In high school, my lacrosse coach used to constantly remind us to “finish strong”—whether we were running sprints, completing a 3-mile run, or ending a game. I can still remember her standing on the sidelines, yelling “Finish strong, ladies!” The point she was trying to make, I think, is that when you’re in the home stretch, you shouldn’t wind down—you should give it all you’ve got and end with no regrets.
This tidbit from my past came to mind the other day when I was talking to a legal recruiter. He said his number one piece of advice to interview candidates is at the end of the interview, you should look your interviewer in the eye and express your interest and passion for the position. “You’d be shocked at how many people don’t do this,” he said, “And then the interviewer is confused if the candidate actually wants the position or not.”
In short, make sure you’re finishing your interviews strong. One way to sum up your interest is to close with “I’m really interested in this position, and after speaking to you I think I’d be a great fit for it. Do you know what the next steps are in the interview process, or when I should expect to hear from you?” Not only does this establish that you want the job, but it will prompt a potential hiring timeline, so you’re not left wondering when you’ll hear from them.
So in your next interview, make sure you’re not just shaking hands and saying goodbye. We have a whole article on the various closing statements of an interview, and all of them accomplish the same thing: you finish strong.
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