Drive Your Career: Maximize Post Interview Follow Up

The interview happened. You are walking out of the building. You think it went well, but it is hard to tell. You know one thing, you are interested, and you can see yourself in THIS company with THIS team. How is that message conveyed appropriately while optimizing your chance to move forward in the process?

Often the ball gets dropped here.  Pertinent follow up can trigger a green or red light on next steps, with both parties playing a part.  Suggestions follow to maximize your chances of having the choice yours to pursue. 

Follow up within 8 hours of leaving the interview ideally, never longer than 24 hours. Time of follow up sends a strong signal. A quick email with thanks for the consideration and confirmation of your interest is important. Lack of follow up leaves the impression you are either not interested or not sure, and neither give you a strong chance to explore further. Hand written notes are great, however, you lose the impact of timely follow up. I personally love the handwritten note, so consider a quick "thanks for the today" email, and a more detailed handwritten note in the mail, if that feels authentic to you.

If you have each individual’s email address, you can personalize this follow up accordingly. If you aren’t sure of everyone’s information on your itinerary, you can send an email to the key person responsible for setting up your day; i.e. hiring manager or recruiter. Thank them for their time and consideration, and reiterate your interest in the opportunity. Ask that they extend thanks to each individual on your schedule. 

If you are able to individualize follow up notes, pick out a key item that was important to that person in the role at hand. Reference an area of experience where you demonstrated your capabilities. You may also include additional notes of reference. For example, you are interviewing for an engineering role, and one of the areas of focus that came up involved a unique tight tolerance challenge.  You may want to follow up with thanks and an image of a design of relevance.  Commercial launch success can be demonstrated through press releases or letters of recommendation. There should be some kind of data supporting your candidacy for the role to share, and a follow up email is a nice time to include it. 

Request LinkedIn invitations to connect if you are comfortable. Not a requirement, but it is another strong signal that you are interested and believe this team is one on which you can excel.

If you didn’t get an idea of what next steps will be when you were onsite, feel free to pose the question to the primary contact on the role. “I remain highly interested in this opportunity after a great day today. What would the next steps be and expected timeline?” The quality and timing of a response to this question will give you more insight. 

If you don’t hear anything after a week after the interview after your initial follow up, it is fine to email and/or call to let your primary contact know you remain interested.   A hiring manager or recruiter who believes you stand a chance will make sure you know you are still under consideration as they continue the process, even if it is slow or arduous. 

If you don’t hear anything back after your two follow up attempts, assume game over and move on. The control of your career destiny is in the ability to take in the data and move forward.  As I have shared in prior posts, keep track of where you are interested in working, where you applied, when you interviewed, and all follow up dates. If you are a week out without any hint of interest and you have followed up twice, make a note and consider it closed. The best companies to work for put tremendous emphasis on an exceptional candidate experience in process, and if you haven’t heard anything, use your energy towards exploring other possibilities.