There are several natural opportunities for
continued contact following an interview. Here are the Angus One tips
for following up on an interview:
- First of all, always send a thank you card and
make sure it reaches the decision maker in a reasonable
amount of time. This small gesture can sometimes
be the tie breaker between two equally strong candidates.
- After a couple days, if you haven’t heard anything from the
company, it is perfectly acceptable to call the appropriate individual
to follow up by telephone. If you are working with a recruiter, then
call the recruiter first. When you make the call to the employer, be
prepared to answer some of the questions from the interview again.
Keep in mind that they may have interviewed several candidates after
you and this is a good time to refresh their memory about your strengths.
- The follow up call is also an opportunity to elaborate on strong
points from the interview — if you remember that they got excited
when you mentioned that you had previous project management experience,
you could elaborate on that experience and how it could benefit their
company. Just remember, everything you say, do, or ask for at this
point has to have value in it for them.
- When you do speak with someone from the company and you’re
given an indication that you’re not the best candidate for this
particular position, don’t argue. They’ve made their decision.
You never want to burn a bridge. If their first choice doesn’t
work out, or more positions open up within the company, you want to
be one of the first people they think of calling.
- If you are turned down, thank the company representative and ask
them for feedback that you can use to prepare for future interviews.
- Even if you don’t get the job, that doesn’t mean the
door is closed to you. This is a great networking opportunity. Most
likely, the person who interviewed you has contacts in other businesses
that may be recruiting and will be more than happy to refer a strong
candidate.
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