Get the job of your dreams: Post-interview Follow-up
86
Follow Up and Don't Drop the Ball!
© P. Inglish 2005
After you have done all the hard work of preparing a resume and cover letter, applying for a job, researching the company thoroughly and then completing a fantastically good interview, don't just leave and hope they call you! Your interview is really not finished yet. You need to do some post-interview follow-up.
Just as a good golf swing has good follow thorugh, good interviewing has good follow-up. Even if you don't want the job, so the follow-up in order to make good business contacts for the future.
[In case you missed it --successful manners and etiquette for job interviews]: Etiquette for the Interview
What Should I Do After The Interview?
There are several more good things that you can do to help yourself have the best chance of winning the job for which you just interviewed. Here they are:
Interview Follow-Up Tips and Suggestions for Success in Obtaining Your Dream Job
Take interview follow-up very seriously as a strategic part of landing the job of your dreams.
Follow-up all interviews, even if they did not go as well as you expected, or you decided that you did not want the job. Interview follow-up will definitely place you ahead of other job candidates who interviewed for the same job, all other things being equal. Among equally-qualified candidates, the person hired will be the one who did the best and most sincere interview follow-up.
Follow-up well in a timely manner, but do not make yourself look or sound desperate for the job. If you seem desperate, then your potential new employer may develop the idea that you have poor planning skills and ran out of money, that there is substantial reason that no one else has hired you, and/or that perhaps you were fired from your last job or all of them. Your new employer would not want employees who let things deteriorate to the point of desperation, whether it is as complex an issue as a bankruptcy or as simple as running out of toilet paper for the company bathrooms and forgetting to order it.
At the end of your interview, ask the interviewer or panel of interviewers 1) when they will make their decision, and 2) when you might expect a call for a second interview.
Write down the correct names and titles of every individual who interviewed you, in addition to the receptionist, personal assistant, or executive secretary who served you. Request their business cards or make notes of their information in a small notebook. Interviewers, and even company presidents, will ask the receptionist what he or she thought of you as a job candidate and as a person. Make a good impression on everyone there.
- Write individual thank-you note cards or letters to each person who interviewed you within 24 hours. Say something slightly different in each one to make them sound individualized.
- Write thank you notes after every interview, even if you do not want to job. This will help make you known in the business world as someone who has class! It will make good business contacts for you.
- Find out whether snail mail, email, or FAX is the best way to get hold of the interviewer(s). Ask the receptionist. Proofread your thank-you letters or cards before sending them and make 100% sure that there are no grammar or spelling errors.
- In your thank-you letters, write that you appreciate the company's interest in you and re-state why you think you are the best candidate for the job.
- Call all your references and tell them they may be contacted. Actually, you should talk to them before you apply for jobs and ask their permission to use their names, addresses and phone numbers.
- Continue to search for jobs and go on interviews, even if your interview went so well that you think the company is definitely going to hire you. You do not know that for sure, and you do not want to lose momentum in the job market while you are waiting for a job that hired someone else.
- Even if you are hired by the company that you expect to hire you, you can use additional interviews to gather information and to make good business contacts long-term. Further, if the job you receive does not work out, you will have ready contacts to help you secure your next one.
- Stay visible in your business by continuing to look for other job and career opportunities, even after you have been hired. Stay informed about the job market and your industry, because you will be able to use the information to help yourself and others.
- Do additional interview follow-up after the thank-you letters or notes have been received. Allow 48-72 hours after mailing, then make a telephone call to the interviewer and ask about the position. Re-state your assets during your telephone calls.
- Be patient, but persistent. The hiring process often takes a while. This is especially true of jobs in the educational system or those connected with the city, county, state, or federal government. These entities, as well as the Board of Directors of any non-profit organization and of many commercial enterprises as well must vote on the job candidates. If they have a meeting only one a month, then you cannot rush the results faster than that. This is why it is important to follow-up with the interviewer by telephone.
- Consistently continue your follow-up efforts until the job is filled. Just don't call every day. If an employer tells you it may take 30 to 60 days to fill a position, you can certainly call once a week, however.
- Do not forget about the company if you do not receive a job offer or the job-offer package does not work out for you for some reason. This is an important business contact.
- Small employers are as important as large corporations in the realm of business contacts. Add your interviewer into your business circle and ask them to keep you in theirs for the future. Ask them for referrals to other contacts.
