Better to interview first or last?
For on-campus finance interviews, do you guys think it's better to interview first or last? I consider myself a pretty solid interviewee, nothing fantastic but solid overall. The problem is, there are a lot of people I'm going against who are absolutely amazing and getting interviews with every bank.
I figure if I interview last I'll be fresh in the interviewer's mind, but they won't be as impressed because they've gone through all the really good people.
On the other hand, if I interview first, they may have a better first impression because they haven't interviewed any of the rock stars, but they might not remember me by the end of the day.
Any insight is much appreciated.
I think interviewing last would be a bad idea. By the end of the day, they interviewers get tired and what to get the hell out and want you to get the hell out too.
My favorite is after lunch. They come back, aren't grumpy like they are in the morning, have a nice full stomach, are a bit more laid back and in the mood to strike good conversation.
To be honest though, if you're good it doesn't matter if you're interviewing at 8am or 7pm. The bankers can spot people they want back in a heartbeat, regardless of what time of day it is.
I'm with yawster -- after lunch has been a pleasant surprise for me.
Interviewers jot down notes throughout the interview and immediately after you leave the room. They evaluate you within those 2-3 minutes in between interviews, so theoretically, it doesn't matter when you go.
I think your time slot ends up having very little impact. For example, take a typical superday where you start in the morning and finish interviewing in the afternoon. Throughout the day, you and other candidates rotate interviewers. After a superday we get together to review the aggregated feedback on the candidates. Almost without fail there will be 1 or 2 candidates that stood out and impressed nearly every single one of their interviewers (who have not discussed candidates between themselves). The rest will have so-so or poor results. I've reviewed more than a dozen superdays so this isn't based on a small sampling of days.
What this says to me is that time slot really doesn't matter for candidates, the successful ones will be noticed and the rest will be filtered out.
~~~~~~~~~~~ CompBanker
better to interview well.
Like Compbanker said, in a superday it really doesnt matter, but in a first round on-campus I've had most luck in the past in the afternoon. Study shows that people remember how things end rather than how they begin. Think about a movie you watched, chances are you remember the ending better than the beginning.
Luckily it worked out for me, so good luck
Better to be first than last, and try not to go before a break, and especially not before lunch
Overall it probably doesn't make much of a difference if you interview well. However, if evaluating times I would say the following: 1) Early in the morning is not good - interviewers may be tired, but more importantly you won't be remembered as much out of several interviews during the day. 2) Late in the afternoon is not good - I was the last to interview for a summer analyst position at a known boutique, and I could tell my interviewer was tired and not focused. The interview was very short.
I would suggest late morning (but not right before lunch), or early afternoon, like 1-3pm.
^^yep..if you suck then it doesnt matter. but middle of the slot times is usually "optimal"
I used to really wonder about the "optimal" timeslot and tried many different strategies for all my internship and FT interviews (about 50+ over 4 years). Honestly, I don't think it makes any difference. Your interviewer could be grumpy or in a good mood at any time and you have no control over it.
Better to prepare well and practice for the interview then waste your time trying to figure out the best slot.
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