I don't think like necessarily having like a formal, well, in conclusion, here are the reasons you should hire me. There you go. Right. It would, it would have to be more than that. If they gave us a range for hourly pay and we want the highest amount, how can we answer the question of how much you want to be paid? So I would start with if they give a range, you'd say, okay, I'm good with that range. And then once it comes, once they've actually chosen you, that's when you start negotiating. And you ask for the top of the range. How do you explain short experience, 6 months for a project that wasn't renewed in an interview? I feel like some recruiters are suspicious. So for— so that sounds to me like you should, you should make sure on your resume it says this is a contract role or project-based role. Uh, it needs to be explicit in your resume or else you will look like a job hopper. So Colette asks, I'm trying to move from media to communications, and despite having 10+ years of experience at big outlets, I'm struggling to get noticed. Any advice? Um, so I mean, that sounds like a, a solid pivot. I would say it really— so I have a lot of clients who pivot. Uh, you know, if you're pivoting just, just your role, um, that is easier than also pivoting your role and your industry. So just try to do as few pivots at a time as you can. Also be careful about leveling, right? So sometimes what I'm also calibrating with clients is Are you aiming too low? Are you aiming too high? And sometimes when we make a pivot, we actually tend to aim a little bit too low. As well as I tend to help my clients absolutely make over their experience. So where they, like a lot of the media experience kind of fades into the background and a lot of the communications work is really first and foremost, front and center. All right. I had a second round interview yesterday with hiring manager, and I mentioned at the end that I was really interested and willing to learn what is needed to close the learning gaps. Is, is that okay? I love that you mentioned that you're really interested. A lot of us— I have a lot of clients where they'll say something like, well, you know, this employer is my number one choice and I've wanted to work for them for 3 years. I'll say, have you told them that? Like, do they actually know that? We need to be like— employers love that. They want employees who are really interested in their work. So I love that you said that. Um, uh, willing to learn what is needed to close the learning gaps. I think that's solid. Um, if, if they have identified that there are sincere learning gaps, I would say that. But if they haven't actually stated or acknowledged that there are learning gaps, I wouldn't necessarily draw attention to them. But I think overall that's really solid. Uh, okay, thank you for your videos. I had an online interview with 18 questions for the first time in my life. Is that normal? I'm still waiting for feedback. 18 questions is a lot. That's a lot. I admire their thoroughness, you know. But yeah, that, that's more questions than most people get, for sure. For sure. What are your indicators from an interview that you will be progressed to the following round or offer stage without the hiring managers saying it specifically? Okay, I think that was my most recent YouTube video where I gave, um, where I gave several, uh, examples. I think it was like 9 things that could happen in the, the interview. Let me see. I think if you go to my content— okay, so it wasn't my most recent, uh, video, but it was 2 videos ago. So that's a really good one. So check that one out. Um, but overall Like, if they are really fast to respond to you, that's typically a good sign. Um, if they're saying like, you, when you do this role, or what you'll do is— it's not, that's not like a, a dead giveaway, but it is nice to hear that they're picturing you in the role. Um, there, and there's a bunch of others. I think there's, there's 7 others I mentioned in the video. Um, that, uh, another one— oh, another one's that they work around your schedule. So if you're like, hey, I'm actually in final round interviews with another company, and like, is there any flexibility with this timeline? They go, oh my gosh, let's get you scheduled this week. That's a really good sign. How do we prepare interview questions before I go into the interview? So I give my clients a list of interview— oh, how do we prepare interview questions? Okay, actually, I thought, I thought this was preparing questions to ask in the interview, but I'm thinking what you're meaning is how do we prepare for the questions that they're going to ask. So I would say, um, on my channel I have tons of videos on like the top interview questions. Watch those. People have said that those have gotten them tremendous results. I also have videos on behavioral interviewing that will cover a lot of questions. And so you need to be good at even if they ask you a behavioral interview question that you have never practiced before or anything like that, um, you still— you can still answer it well if you're really good at taking your examples that you've prepared ahead of time and adjusting the way you introduce them and talk about your learnings by, by practicing that whole, uh, how to do that. So that's, that's really— that'll be really helpful for you. Ah, there's lots of love in the chat. Thanks for addressing my question. Oh, I, I love to hear it. Um, okay, let's do a few more questions. Oh my gosh, and there's so much love in the chat. Um, so, uh, one thing that, uh, I'll make sure to say before, uh, let me get into my other, um, questions here. But I just want to remind you that we are doing an info session tomorrow. So tomorrow afternoon, if you are interested