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Tips for Following Up After Your Job Interview

Most employers will tell you that followup is key to getting a great job. Here are the best tips for following up after your job interview.

By Ossiana TepfenhartPublished 7 years ago 4 min read
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Getting a good joboften means showing your employer that you're really enthusiastic about work. A great resume and a good interview session often only go so far. In order to nail most top positions, you will need to learn how to follow up with employers.

Following up with an interviewer is an art in and of itself. It's something that can help you get better at networking, and also improve your overall quality of career. If you want to learn how to follow up after your job interview, use these tips to start.

Follow up, even if you think it's not necessary.

Don't just bail without ever saying anything again. Even if it's something as simple as a short email, do follow up with them. There is absolutely no harm that can be done by just sending an email thanking them for your job interview.

Even if you bombed the interview, it's wise to follow up after your job interview. At the very least, potential employers will recognize it as an attempt at being an old fashioned professional who wants to leave on a good note. At best, it may make the recruiter think about you in a different light.

You have nothing to lose, and everything to gain by following up on this stuff.

Keep it short and simple.

One of the worst ways to follow up after your job interview is to write a long, five paragraph essay about why you want to work for them. Believe it or not, I've seen it back when I was recruiting for companies, and it's as cringe-inducing as you could imagine it being.

A better idea would be to thank the person for interviewing you, tell them that you look forward to hearing from them, and to add you on LinkedIn. This kind of message would give people more professional view of you, and also typically shows that you are still interested in the position.

Use an email or a note to follow up after your job interview, and avoid phones.

Traditionally, when you wanted to follow up after your job interview, you would send a written card thanking the interviewer for their time. Nowadays, an email works best — primarily because most people don't want to deal with random letters from random people at their desk.

Phone calls can be a good option too, however, they come with a major caveat. Many recruiting executives are very busy and may find a phone call to be inconvenient. After all, no one likes having their phone ring during a job interview, even recruiters.

Also, you might not want to harass the interviewer after the interview has been over.

There's a difference between doing a regular follow up after your job interview and harassing the recruiter. Calling them three or four times a day, emailing them daily, and hounding them for an answer is not a good way to go about getting a job.

While it's okay to be enthusiastic, it's not okay to be obsessed with getting a job to the point that you scare the recruiter. A good rule of thumb is to contact them back two weeks after, at most, to see if they are interested in hiring you.

Follow up with them a maximum of twice. At that point, if they don't reply, you need to keep moving on with your work.

Learn how to time your follow up.

Most office jobs will involve a waiting period of one to two weeks or so before you can follow up after your job interview. Too early, and you may be considered to be desperate for a job.

However, if you're in a very aggressive field, such as sales, you might be expected to follow up every couple of days until you get an answer. It's up to you to determine how aggressive you should be and act accordingly.

If they tell you that they are not going to be going forward with your application, don't argue with them.

This is a major mistake that many people have done, and the truth is that no argument you give will make people think they made the wrong choice. It's totally understandable why you might feel slighted, but the truth is that it's not your decision to make for them.

One of the harsher aspects of life is that job interviews are two-way streets. You need to feel compatible with a company, and the company has to feel compatible with you. If they don't feel like you'd be a good fit for whatever reason, you have to trust them on that.

If you argue with them, you won't get anywhere — and worse, you might end up burning professional bridges before they even blossom.

Lastly, spell check and grammar check your follow up.

An often overlooked part of learning to follow up after your job interview is learning how to use spell check.

Recruiters have a sharp eye for grammar, and that means that they will notice small issues like spelling mistakes or punctuation errors. Noticing these things will often tip recruiters off to a less-than-keen eye for detail, which in turn can make you look bad.

If you are going to follow up, make sure that you use a letter that's well written and doesn't involve spelling errors. After all, job interviews are all about putting your best foot forward.

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About the Creator

Ossiana Tepfenhart

Ossiana Tepfenhart is a writer based out of New Jersey. This is her work account. She loves gifts and tips, so if you like something, tip her!

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