Why Job Seekers need to 'follow-up'

A piece of advice I always give out to Job Seekers I come into contact with is: always take responsibility for following-up with your point of contact. Now, as a Recruiter myself, I make it a point to take full responsibility for following-up and updating any Candidates I am representing, but even in such a case I always feel as a Job Seeker, you should still take charge when it comes to follow-up. Because things can sometimes fall through the cracks due to Human error.

And before I get into WHY, I also want to signify that just ONE follow-up contact is not going to cut it. You need to have a consistent follow-up schedule laid out over a period of time and conducted consistently.

I also want to clarify that follow-up does not mean simply pestering others and asking the same question – i.e. do you have an update? – every single day. This requires some strategy and creativity.

So, assuming you’ve got that handled and you’ve committed to making more than one follow-up contact, here is why its so important:

1. It puts you in control.?See, waiting for a response or a decision on next steps or a final decision puts you in a state of passiveness. Its not proactive and you’re not in control. Now folks - I don't know about you, but I'd rather be in control. Being the one to take the initiative to follow-up puts you in control. You're not waiting around for someone to suddenly remember you among other "to-do" items of their day. You're not sitting around hoping you'll hear back from them. You initiate follow-up instead.
2. It allows you to maintain communication and keep those channels open. Maintaining communication with the other party or whoever your contact is ensures you’re able to stay on their mind. Most hiring parties can be quite busy. Recruiters focus entirely on communicating with people so its very possible if you don’t follow-up – your face may get lost in the crowd. Consistent follow-up ensures they keep you on top of mind and you maintain communication flow post-interview or post-first-contact.
3. It shows interest.?Follow-up is one of the best ways to show continued interest in the position, the team, the organization, and the entire opportunity. Keep following-up and keep showing you have a high-level of interest in the opportunity (if that’s the case).
4. Its an opportunity for value-add. I give this advice to a lot of job seekers, however I’m not sure how many actually follow this advice: follow-up communication is a great opportunity for further value-add after the interview. Did they mention problem XYZ at the interview? How about brainstorming some possible solutions when you've had some time to think post-Interview, and then asking for a follow-up call to discuss some ideas you have as well? The point here to stay in communication while showing interest, and continue showing the kind of value you can bring with your ideas. This may open up further opportunities for you to sell your value. Think strategically!

So, hopefully you see that follow-up is not just about pestering and bothering people but in fact is of great strategic value in your job search and an opportunity to keep the communication lines open and keep adding value.

And a final note:

• Never depend on just ONE follow-up contact. It needs to be carried out consistently over a period of time
• Keep filling your pipeline with other opportunities and other conversations. So although you are not giving up on this one opportunity, you’re also not placing all bets on one organization but continuing to add more to your pipeline

Make those follow-up calls!

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Dean Kulaweera - IT Recruiter | Director, Recruitment & Sales |?Tech Recruiters 360

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