in getting coaching, like I mentioned, we, we go ahead, we give you a complete makeover. The makeovers are pretty stark and you'll realize, holy cow, I think I've— I can't believe I've been using this resume and this LinkedIn profile. Let me start attracting opportunities on my LinkedIn. Let me start getting more opportunities. We start applying for you. We have a whole dashboard that shows our progress and how many interviews you're landing and all of that. And then you're focused on, okay, let me just keep acing these interviews. Let me keep getting feedback from Madeline and the other coaches, um, on, on how to, to level up and get to this final round. And a lot of our clients, their biggest issue is interviews but not offers. They're getting to final rounds and then having to start all the way over, and they're missing out on these career-defining opportunities, and they're saying never ever again. So let's do, um, job search coaching program info session. It is, it is limited access, so definitely register and show up on time, uh, because we, or we keep those meetings really small. All right, so let's get in on this. So, uh, let's do a few more questions. Okay, so my last 3 second round interviews, the typical interview questions weren't asked, so I felt so unprepared. Other than having a story toolbox, do you have any other suggestions? Yes, so I would definitely say, like I said, just get ready for a who interview or a top grading interview. Um, you know, be— do like— I— we have a tool in my program that's like a mock interview, and so it like puts people through like all the different types of interviews that can come up. Um, and also just like get used to scenario interviews, right? So I have— there's like the 4A formula for answering scenario interviews. Like, there's all kinds of different ones, skill-based ones where, like, for example, one of my clients who works in sales, like, just mid-interview, they started doing, hey, like, let's— I'm— we're going to role play. You're going to be a salesperson. I'm going to be this. And let's do it right. So you have to be ready for all these different ones. Yes. Joe says, why has the job market changed so much? 7, 8 years ago, you interviewed maybe a second And got an offer or rejection. Now it's three to five rounds, panels, presentations, exams, assignments. Okay, put yourself in the company's position. They have less money and they have less headcount. So if you have if you have only if you have a fewer number of people you can hire, are you going to be much more diligent about making sure your dollar is going to go farther? Companies are. scared. A lot of them would rather not hire at all than hire the wrong person. And so that, that's why it's happening. Okay. Oh, Laura has an interview this afternoon for compliance specialists. Should I only focus on the specialist role? I think there may— they may be assessing for other, other 2. Okay, so applied for a compliance session, always also applied for the manager role. Yes, if you got the interview for the compliance specialist, focus your energy there. It's the bird in the hand, right? Let's not, let's not try to spread yourself thin and then you get nothing. Okay, Hal asks, when answering an interview question, is it better to say, I think the person in this role should Or if I was hired, I would, or does it matter? I personally don't see that this framing would make or break you. I like the second one, if I was hired, I would, um, because it just, you know, it, it's kind of showing I would do this versus kind of saying this is what other people should do. But frankly, if you said the first one, I don't, I don't think that would be— that would I don't think that would shoot you in the foot at all. Um, oh my gosh, yes. I used your BAMF binder in 2022 to land my last role with 30 years of experience. Is it still smart to bring it in 2026? I do have it ready to go for my final round interviews tomorrow. Yes, yes. A lot of my clients bring BAMF binders. Um, and yeah, it's definitely great. Oh, yay. Larry says it's so good to see you, Larry. Great posting today about AARP about combating ageism. Yes. So I've been in close contact with AARP. I've been doing work with them. Like I said, a lot of my clients, it's a huge, huge factor for them. And we've seen so many amazing breakthroughs. Your age will not be the thing that keeps you from being employed. I guarantee you that if you are following the right strategies. All right, let's see. Oh yeah, and people want to share the the article. Cool. Wow, Noel says by listening to these lives and your online videos has got me four. First round interviews and won already a second interview in this past week. Love. I'm so glad you you all have been coming to these and seeing so much value here. It is really such a pleasure of mine to come on here with you, and thank you so much. I I do like to come on as much as possible. If I could get a Wi-Fi high five in the chat, it is always such a pleasure to come on with you. And you all are wonderful. Gert says, Madeline, you're the best. Thank you for the webinar. I will have to leave early. Oh my gosh. Well, I'm so glad you came. Wow. Okay. And then this channel made me look at interviews as reassurance conversations to assure the interviewer that you know the job description and half of an idea of day to day it is and the problems you can solve. I love that. I love that summary. So as always, you can also request topics for me to cover in these live sessions. I'm happy to, to cater to your desires. And as always, you all have been asking fabulous questions. And you are absolutely wonderful. So I'm gonna send you away with a Wi-Fi high five.
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