Post-Interview: The Follow-Up

If you’re like me, then after you’ve had an interview, you smile and shake the hand of the hiring manager before heading out to your car feeling alternately triumphant and nervous. And then you wait.

And wait.

And wait.

Sometimes, you’ll hear right away. Only a day or two will go by before you’ll receive an email, proclaiming the news either way. But more often than not, a week or three or even four will go by without hearing anything. Occasionally, you won’t have any reply at all, and be left to draw your own conclusions. This seems to be the unavoidable nature of interviewing. However, there are some steps you can take to encourage a response from your interviewer—and make yourself look like a better candidate in the process!

1. Send a thank-you note. Very few people consider taking this simple step, but it’s certainly worth doing. Interviewers did take a chunk out of their day to sit and talk with you, so the courteous thing to do is to send a thank you, either via email or through the actual mail. We suggest sending a thank you no more than 48 hours after the interview. Doing so will keep your name in the hiring manager’s mind—after all, only about 20% of candidates think to send a thank you at all!
2. Don’t be afraid to check in. Lots of things can derail a hiring process, from a higher power deciding to stall the process to the hiring manager taking care of larger issues. So don’t be afraid to reach out and check in about the hiring process. If a company said they’d get back to you in the next two weeks and those two weeks have gone by, email or call to check in. Mention that you’d like to check on the status of the hiring process and reiterate that you’re interested in the position. Want some more tips? Here at Career Solutions Group, we can give you scripts to use when following up with hiring managers!
3. Let it go. Reaching out won’t always guarantee a response. That is the unfortunate nature of the hiring process, so once you’ve reached out three times without any response, let it go. Move on to the next opportunity. Just because this company didn’t hire you doesn’t mean you’re a bad candidate or bad person. So allow yourself some disappointment, and then move on. More opportunities await you!

Above all, remember this: there are things in the hiring process you can control, and there are things you cannot. Do your best on the things you have control over, and try not to sweat the other stuff. Eventually, you’ll find yourself headed in the right direction!

Interested in even more interviewing tips, or even doing a practice interview with suggestion from professionals for improvement? Email us at info@careersolutionsgroup.net. We offer free initial consultations, and have proven methods to help you keep your career change moving forward!

By: Julia Pillard, Career Solutions Group