- You can use job interviews to gain important information for your future about business trends, plans being made by new companies, etc., not only for obtaining a new job.
THANK YOU LETTERS and THANK YOU CARDS
You must use your judgment about whether to write letters, use email, or prepare handwritten thank-you cards for interview follow-up.
Personally, I prepare word processed thank-you letters for the interviewer(s) and do a handwritten notecard to the receptionist. I have used email letters, but find this less formal and less satisfactory to me. However, an email thank-you is perfectly acceptable. I usually mail the letters or fax them.
FIVE ESSENTIALS TO REMEMBER
- Show good etiquette and good manners in using proper titles, punctuation, grammar and spelling.
- Near the beginning, show verbal appreciation for the company's interest in you.
- Re-state your interest in the job and the company, but without sounding desperate.
- Re-state your qualifications for the position and add anything you forgot in the interview.
- Enclose any information the interviewer asked you for, including references or other materials.
EXAMPLE:
Date
Your Name
Your Address
City, State, Zip Code
Your Phone Number / Your Cell Number
Your Email Address
Interviewer Name
Interviewer Title
Organization Name
Organization Address
City, State, Zip Code
Dear Mr./Ms. Last Name:
Thank you very much for providing time from your busy schedule to talk with me about the Sales Manager position at McDonald's Blinds and Shades. I truly appreciate your time and consideration in interviewing me and feel that I am a perfect fit for this position.
After speaking with you, I know that I will excel in the job duties in a way that will bring an increased customer base and increasing revenues to your company. In addition, my enthusiasm for the work and managing people will bring higher motivation levels and results overall to the sales team.
I am very interested in working for you and look forward to hearing from you soon regarding this position. Please feel free to contact me if you need any further information. My cell phone number is (xxx) xxx-xxxx and I carry it with me at all times.
Thank you again for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Your Signature
Your Typed Name
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Get the job of your dreams: News
- Census to bring 47,000 temporary, part-time jobs to stateWisconsin State Journal1 second ago
The government wants 47,000 people in Wisconsin to fill temporary jobs that pay $11 to $15 an hour. They will join a workforce of temps of the U.S. Census Bureau, counting people for the once-a-decade census.
- David Miliband remains in frame amid secret talks over EU jobsGuardian Unlimited1 second ago
European leaders launch a week of summitry tomorrow consumed by secret wrangling over who should get the two top jobs in the EU created by the union's new rulebook.
- Jobs not only aim of stimulus, Ark. governor saysThe Sierra Vista Herald1 second ago
No descr Jobs not only aim of stimulus, Ark. governor says, AR read more
- Pulte to cut jobsDetroit Free Press5 hours ago
Pulte Homes Inc., the Bloomfield Hills-based homebuilder that bought competitor Centex Corp. in August, says it will cut 800 jobs in connection with the purchase. The restructuring will mostly be completed by early 2010, Pulte said Friday in a regulatory filing. Pulte has spent $31.8 million on severance costs and expects to spend a total of $42.5 million.
- Politicos told: Provide jobsSun Star12 minutes ago
CEBU CITY -- Roberto Cuarteros, 40, unemployed for three years now, wants aspirants for the country’s top government job to meet at least one important requirement: he or she must be able to create jobs. read more
- Dounreay jobs rundown starts to biteJohn O'Groat Journal1 second ago
SIXTEEN long-serving workers at Dounreay are being paid off as the jobs rundown at the site starts to bite. The employees of site contractor Nuvia are being made redundant as a decommissioning plant becomes the first to come to the end of its life.
- Stocks zigzag on implications of jobs reportAsbury Park Press1 second ago
NEW YORK — Stocks fluctuated in a tight range Friday as investors found some positives for the market in a surprisingly weak jobs report.
- Wayne County news: Union concessions save police jobs in Northville Twp.Detroit Free Press8 hours ago
Members of the Police Officers Association of Michigan ratified an agreement with the Northville Township Board of Trustees that will save the jobs of five police officers and two dispatchers. John Werth, director of public safety, and police union officials said union members voted 31-3 last week in favor of making concessions that would avoid the seven layoffs.
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Comments & Additions
Great post.Well done.
Thank you everyone, I hope it is useful!
