How To Follow Up After An Interview

You did your research on the industry, company, and position you want for your new job. You crafted a great resume. You were invited in for an interview. You feel like the interview went great, and now…you have to wait. Waiting to hear back from a potential employer after an interview can be a little nerve-wracking, but it’s a part of the job search process. There is something you can do to try to help move things along after the interview, though: Follow up with the potential employer.

?When done right, following up has the potential to help you stand out from other candidates. However, if done wrong, you risk annoying the very people in charge of deciding whether or not to hire you. If done really wrong, you might put yourself out of contention for the job all together. Here are some things to consider about following up after an interview:

?Timing

How long should you wait before you follow up? It depends on if your interviewer gave you a specific timeframe or not. If, at the end of your interview process, your interviewer said you could expect to hear from them within a certain timeframe, then definitely wait at least that long before following up. In actual fact, you’ll probably want to wait one or two additional business days before following up.

On the other hand, your interviewer might have said something a little more open-ended at the end of your interview as far as when you could expect to hear from them. In cases like this, the standard advice is to wait about a week before following up.

How To Follow Up

Phone call? Email? Text message? Snail mail? Telegram? OK, that last one is a joke, but all of the others are real options people consider when they’re thinking about following up after an interview.

?Following up by text message is probably a little too informal and doesn’t really provide a great medium to communicate much. Phone call, email, or snail mail are all viable options, though, and which one you choose will probably depend on your industry and your sense of the potential employers’ office culture.

In a fast-paced, highly digital workplace where phone calls are seen as unwanted intrusions, email is probably the way to go. If you’re interviewing for a job that will require a lot of phone communication, then a phone call might be the way to go. If you’re interviewing for a job where putting a personal touch on things matters a great deal, hand-written thank-you notes sent to the people you interviewed with will show that you know that and will apply that personal touch. You have to use your judgement, but be aware that the medium you choose will send a message to your potential employer, so choose accordingly and carefully.

What To Say In Your Follow-Up

Exactly what you say in your follow-up is, of course, going to vary by individual, but there are a few general rules. First, you want to thank everyone you interviewed with for considering you as a candidate and meeting with you. Second, you want to reiterate your enthusiasm for the position. If there are a few things you forgot to mention in your interview that you think would help your candidacy, it can be OK to mention those things subtly, but tread carefully here. You don’t want to be seen to be trying to redo your entire interview or pitch yourself too much in what’s supposed to be more of a thank-you message. Finally, try to (again, subtly) remind your interviewers of the biggest specific strengths you’d bring to the job. For more on this, see our articles on branding yourself as a candidate.

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So, there you have it: A guide to following up after a job interview. We’d like to help you get those interviews in the first place, so we hope you’ll take a look at the services we offer, and consider letting us help you. Best of luck in your job search.

Article Link: How To Follow Up After An Interview

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