What To Do After the Interview – Part 2

Written by Casey Sage

Last week, we (Jason) brought you some great tips on what to do after the interview. One suggestion that deserves an extra mention this week is sending a thank you email/handwritten note right after the interview.

I applied for a job several years ago that had 3,000+ applicants. I sent a handwritten thank you note to the interviewer, and after I was hired, he told me that it made me stand out and keep me fresh in his mind. Totally worth the stamp!

This week, I would like to share some tips for what to say in a follow up email, how long you should wait to send follow ups and what to do if the company “ghosts” you.

Follow Up Time Frame

If you asked about a timeline for follow up in during your interview and the date to hear back has passed, do not panic. Sometimes it takes longer to interview all the candidates, the interviewer gets caught up in other tasks before making call backs or any number of other reasons. If you have reached the 5-business day mark after the timeframe they told you it would take, now is the time to send a follow up email to the interviewer. ?If you did not ask about a timeframe for hiring during your interview, waiting around 10 business days after the interview is appropriate.

What To Say in The Follow Up Email

If you communicated with the interviewer via email, replying to that email is a good idea, but if you did not, look up their email address. Also, put the following as your subject line for the email: “Interview for (position) on (date you interviewed)”. That will stand out so that the interviewer is more likely to open the email rather than a subject line that just says, “follow up” or “interview”.

The email itself should be professional and precise; two to three paragraphs is all that is needed for the follow up email. Let the interviewer know that this is a follow up email to the interview, name the position that you are interviewing for, emphasize your interest in the position and ask for an update to the hiring timeline. Make sure that the email is free from typos and send it on its way. Hopefully you will get a swift response and have some idea of “what’s next”.

If You Get No Response, What to Do Next

If you do not get a response to your follow up email to the interviewer within 5-7 business days and have still not heard if you have/have not gotten the job, don’t give up just yet. It would be appropriate to send an email to the head of the department with which you are interviewing (someone higher up). Be professional, tell them what position that you interviewed for, ask if there are any updates on the status of the position or the timeline for hiring, make sure your email is free of typos, and keep it short and sweet.

Don’t Take it Personal – It Says More About Them Than You

If a company does not follow up with you regarding an interview after several weeks, don’t take it too personally (easier said than done, I know). While you may not have gotten the job, I believe you may have just avoided a company that waved a BIG red flag. The company showed you that it does not value peoples’ time and possibly their employees, period. It does not take long to send a rejection email back to candidates, so if they aren’t willing to do even that, are they someone you would want to work for anyway?

I am also an advocate of being a professional and not sending angry emails or saying negative things about a company on social media, but you are an adult and can choose what is best for you if a company ghosts you. Just remember, their ghosting is a reflection of them – your reaction to it is a reflection of you.

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