At Progress Personnel we often get candidates who are getting thoroughly sick of looking for a new job, are always reaching the final stages of the recruitment process and not getting the job but coming a close 2nd. They often ask what they can be doing differently and why they aren't getting the job offer.

Firstly its a no-brainer but someone has to come 2nd and sometimes there is simply a candidate out there who matches the role better than you and as a result gets the offer; I know the frustration sets-in when this has happened a couple of times but you do genuinely need to know it is NOT a problem with you or interview technique or your personality, just someone else had the edge.

Also a big plus is that you are at least getting to this interview stage; many people don't make it past the CV send stage, or first round of interviews with the agency or client. To be getting to final stage is a huge achievement in itself and also says that you are already doing a lot of things right.

Having said that I would always try to contact the interviewer afterwards for feedback just to double check there is nothing else that you could be doing. Either get your recruitment consultant to do this or if the client gave you a business card drop them a polite email thanking them for their time and asking if they had any feedback so you can improve your interview technique next time. Any good employer or recruitment consultant will be happy to do this and will be happy to help you improve your performance; if it needs improving.

A huge part of recruitment and your success at getting a role is going to be your mental attitude and for each role you need to remain positive and upbeat; the client needs to get the vibe that you are interested and keen but they can also smell an air of desperation and if you want the job too much they can almost sense it; plus that need will often cause you to end-up feeling really nervous at the meeting and restrict your performance.