Do This Immediately After Your Job Interview

The interview just ended.

And you just got into your car.

Or maybe you just logged off the video platform.

Either way, it’s over.?

You breathe a sigh of relief, scream, or start crying.?Or maybe all three.

Emotional reaction out of the way, you first inclination is likely to call or text a parent, friend, spouse, or lover to recap how the interview went.

But before communicating with others, the first thing you should do after a job interview is write down all the questions you were asked – and how you responded. ?The farther away from the interview, the more likely your memory is to betray you. ?The closer to the interview, the greater likelihood that you’ll remember accurately what occurred.?And you need an accurate record of what happened.

Here’s why:

1.??????You need to accept and process what happened. If you are like most people, you are going to replay the interview in your head.?Without an accurate record of what happened, your recall of the interview will be slightly inaccurate at best, or completely wrong at worst. ?This may lead to you ruminating, spinning, or unnecessarily questioning, blaming, and second-guessing yourself.?None of that serves you.?Writing down the specific questions and answers immediately after the interview will allow you to accept and process what happened in an appropriate, healthy, and compassionate way.

2.??????You need to learn and prepare for next time. Every experience is a learning opportunity.?And therefore, every interview is an experience to learn from, and get better at.?An accurate record of how you responded to interview questions will help you understand what you did well and where you struggled.?With this information in hand, you can prepare to give more effective responses in the future.?Future more, since a lot of companies use standard questions for similar roles, you can have a friend ask you the questions you just documented during your next mock interview.

? It may seem like a small – or completely unnecessary – job search activity, but documenting the questions you were asked and how you responded during a job interview can help you appropriately process your experience and help prepare you for your next interview.

Before you tell others how the interview went, tell yourself – by immediately writing down what happened. ?Your more confident, better-prepared future self will thank you.

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