Great I will come back to it when I will need to make my resume.
Fantastic, CounterPunch! Much success without your resume as well. I have a couple Hubs about resumes, but you may have a lot of experience with them. Your resume probably makes people think, like your Hubs! :)
Follow-up is something I learned by trial and error, so I am happy to share it with others. Thanks for the visit!
Hi Patty,
Great advice. I've put your link on my hub, 7 Secrets To A Great Job.
Before Christmas 2007, I went for a 2nd interview for a job (shortlist of 2 only). I was over confident, I got feedback that they really liked me. I made a `SPECIAL' card for the company. It had a bit of humour in it. They didn't like it or didn't understand it. After they offered the job to someone else, I was so disappointed.
My consultant rang me to ask what did I give them. She said, "Please run it past me next time. They didn't like it..."
Oops. It took me a few hours to do it, cut and paste pictures etc. I even hand-delivered it. Too keen. Not good. Luckily I got offered a job at my next interview. So I would add to your readers, to use a `NORMAL' Thank you card instead.
Ivonne (Life's Good)
Hi Ivonne,
I want to thank you very much for sharing your experience here. Putting a lot of effor tinto a special card as you did sometimes make the potential employer feel that there is something wrong with us or that we forge inapprorpriate relationships. A greeting card company may have liked it, though! So, conservative is best until we get to know people.
In addition, even in personal stationery, I don't use cute pictures and such. I save that for artwork or for birthday cards and St. Patrick's Day cards.
Thank you again.
Ok interesting... I have never followed up on a job interview before, I have also interviewed lots of people and very rarely do they take notes. In fact the one person who did turned out to be a rather poor employee.
Interesting experiences, you've had, outdoorjunkie. Some interviewers don't like applicants to take notes at all. Of course, some few people that take notes and interview well feel that they "did it all" and then don't have to produce on the job. Very wrong headed.
I landed the job, and I think your tips may have had something todo with it - thanks!
Good for you! I'm sure you;re well qualified.
Hello. I have seen you have been giving some pretty good advice on here. I would like to ask your opinion on my issue. I have went through three interview with this company. First was telephone, where they screened about 15 candidates and narrowed it down to 6 to come in for a “first” interview. Then they screened the 6, and chose 2 to come in for a “second” interview. Myself being 1 of the 2. I went to this interview on Monday, it is now Wednesday. They told me they would let me know by the end of the week. I am very qualified for the position, and it seemed as if they felt the same way. They did inform me that the “second interview” is the last step in the hiring process. While at my interview, one of the employees gave me a little testing on MS applications. I did perfect in Word, however with Excel I was not aware of the sort function. Yesterday at my present position I compiled some information into an Excel worksheet. So I was wondering if I should send the girl an email letting her know my accomplishment and that I would be capable of working with excel or should I leave that out? Should I send her an email asking what the status of the hiring decision is? Or should I wait it out? Please some advice. I have already sent thank you emails to the interviewers. Now I am in waiting game. Please advise. Thank you.
My opinion is that it would be OK to email and state that 1) you are still very interested in the position and 2) that you have been studying more about Excel and are mastering additional functions, such as "sort." Be upbeat.
An email is more convenient and less intrusive than a phone call to the employer/interviewers, so I say 'go for it.'
Best wishes! - let us know about your success.
Great tips! I have got some interviews coming up and these will come in handy!
Once, I was equally qualified for a job and only I wrote a thank you letter, so they hired me. Success to you in your interviews! let us know what happens.
Great information Ivonne! You really know your this subject. This hub proves it. Next time I need to find a job or one of my friends is looking for a job I will recommend this hub to them. Thank you for the time & effort you put into creating this hub for me.
marketingmergenow
The advice in this Hub is pretty good, I think - it has helped several people land those Dream Jobs! Thanks for commenting.
HI Patty - I recently was interviewed (second interview if you count the phone interview), and in my nervousness I failed to ask for a time frame. I did send off my thank you notes. I have not heard from them, and I am looking for a polite way to ask what the status is and the expected time frame.
Any suggestions?
Hi maggie - If it has been a week since the thank-yous were sent, feel free to call and ask. Tell them you are still interested, are wondering about a time frame; and ask if they need any more information, Let us know what happens. :)
I have a question.
