3rd Round Interview

Cotta

HI All,

As some may recall I started a post on here regarding the promptness of a second round interview materialising following my first interview. I managed to get a second interview booked – it required taking another half day off work. I didn’t think the second interview went particularly well in terms of performance (it was system based), however I have received an invite to attend a 3rd round interview.

The company in question originally approached me via their sourcing department, however I wasn’t expecting it to be quite the marathon it is becoming. I’ve never been to a third round interview before and if I do attend this it is going to require another half day from work (The interview is scheduled for one hour, however getting to and from will take some time). I think I am going to attend it as I not overly happy with the way my current job is going, however what should I expect from a third interview? This is all completely new to me as the most I’ve had is a second interview which was basically me being introduced to the company.

Any help would be very much appreciated.

d70cw6

third interview is usually an informal chat with the head honcho of your department / business (depending on how large organisation is) to give final approval for job offer.
probably be fairly informal chat over coffee in the staff restaurant or equivalent.
prepare some humorous quips about life, the universe, and everything.

enjoyyourshoes

I would suggest:-

1. Present yourself in the most professional manner you can
2. Be prepared for a proper interview not merely a chat
3.It will be down to you plus 1 or 2 other candidates so see it as a massive opportunity
4. research the company inside and out
5. Get some good questions ready (websites can assist here)
6. Prepare your answers and know your strengths and be prepared to give real life examples of when you have demonstrated key skills identified in the job spec/advert etc
7. Give yourself plenty of time to get to the location and make sure you know where it is
8 get your best suit ready
9 Breathe

DKLS

I have a third and final interview tomorrow and it can be a slow old process of lots of hoops to jump through, it has taken 3.5 months to get to this point from the initial email via linkedin.

enjoyyours advice is good. Prepare for an interview and hope for a informal chat.

TELLIT01

No matter how informal the 3rd interview may seem, never forget that it is an interview. Don't be lulled into being too matey with the interviewers. Friendly, yes, but still think about answers before you give them.

Cotta

I just heard back from the original sourcer, they sent the following so it seems like it will be formal:


I think it will be pretty much the same thing as your last interview. Do not to think of it as informal, just approach it as you did the last one as you scored really well in the testing.

choyaa

I do wonder if a third round interview is anything more than welcome aboard and perhaps as has been mentioned, are you a good cultural fit? Surely to goodness they are not inviting you in again just to say "Thank you for your interest in this role, unfortunately..........."

bod1467

When I interviewed for my present company I had 3 interviews.

1. Usual interview with HR, doing assessments etc. (Sort the wheat from the chaff)

2. Interview with department manager (Down to the last few candidates)

3. Interview / casual chat with business unit director ... I actually asked him if this was simply so he could get a personal impression of me, and that I was the chosen candidate. (He said yes, and actually appreciated my astuteness and bravado. The role was to be technical in nature but to also have a lot of customer interaction, so he liked how I approached things).

Treat them all as formal interviews and you won't go wrong. If you're at the 3rd stage then you're the chosen candidate or down to the last 2 (most likely).

Sanne

Well, if the 2nd interview was only a computer based test (unless I interpret the info above wrongly) then the 3rd interview might well be more likely like a 2nd interview. You're probably down to the last two or three but I don't think it's a casual chat but has more the function of a 2nd interview elsewhere (where the testing may be done as part of the 1st).

I managed to get my current role after one interview (though they only interviewed three people in the first place); in the previous role I had two interviews, the first was a mixture of a technical interview and one assessing management skills etc. (so very much a "can you do the job" interview), the second (it was down to two then) was with HR and a Director to see if you fitted into the company culture and if they approved of you as, after the first interview, a recommendation to hire was often already made. Many soul searching questions.

Cotta

Sanne wrote: »

Well, if the 2nd interview was only a computer based test (unless I interpret the info above wrongly) then the 3rd interview might well be more likely like a 2nd interview. You're probably down to the last two or three but I don't think it's a casual chat but has more the function of a 2nd interview elsewhere (where the testing may be done as part of the 1st).

I managed to get my current role after one interview (though they only interviewed three people in the first place); in the previous role I had two interviews, the first was a mixture of a technical interview and one assessing management skills etc. (so very much a "can you do the job" interview), the second (it was down to two then) was with HR and a Director to see if you fitted into the company culture and if they approved of you as, after the first interview, a recommendation to hire was often already made. Many soul searching questions.

Yes this is correct, I double checked this morning and the third interview is only with the Senior Manager of the department. This would be my first time doing an interview with only one person on the other end.

cardsguy

For myself 3 interviews seems to be the usual:

0. CV sent to recruiter
1. Screening phone call
2. In-depth phone call or Skype
3. Face to face

I have been part of a process that dragged on for about 3 months with 4.5 steps - go figure

0. Screeening call with recruiter
0.5 CV sent to recruiter
1. Screening call with someone from the company (domain related)
2. 3-hour video / phone interview with senior people from the company (domain related)
3. Call with a manager
4. Half a day face to face interview