To close an interview effectively, you should first determine whether you've covered everything you need to know and backtrack if necessary. You should then tell the applicant what happens next.

To determine whether you've covered everything, you need to answer several questions:

• Do I know enough about the candidate's education and experience?
• Have I described the organization and the available position?
• Have I told the candidate about the salary, benefits, and growth opportunities associated with the available position?
• Did I give the candidate a chance to ask questions?

In addition to you finding out about a candidate, interviews are an opportunity for the candidates to learn more about your company. In this way, they can decide whether the available job will suit them. If you give candidates enough information about what to expect, you lower the risk that employees you hire will become disgruntled later.

Too often, an interviewer assumes candidates will have done their own background research on the company offering the position. But interviewers should take responsibility for giving candidates all the information they need to make informed decisions. You'll lower turnover if candidates are armed with this information before they decide whether to accept a job.

You might also briefly summarize the key issues you discussed during the interview. This can provide a sense of closure and enable you and the candidate to review any remaining action items required.

Once you've made sure you've covered everything, you can tell the candidate what happens next. What you say to candidates depends on the nature of the position and your level of interest in them. But you should be sure to tell candidates approximately when they'll hear from you, whether additional interviews will be held, and what to do if they think of other questions they need to ask in the mean time.

After an interview is over, you may want to give the candidate your business card in case they do have further questions. Or you may prefer to let your assistant or receptionist handle any calls first.

Before you end the interview, you should ask one last time whether the candidate has any questions. And remember that no matter how you close the interview, you should be sure to do so on a positive note – whether you're likely to hire the candidate or not.

Although it doesn't take long, closing an interview properly is an important step. It's vital to make sure that you've covered everything you need to – and to backtrack if necessary. Once you've done this, you should tell the candidate what to expect next, including when this person will hear from you again.