I had an interview Nov 12th at a company that I worked at but I was contract at that time. I ended up getting laid off because they where letting go contract people. I applied for a position on their web sight 3 months ago. I was surprised the hiring manger called me on the phone and asked me questions. He new my previous boss and he sounded interested.
I was called in for an interview the fisrt time but it ended up getting cancelled. The HR person said that they would be interested in hiring me because I had a good review from past bosses. So, that was upbeat and it felt good.
So, I went Nov 12th. I sent thank-you notes to all people that interviewed me. The one person I new because she worked in my group, so I new her. She thanked me for following up with her. And she said they will contact me soon to tell me the outcome of the hiring process.
Now, I sent an e-mail about a week later to ask how the hiring process was going but got no e-mail back from the hiring manager. I sent it to the hiring manager, this person I know and HR. The only person that e-mailed me back was HR telling me she hopes to have feedback soon.
Nov 26th will be two weeks. What should I do? I was going to send one more note to the hiring manager to tell him I am still interested and tell him why I would good in the job. If I don't hear anything after that I assume that it is dead. What do you think?
Some companies do not make hiring decisions during the last two weeks of November, because decision makers are tied up or on vacation for Thanksgiving. This is most true where a Board of Directors or a CEO makes the final decisions. This decision may not even happen until January, in order to save 4th Quarter costs. Your application process would not be dead until after Christmas --
Wait until Monday after Thanksgiving and send another email to all three people you know, stating that you are still interested in the job and asking if there is any information that they need from you. Be extra careful about spelling and grammar - for instance, "new" should be "knew" in your message above unless you were using your own shorthand - seriously, a spelling mistake can elminate you from the candidate pool, especially if there are many applicants. When a lot of people apply, a lot of weeding out is done.
Best success to you!
Thanks for trying to make me feel better. And I know about spelling mistakes, I am more careful when I send letters.
But, the way I see it, if they where really interested in me they would contact me within a week. Not wait 2 weeks or more. Because they know I am not working and looking so I could be snatched up and they would be out of luck.
If what your saying is true in this case, then why even interview this close to the end of the year. And if this is the case why wouldn't they at least say hold tight because we can't offer it right now or something like that. It just tells me that they probably interviewed a few people and they didn't like anyone.
They will not say anything because they didn't hire anyone. When I was hired I was hired within the week. Never 2 to 3 weeks down the road. Or even longer. If the company waits that long on someone they are interested in they are plain stupid.
So, it just tells me they haven't found anyone they are willing to hire yet. I will take your advice and send a note Monday. But, for them to make me wait this long without even a reply from my other notes. Actually the one girl did e-mail me back but it didn't say much. I think she was compelled to send me a note because we know each other.
As far as I am concerned it is dead.
You likely were hired as a contractor more quickly because contractors are much less enpensive than direct employees that require comapny paid portions (or all) of Social Security, Workers Compensation premiums,insurance,vacation and sick time, etc. Employers want the least expensive employees with the most experience, most commonly.
My only further suggestion is to continue to apply to other employers with the goal of receiving offers from 2 or 3 different companies so that you have a choice and to work for a temporary staffing agency in the meantime, or to freelance. In fact, you might offer to freelance for the company in which you are intersted on Monday, on a trial basis in the job you want. That might move someone to action, or not, but you might try.
While it may seem unfair/stupid, employers are not required to hire you according to your timetable. In fact, if they are not ready to hire anyone, then they may not give you the "hang tight", because such an assertion may or may not be a legal infraction. Employers certainly have the advantage over the labor pool at this time, with unemployment and some layoffs increasing in frequency.
All this is not an easy experience.
First, thanks for the advice.
Second, I've found that if a person has worked at a company contract first. It is a good chance they will get hired because they have in company references. A person can say all kind of things in an interview, but past work performance that is readily available doesn't lie.
So, if I don't get this job for what ever reason. This company is a positive avenue for me in the near future.
I just wish they would have more respect for me since they said I had a good work performance as a contract employee and they would hire me back. I mean they told me this.
If they told you specifically that they would hire you back, that statement may or may not constitute a verbal contract that obligates them to either a new contract or a directly paid position - you would need to ask an attorney in order to be sure. If you work(ed) in an at-will employment company/state, proving the obligation may be difficult or impossible.
