So now you’ve reached the finals and are thinking that the end is near. Wrong!
As with the steps in the job search process, the finals, like getting from third base to home plate, are just another series of events that you are going to manage.
One of the biggest challenges that you have in a job search is to be unemotionally objective so that you can mindfully manage the process of finding a job from the first through the final step.
Most people get to the finals with one, or at the most, two job opportunities and they quit their search activities. Big mistake! You cannot afford to count on anything regarding a job opportunity until you actually have an offer and a start date. Even then, I would not recommend that you shut down all the other opportunities that you might be working.
So what do you do when you reach the finals? Exactly the same thing you did to get there. Keep working the process. Find the employer’s pain, sell yourself as hard as you can, and get a commitment from the hiring authority for the next interview. Do the same things, but in this next interview get a commitment and try to get an offer. The goal of the process is to get an offer – one, two, or as many as you can.
Don’t get overly excited; don’t get down in the dumps. Just keep working the process. It is a numbers game. Some events will be more beneficial than others.
Remember, this is the finals
You are not going to get another chance. You either win or lose. It is that simple. Whatever you do, play to win! Interview with everything you’ve got and, as they say in basketball, leave it all of on the floor.
But equally important, don’t be overly cautious and play not to lose. Often in the interview process, when candidates get to the final interviews, they have a tendency to act out of fear of loss, rather than with a vision of success. They become too careful about what they say and do in the interviews, being worried that they might “screw up” what they are close to getting. I’ve had candidates act completely different from the behavior that got him or her that far. Don’t interview out of fear. Be confident. Keep interviewing just the way you have been doing. Dance with what brung ya!
