Career Management Center

The Job Search

Follow-Up Interviews

If you are invited for a second or third interview at the organization's main offices, you may or may not have some leeway in scheduling a date, depending upon whether the company does all second interviews on one or two dates or over a period of time (based on company size, etc.). However, recruiters understand that you have academic obligations and will try to work with you if at all possible. Respond immediately by telephone to an invitation for an office visit. Find out ahead of time which expenses the organization will cover and be sure to keep receipts for what you have spent. If you are visiting more than one organization on one trip, expenses should be split fairly among them. Recruiters will not be surprised that you are interviewing with other firms.

Do not accept second interviews with an organization for which you would not consider working. It is much more discourteous to cancel plans for an additional interview after they have been made than it is to decline gracefully the offer of a second interview if you are not really interested. Do not go on site interviews "just for practice." You put yourself and Tulane in a bad light. Recruiters do compare notes, so your reputation may spread.

If you must change your plans at the last minute, be sure to contact the organization as quickly as possible, and to follow-up with a note of apology and/or thanks to the person arranging the visit.

Just as in the initial interview, send a thank you letter to all of the people with whom you spoke. If someone expresses interest, keep him or her posted on your plans, whether or not the firm offers you a position or you accept it.

Be prepared to answer early morning telephone calls from recruiters - they keep business hours which are unknown to bleary-eyed students who don't rise until 10:00 a.m. Recruiters from the Northeast have been known to start their day with those calls, and 8:00 a.m. in New York translates to a bright 7:00 a.m. in New Orleans. If you do get a call:

1. Answer the phone with `hello' - no obscenities.
2. Ask them to wait while you get paper and pen.
3. Get important information - name, company, phone number, what you need to do and when.
4. If you are truly incapacitated, get the person's name and telephone number and ask if you may call back later in the day. (Say you're on your way to class or something more     believable.)
5. Change your answering machine to a conservative and simple message. No background music, impressions, or jokes.
6. Communicate with roommates about the companies you are interviewing with and the importance of providing messages in a timely manner.