See, I wasn't thinking of doing anything like that. I am an honest person. HR said they would hire me back to the company probably because they checked me out. But, the department I was interviewing with has a defferent manager. It was Siemens Automotive but now Continental bought them out. So, there are new people. There is only one person I know.
You may be caught up in the sometimes drawn-out processes of company transitions. Are you applying anywhere else, by the way?
I am applying everywhere.
What if they don't e-mail me back?
I'd give it 24 hours after you send your email and then make a polite phone call. If I received no satisfactory answer, I'd keep apllying elsewhere, but then would call this company back first thing on January 2, 2009. If not satsfactory answer at that time, then I'd let the matter drop and continue to look elsewhere.
Great post from a expert
Yes, good advice. It is good to have someone to bounce this off of for sure. I would advice everyone to get advice about this matter.
Thank you very much.
It would be great if you had time to write about your experience with this job search, guitarjunky, perhaps after it's all over. If you do decide to write a Hub about it, I'll link to it from this article so people can go to your pages and see what you've accomplished in real life.
Anyway, keep us posted and continue to ask questions as they arise.
All the best!
Here is what I got from my last request for feedback.
It has been 3 weeeks since my interview.
Frank, I apologize for the delays. The hiring decision is currently on hold. We hope to have further information on filling the position within the week. Thank you
Not sure what they are up too.
Using my experiences from companies for whom I have worked and from the companies that I have run myself, my opinion is that the organization in question 1) has a hiring freeze or 2) intends to hire no new direct employees until after Janaury 1 or 3) must wait until the board of directors comes back after the holiday season to approve new hires. A 4th alternative is that they may return to using contractors instead of making a direct hire and if so, they should contact you for that. A 5th alternative is that they are checking another candidate's references and waiting on that information in order to make the decision to hire either that person or yourself.
The company could also be waiting on a decision from one of their clients about whether that client will renew a contract with the company in order to continue the project. If the company loses the contract, they can't hire anyone.
On the surface of it, the email reply sounds honest, but we'll see.
I should wait for the new year to make contact again I think.
I don't want to seem desperate.
That sounds like a smart move. Meanwhile, search in 1) Google and 2) GoogleNews, searching the company name -- read any stories mentioning it. Sometimes new business deals or business downturns hit the news in that way and you can tell what's going on. Also search the CEO's name.
Best wishes.
Great article loads of great info, thanks.
Thanks for all the tips. Great article
plz help mecan any one suggest me how to write a follow up email to the employers?
its very urgent plz help me
Hi Patty,
Your tips are unique. You are doing the bast as usual. Normally people do not think in such positive way. Your hub will help people in the recession.
Jyoti Kothari
I hope so! We must show a lot of energy and enthusiam without being too dramatic in these matters. Employers want us to want to work. Thanks for tthe visit!
My experience tells me that one should not email/phone them back for thank you. They probably have made their decision as soon as one walks in the interview.
Email and phone are not best. By standard practices today, the last cut is "whoever sends a written thank you." That has been true among the major corporations and businesses with which I have applied or advised or trained. The others were in a jam and needed to hire someone "TODAY!" That works as well.
One major job I had was between myself and another equally-qualified person (he was a minority and I did not know I was one at that time) after the interviews. I wrote, he did not, I got the job and I was told this was the reason!
Generally, one simply must write a thank you.
A defeatist or lazy attitude does not get one a job.
Interview_Folloup
well written, I come on , welcome to my hub
Very informative!!
Great information. So many people go on a job interview and then just leave it at that and never fdllow up on it. Sending a simple thank you note can actually go a long way with a hiring manager and may be the difference in if you get the job or not. Or sometimes you may not get the job you interview for, but the interviewer is so impressed with your follow up that they will consider you for the next open job at the company.
Yes - I won a good job because I wrote a letter and the rest of the candidates did not. We were otherwise equally matched.
Thanks for the comments!
I appreciated this article. I see the value in following up even after the interview. It may give added weight to the position becoming yours. If not then maybe for a future position
I got so involed in guitarjunky, I now really want to know what happend to him... Did he find the job he was looking for... guitarjunky if you are still out there please submit an update.
great info, thx for the hub!
grantsforwomen says:
2 years ago
Great lense! I just recently ran across it… thanks for the info on grants!