I got a call back from a company where I had a phone interview recently, and they’d like me to come in for an in-person interview. I have to call them back on Monday to schedule the interview, and it will likely be sometime next week or the following week that I actually get in. It sounds like they’re pretty flexible as to when I come in, and any day of the week is fine with them.
My question is: Is this an opportunity for me to gain an advantage over other applicants by either going first or last in the interview process? Should I call back on Monday and see if I can get in there the same day? Should I try to make the interview for the end of the week or even the following week?
I can see advangates to both options. I think if I go first, and have a great interview, maybe I can put myself at the top of the list right away. I also think going first or early would at least prevent someone else from coming in before me and blowing them away and being “the one” before I even have a chance.
I can also see advangates to going last. Among other things, I think it may help to be fresh in their mind when they get to the decision making proces.
So, any advice on this? Anything to be gained or lost by going early or later? Does it even matter at all?
If you inteview well, then I say go last. I think staying fresh in their minds when the sit down to make the decision could make a slight difference; especially since they might not review the candidates until the following week. Also, if you’re good, they will probably compare you to the previous candidates while keeping in mind your strengths. And if a really great candidate inteviewed on Monday, you probably wouldn’t beat them in any order.
But overall, I don’t think it matters much. If you’re the best candidate, you should get the job and if you didn’t it might not be a place you want to work at anyway. If there are two or more candidates that are really close, they might just have a second round of interviews which pretty much invalidates any advantage of the first round order.
What might be most important is finding a time to interview that will best suit you. If you are a morning person, then a morning slot, etc.
When I was doing new business presentations, my bosses always wanted to go last. The one disadvantage to it is that if someone before you gave a particularly brilliant answer to a question, you’ll be judged by your response to that same question, not your overall strength.
In some ways, the time of the interview is more important than the order. You don’t want to interview right before or right after lunch, or at the end of the day.