Thursday, September 2, 2010

After the Interview: 4 Ways to Follow Up

I get this question lots...and even more so now with so many job seekers who are competing for the same jobs. It seems easy to overthink how to best follow up after an interview. Surprisingly enough, the majority of candidates who interview follow up very poorly or not at all. It is always a challenge to master the fine art of following up professionally and personably without stalking or pestering the hiring authority! This article was written by Margaret Steen, for Yahoo!/Hotjobs. Enjoy!


You had your interview, and you the way it ended left you hopeful. Now comes what is often the most agonizing part of the job hunt: waiting for the hiring manager to call. But you still have some control over the process. Experts offer the following advice on maximizing your chances for success:


Send thank-you notes. Don't stress too much over whether they're emailed or handwritten. The most important thing is to send them.


"Even if you think you've got it in the bag, there are people who expect that letter," says Laura DeCarlo, president of Career Directors International, a global professional association of resume writers and career coaches.


The kind of note to send depends on the situation. Peggy McKee, founder of career-confidential.com, prefers thank-you emails sent within a day of the interview. "A quick follow-up indicates interest," McKee said. But consider the company culture when following up. Sometimes a mailed letter will be more appropriate--for instance, if the company is an old-fashioned, traditional one. But if you're applying for something like a social media marketing position, then email your follow-up note.


Your thank-you letter should be "a typical sales letter," with three parts, DeCarlo says: Thank the interviewer, and then reiterate why you're a good fit. Close by saying you're looking forward to the next step. Even if you send the note by mail, you may prefer to type it so you have room to make your case.


Break through the silence. The interviewer said she'd let you know by Tuesday if you made it to the next round of interviews. It's now Thursday, and you haven't heard anything. What's going on? It's possible you didn't make the cut. But it's equally likely that the interviewer just got busy.


What should you do next? Call or email. If you don't get a reply in a few days, try again. Yes, you might occasionally annoy a frazzled hiring manager. But as long as your messages are polite and brief, most interviewers are more likely to be impressed by your perseverance, communication skills, and interest in the job.


The key is to keep your messages positive. Don't sound accusatory--just remind the interviewer of your conversation, say you enjoyed it, and ask where they are in the process. It may help to prepare a script ahead of time.


Go into recovery mode. Perhaps you feel that you didn't make the best impression in the interview. The follow-up is your chance to recover. "Tell them you're going to provide them with additional resources," McKee says. If you can send documentation of your abilities--or even get references to send notes on your behalf--do so. But if your reason for thinking you blew the interview is something minor, like spilling your coffee, ignore it. "If you draw attention to your embarrassment about little things, it might lead the person to think you're too insecure," DeCarlo explains.


Bounce back from rejection. When you hear from an interviewer but the news is bad, what should you do? First, "thank the person for letting you know," DeCarlo says. Then ask if the interviewer would be willing to give you any feedback that you could use for future interviews. The answer will likely be no, but it shows that you're interested in improving. Then keep networking with the interviewer, perhaps by forwarding occasional, well-chosen articles related to your industry, for example, or by joining a group on LinkedIn.

Say What!? Unbelievable candidate interview responses

Thought this article/blog posting by Nanci Lamborn SPHR and BrightMove Recruiting Software was a cute/funny one to share...enjoy!


Oh, no he didn’t! Oh, yes he did!


It seems that more and more stories abound today with details of major job-seeker mistakes. So to add to the trend, I thought I would pass along some of my own more recent favorites, most of which I have actually heard personally, and a few of which were passed along by others. Feel free to add any of your own recent experiences in comments!


These are all very real comments or response from very real individuals.


  • “I’m sorry, are we going to be much longer? My kids are in the car.”


  • (“Says the candidate as he presses his Bluetooth earpiece mid-interview) “Yeah, this is The Big D, gonna have to call you back.”


  • ““Will taking this job affect my unemployment?”


  • “(Says the candidate in response to a ‘Tell me about your last job’ question) “Oh boy, that was just a really awful, horrible environment, my supervisor was so mean… (pauses, starts crying quietly) … I’m sorry, it’s just so painful to think about. Do you have a tissue?”


  • ““So, on your health benefits, if I were to, say, feel really sick and end up going to the doctor and they ended up doing a bunch of test on me and discovered I had something really bad wrong, how much would all that end up costing me?”


  • “(Says the candidate in response to a ‘What is your five-year plan?’ question) “To be honest I’d really like to have your job. Seems like fun.”


  • ““I have several offers on the table as of this past week, from Morgan-Stanley Investments and Coca-Cola corporate, and let’s see, who else was it? Oh yes, from IBM and Turner Broadcasting, too, but I’m not really sure I’m all that interested in those offers.”


  • “(Says the candidate in response to a ‘How are you doing?’ question) “I’m doing pretty well considering I just passed a kidney stone.”


  • ““So how exactly does your company feel about tardiness and showing up late a lot? Would that be a real problem?”


  • “(Says the candidate as he answers his personal cellphone during the interview) “What, man? Yeah, I’m still in here. No, man, I dunno how long I’ll be, geez! (As he hangs up) Sorry, my buddy brought me here ‘cause I don’t have a car, and he’s out in the lobby waiting. I told him not to call.”


  • ““I’m 48 years old, I’m single with two kids, and I had to take all of last year off to take care of some serious medical problems but everything is better now.”


  • “(Says the candidate in response to a ‘What are your long term goals?’ question) “What, you mean besides becoming the CEO and propping my feet up in a corner office?”


  • ““Would I be able to use the company gym showers every morning? Might save me some water.”