Why You Should Follow Up After Every Job Interview
Following certain rules when you are interviewing for job vacancies is essential. We've advice elsewhere about making a good impression, standing out from the other candidates, and also handling questions at interview that might seem awkward.
Now - assuming that you do still want the job you've just interviewed for - we have some advice on how to finish and follow up properly.
At the end of the interview
First it's important to know what to do at the end of your interview. You need to know where you stand because if you don’t, you won’t know how to follow up accordingly. So, if it's not covered, do ask what the next steps of the process will be, or when you can expect to hear from them. Something as simple as knowing that it will be a week before they can let you know means that you won't be either jumping to the conclusion you haven’t been successful or chasing them for feedback too soon.
Straight after the interview finishes
If you have been working with a recruiter, it’s important to call your consultant as soon as you can to give them all the details. This gives them appropriate information to follow up with the company and get further feedback, and will also help you to remember how it went.
We'd also advise making a few notes of your own such as the names of the people you met, any information about what the next stage could be, and anything else that stands out to you about how you thought it went and what was discussed.
How long should you wait before following up on your interview?
If you are working with a recruiter, it’s important to follow up immediately with them unless you've been told otherwise specifically. If you haven’t heard anything within 48 hours you should try contacting the recruiter again.
Send a 'thank you' email
A nice touch is to send a polite e-mail within 24-48 hours to the employer to say thank you for the opportunity to be interviewed, and that you are looking forward to hearing from them. This is far from common and is certainly something that will make you stand out from the other interviewees.
When it's time to chase up, should you contact the recruiter or the employer?
If you have only been dealing with the recruiter to date then keep to this. If the relationship has been fairly open and you’re allowed to contact the hiring manager directly, then you may do so - but it's still best to check with your consultant first to see if they know anything.
Stand out from your competition
Following up on each and every job that you're interested in is (surprisingly) not something that many people do, and there are other benefits too.
Fill anything in that you might have forgotten
It can be extremely frustrating to leave the interview and then realise didn’t tell the interviewer something really important that related to the job. By putting it in an e-mail, you might just cover that one concern that they had on their mind.
Re-state your interest
It’s always good to reiterate why you’re interested and take the opportunity to drop in a quick plug for your skills and experience.
If they're struggling to decide, it gives you an edge
The company might be struggling to decide between a couple of candidates. Staying in contact and on their mind just might give you that little extra edge on the other candidates.
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