Aced your first-round job interview? Congratulations! If you’ve been invited back for a second interview, it’s a sign that the charity is seriously considering you for the role. It shows they’re willing to invest their time and resource in getting to know you better. The prospect of going back for another interview can be daunting, but there are things you can do to make sure you’re prepared. Here are our tips for the second interview at a charity.
Reflect on the first interview
It’s good practice to make notes as soon as you can after the first interview. But even if you didn’t, try jotting down what you can remember now. What questions were asked, and how did you respond? What do you think went well, and what could have gone better? Are there things you wanted to say but forgot to, or didn’t have the chance?
Reflecting on these things can increase your confidence, as you’ll recognise your successes from round one. And it’ll help you ensure you don’t miss anything out across the two interviews. The second round is your chance to build on the foundation you’ve laid and to fill in any gaps.
Find out who’ll be interviewing you
The second interview will normally be with the hiring manager and at least one other staff member who you didn’t meet in the first round. They’ll often be someone more senior in the team. The hiring manager should let you know in advance who you’ll be meeting.
A good tip for the second interview is to research the interviewers, for example by looking them up on LinkedIn. Knowing their role and background can help you focus your preparation and anticipate what they’ll be interested in finding out from you.
Expand your focus
There’s no hard-and-fast rule when it comes to what you’ll be asked in a second interview, but the questions are likely to probe deeper. The recruiters will be trying to figure out how you’d fit in and what you’d be like to work with. So it’s a good idea to prepare for more behavioural and situational questions, such as ‘Tell us about a time when…’ and ‘How would you deal with…’.
Have a few strong examples ready to go—and make them different ones to those you used in the first interview. It’s a good way to show them the breadth of your relevant experience.
Sometimes you might be asked a first-round question again, for the benefit of new interviewers. It’s fine to go over some of the same ground here, and consistency is obviously important. But try not to repeat your previous answer verbatim—you don’t want to bore the hiring manager! When preparing, think about how you can build on what you established last time. You could add in another detail or two, for example.
Do further research
Charities in particular love to see that their employees are passionate about the cause. Even if you did your research for the first interview, a tip for the second interview is to go back and find out more about the organisation. Make sure you’re really up to speed on their mission, their activities, their website and comms. You might even be asked specifically what further research you’ve done since the first interview.
Get on top of the task
Candidates for second-round charity interviews are often asked to complete a task. It might be something to prepare in advance and present at the interview, or it can be part of the interview itself. Either way, a task is a chance to show the recruiters your work ethic and help them imagine you in the role.
The best way to prepare is to immerse yourself in researching the charity. Then apply your skills and experience to the task and approach it confidently, as if you were already working there. You’ll probably be asked follow-up questions too, so think about likely queries and how you’d answer them. It can help to have some additional information up your sleeve to impress your interviewers in the Q&A.
The hiring manager should let you know what to expect, and whether there’s anything specific to prepare in advance. But if you don’t hear from them, do ask—the more notice you have, the better.
Be ready to talk about practicalities
An important tip for the second interview is to go in with a clear idea of what you’re looking for. What are your salary expectations? Do you have flexible working needs? When would you be able to start? While these factors are usually negotiated and finalised at offer stage, you don’t want any questions to catch you off guard. Employers will expect you to have at least a ballpark idea at this stage.
Ask the right questions
As with the first interview, you’ll be given the opportunity to ask questions at the end. Have new and interesting questions in mind, rather than saying that you’ve asked them all in the previous interview! The second interview is a chance for you to get to know the charity better and make sure it’s right for you. Use this to your advantage by asking more about its culture and ways of working.
Follow up again afterwards
Send the hiring manager a brief note thanking them again for their time and restating your interest in the role. If you did this after the first interview, be sure to vary the message this time. You could refer or link to a piece of work that you discussed in the second interview, for example.
So those are our tips for the second interview at a charity. Remember, you’ve already done well to get this far—the recruiters have clearly seen something in you that they like. You have nothing to lose, and it’s all great experience. Go for it!
Ready to put these tips into practice? Browse jobs and apply today.
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