How to Continue to Shine Once the Interview Has Been Completed
By: Nicole Hitch
To some this article may seem like common sense, but you would be surprised how often much of the following gets overlooked and how many job seekers seemingly can’t be bothered to put forth the effort to follow up once they have been interviewed. I stress over and over to the candidates I work with, the importance of following up after an interview; phone interview or in person interview, it does not matter, the follow up is the piece that keeps the flow of building the relationship with the hiring manager/company going.
You know how they say that sales is all about building relationships and knowing the product right? Well interviewing is no different, except that the product is you and it is your job to do the best job you can to build as meaningful of a relationship with the interviewers (who are the buyers) as you can… Now we are not talking BFF type or lovey-dovey type relationships, but a get to know you, respect you, and show interest in the company/position and that you can make a positive difference in both, type relationship.
Following up (if done correctly) helps to continue to create rapport with the person who interviewed you; it shows that you are interested in and serious about the position/company, you pay attention to details, you have good manners and can write articulately, it gives you another opportunity to reiterate how you will be able to help the company by using your fantastic skills and it also sets you apart from many of the other people who are also interviewing for the same position because many of them will skip this step.
I have outlined below the basics of the follow up and what you need to do during and after the interview to be prepared to follow up.
During the Interview
- If it is a phone interview be sure to get the correct spelling of the interviewer’s first and last name prior to the interview either from the recruiter/HR person who set up the interview, or if you know the name, but are unsure of the spelling, you can always check LinkedIn or Spoke, and if either of those steps don’t work, don’t hesitate at the end of the interview to ask for the correct spelling.
- If it is a face to face interview, be sure to ask each person interviewing you for a business card at the end of your time with them (if they don’t offer one at the start), if they don’t have one, be sure to write down their name so you can follow up with the HR/Recruiting contact to get the correct spelling.
- Regardless of if it is a face to face or phone interview, be sure to ask the interviewer when you should expect to hear of their decision. This will help give you a time frame on when to follow up again once you have sent your thank you note.
Immediately following the Interview
- Take the time as soon as you get back to your car/bike/bus or whatever to write down everything you can about what you talked about and with whom during the interview. This will help you personalize your thank you notes when you sit down to write them.
Within 24-48 Hours of the Interview
- Write a rough draft of the thank you note and then have another person you trust to look over it to make sure you didn’t miss any grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors and also to make sure it sounds good, then write your final draft. This is one area where mistakes can be extremely hazardous, so be sure there are NO spelling, punctuation or grammatical mistakes! If you are sending the thank you via e-mail, it should be sent within 24-48 hours of the interview, if you are mailing the thank you (either hand written or typed and printed), you should have it in the mail within 24 hours of the interview.
- If you are mailing the thank you note, address the envelope as follows:
Company Name
Attn: Interviewer’s First and Last Name
Address
City, State Zip
- If you are unsure of what to say in your thank you note, Google “interview thank you letters” and you will find tons of sites with suggestions. DON’T cut and paste any of the templates and only choose to change a few words! Use them as a guideline and put your own words in. Try to tailor each thank you to the individual you met with and connect it to things you spoke with them about during your interview. Make them professional with a personal touch.
Now if you want to truly get that job and set yourself apart from the crowd follow these steps.
- Get a hand written thank you card in the mail within 24 hours of your interview. If your hand writing is so bad even you can’t read it, then maybe type one, but I always prefer to get a hand written thank you in the mail because it shows the person made a little extra effort. Besides, who doesn’t like getting nice mail???
- Personalize every thank you! Even if you met with ten people during your interview for one position, each person should get their own thank you note and it should be different than the ones you sent to everyone else… tie in things you spoke about with that person. Make a connection with them so they remember you.
- Make sure in your thank you letter that you show your appreciation for the interviewer’s time!!!
- Once you have sent your thank you letter, mark your calendar on when you will follow up again. This will depend on when the interviewer said they plan to have a decision. If they say they plan to have a decision by the end of the week and you haven’t heard anything by the end of the week, mark your calendar to make a telephone call on Monday to follow up. Don’t call before, because you will come across as desperate and as having poor listening skills. If you don’t have a time frame for when the decision will be made, mark your calendar for 1 week from your interview date to make the follow up phone call. If your interview was scheduled by a staffing firm, the thank you note is all you will have to do, because they will do the rest of the follow up for you.
- Look at every interviewing opportunity as a networking opportunity, you never know where or when you may be looking for another job and who will be hiring, so make sure that in all of your interviewing and follow up you are always polite, positive and professional (no matter what!!!!)!
- If you have sent your thank you notes, done your follow up call and haven’t heard back for several weeks, assume you did not get the position and move on. Give yourself closure so you can move forward with all other opportunities with a positive mind set and knowing you put your best foot forward.
Best of luck to you in your job search and as always if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave a reply below or e-mail me at nhitch@bluewaveprofessionals.com.
