First things first—congratulations on landing a second interview!
This means the company is seriously considering you and will be evaluating you to a higher standard. Since you’ve made it this far, you’ve probably conquered the basic interview questions from your initial interview. The types of questions you’ll encounter may encompass specifics about the job, the company, and your ability to perform in the job.
To prepare for the next stage of interviews, keep reading to learn about common second round interview questions.
Second Round Interview Questions You Can Expect
Who are our competitors and what makes us different from them?
Again, they may test you on the specifics of the company, field, and industry overall. You definitely want to conduct research about the particular company and its competitors before entering your second interview. That way, you can clearly highlight benefits and advantages that make this particular company the leader in its field. You can use websites like Crunchbase and Glassdoor to easily compare and contrast centralized information from national resources. It would also benefit you to browse the company’s website, Facebook page, Twitter feed, Instagram, and LinkedIn page.
This Best Employers page is also an excellent resource for research if you landed an interview at one of the top employers in Arizona.
What can you do for this company if we hire you?
Your technical skills are already clear on your resume. You may have also articulated any other unique skills or talents you have in your first interview. When answering this question, focus on the work you’d be completing in the position, and how your character, personality, and skill-set combine to serve the company exceptionally well. Aside from studying second round interview questions, you should also come prepared with questions about the company. From a hiring perspective, your interviewer(s) will pretty much equate your preparation and curiosity with “brownie points.”
What challenges are you looking for in a position?
Your interviewers will evaluate your drive, dedication, work ethic and discipline in your second interview.
You may have discussed a time when you faced a challenge and learned from it in your first interview. But here, interviewers want to know that you’re motivated and willing to face challenges head-on. Answers will obviously differ depending on the position, but generally, you should highlight the difficulties that come with working in your particular field. Also, how do you work to conquer these challenges in your everyday efforts? This demonstrates that you are enthusiastic and willing to accept any curve balls your job may throw at you.
What are your salary and benefit requirements?
While they may wait to ask this until they make an official offer, it never hurts to come prepared. Take the time to research salaries not only for this specific company, but companies that offer higher salaries for the same position to potentially give you some leverage during your interview and negotiation. You should be equipped with figures and ideas about how you want to answer this question in case it comes up during your second interview. This is one of the most popular second interview questions—so do your research on industry averages, your ideal salary numbers, and so forth.
Don’t forget specifics of what you’d like to see in your benefits package – including vacation time, the option to work flexible hours or work remotely, or other options the company may list out in their benefits section of their careers site. For further reading, browse some of the best company benefits.
If you could bring one item to a deserted island, what would it be? (You might hear similar random, creative, off-the-wall types of questions.)
Your interviewer is looking to assess how well you think outside the box. Employers and interviewers enjoy asking tricky questions to see how well you think on your feet and if you can answer in a clever, creative way. Plus, these questions test your problem-solving skills and reveal a bit of your personality.
Good luck with your second job interview
The fact that you even landed it means you are a potential asset to the company and they just want you to knock their socks off one final time. Keep these second round interview questions handy and prepare your answers carefully to ensure you ace your secondary interview and hopefully, land the job. While you’re waiting to hear back after your interview, be sure to follow up appropriately to show your interest in the job!
