Three Things To Do After A Job Interview
You are in an interview, and everything is going well. You end on a positive note, asking some insightful questions.
You try to end well with “What are the next steps?”
‘I’ll let you know after we interviewed everyone else, we’ve had lots of applicants and interest – it will be two weeks on Friday on the closing date.”
Two weeks?
You must stay in their mind for two weeks?
What could you have possibly said or done to make such an impression you’re going to outlast the next twenty applicants who storm through the door?
You get home and you don’t know where to put yourself.
The job is perfect.
The team looked great.
The opportunity – you have passion for…
Now what? Besides trying to reflect on the thousand things you could have said that you think would have impressed them more than what you did, there’s not much to do… Is there?
Yes – there is.
Apply for new job roles
It’s a cliché for a reason.
Keep yourself active. Don’t obsess over one role. It might look like the best role you’ll ever get now, but that’s because it’s recent. Anything new has an appeal to it.
Don’t get the shiny ball syndrome and jump from interview to interview – you should focus. But apply for other job roles and explore the choices you have available.
I’ve had dozens of interviews I thought I had aced and they came back a negative.
It’s happened to me so many times I can never be sure, so I always have extra opportunities lined up.
There are those certain opportunities that you feel you would be the best thing ever – that golden goose, the opportunity of a lifetime. They're not.
I've had jobs that I've been accepted for, only to be disappointed at the reality of the job. It was oversold in the job advert, or I just had too big of an expectation of the role.
It was possibly because I was so star-struck at the fact I would work at such a prestigious and well-known company.
I won't name names, but the job I am speaking of, I walked out at 11 am the first day, disgusted at how some of the call center staff (and managers) were treating candidates (it was a recruitment role).
The company is large and has a great name for itself.
But on the inside? It just didn't work out.
That's why you should heed me advise. Keep applying for more roles, explore your opportunities thoroughly.
And beware: don't just go for household names. Some of my best, most enjoyable jobs were at small companies. And I learned much more at the smaller businesses than I did with the larger ones, as they require you to be more flexible and have more of a hands-on approach, whereas the larger businesses are compartmentalised and you are stuck to your role.
They both have advantages. But don't be overhyped on working for a household name.
Express your interest creatively once again
How do you stand out from the crowd?
Without just screaming and shouting…. And looking worse off for it.
Anyone can scream and shout.
Expressing your interest once again doesn’t mean phoning them a day later and expecting a response.
Nor does it mean messaging them memes on LinkedIn messenger.
It means sitting it out for the first week and trying to think of an idea that can impress.
How could you express your interest without looking like you’re desperate?
Do you know all those things you said you were good at in the interview?
How about you do those things.
If you said you were a great team player, write a blog about teamwork and send it over to them.
If you said you were a great graphic designer, then re-design one of their adverts and send it over to them.
Did you reference some work you did when you spoke? Give it a week and throw them a message or email:
“Hi Diane, Thanks for your time last week. I just wanted to follow up and state I am still extremely interested in the role, I’m excited about the prospect of joining the team.
I know I referenced some work I did last week, so I wanted to send a link of that work over to you to further showcase my ability.”
Tell them you look forward to hearing about the role, expressing your interest after initially meeting will show them you’re still thinking about them a week later.
That’s something.
Concentrate on your skillset
What is it you do for a living? Just get better at it.
Getting better and developing a specialism is the nemesis of unemployment and choices.
If you have skills, you can get work – in many places, and on your terms.
If you want to have control over your career, develop your skills to the point that you have choices.
With choices becomes less anxiety. With choices comes a better wage, and thus more security. And with choices comes the ability to find the opportunities that are worth keeping, meaning you’ll spend less time interviewing and more time happily employed.
Bonus tip: don't overjudge yourself
Sometimes the right candidate comes along, with a couple more years experience and a better degree.
Or the manager director secretly wants to hire a female to make their company look 'inclusive' and 'equal', so they skip you because of your gender.
Whatever the cause, you don't deserve a hard time for not getting a job role.
And giving yourself a hard time doesn't do you any favours when it comes to finding the job role you're seeking.
Take the three tips above, express your interest once again and if you don't get the role, just concentrate on your skills and applying for other roles.
Something will come up eventually. And everything will work out.
When my business failed and I decided to get a job, it took me ten weeks to find something.
I fell behind with my bills on my house, and still haven't caught up (even after two months of employment).
But everything is back on track. I didn't lose my house. And when I needed to, I got my act together and got a job.
I paid off my rent arrears and I'm concentrating on paying down the other bills I got behind with (electric, council tax, etc).
In the end, everything will be fine.
And it was because I concentrated on my skillset, applied for many jobs (I had around 10 interviews before getting this role) and most of all... I didn't judge myself too harshly and concentrated on the day ahead.