Do you play golf, tennis, or baseball? In virtually every sport, the coach will say, “follow through,” right? In business we call it “the last mile” or “execution excellence.” Your job search follow up is not only the key to securing a great job, but also to building your network.
No Excuses – Catch yourself when you think any of these.
Excuse #1: “I knocked the interview out of the park, so no need to send anything since I’ll get the job.” Well, aside from being too confident, which could have hurt you in the interview, there is no excuse for not being polite. And what if you were good in the interview, but not great, and the next candidate did send a compelling thank you note?
Excuse #2: “I don’t have their email address.” Lesson learned. Ask for all email addresses while you are interviewing. However, if you forgot, contact the recruiter, HR manager, or anybody who might be able to give it to you. Simply say, “I would like to send them a thank you note,” so your intention is clear.
Excuse #3: “Thank you notes seem so phony. I’m not the thank you note type.” First, follow up notes should be sincere. Sheer appreciation for their time and for considering you as a candidate should be reason enough to take 5 minutes to review your notes and craft a thank you note. Second, if you are not the “thank you note type,” then learn to be one now!
Excuse #4: “They told me I will not be the final choice for the position, so there is no need to thank them.” Wrong. You want to add your interviewers to your network and you may want to contact them again. And, what if that company has another position that opens up? Take the high road and always, always send a thank you note and stay in touch after that. In your thank you note, you may say, “If another position opens up within your organization, I am interested in being considered.”
No Mistakes – Most job seekers make at least one of these mistakes! Don’t be one of them.
Mistake #1: Scathing follow-up emails from job seekers who think they’re out of the running.
Mistake #2: Rudeness or impatience. If the hiring manager gave you a specific date or timeframe, give them some room. Hiring processes take time and you don’t want to seem overly anxious.
Mistake #3: One-line emails: “Can you call me back?”
Mistake #4: Group thank you notes— it’s not personal and group notes imply you are lazy.
Mistake #5: In a personal thank you note, your copy and paste didn’t work so it was addressed, “Dear Sally” and it closed with, “Thank you, again, Bob.”
Mistake #6: Misspellings, grammar, punctuation errors. Remember each communication is a writing sample for the employer!
Mistake #7: Gimmicks. Do not send flowers, a gift, anything.
Mistake #8: Asking a friend to “swing by” the hiring manager’s office and say, “How is Bob doing for your position hiring. Isn’t he great?”
3 tricks for the BEST job search follow up.
Well, I’m not going to leave you hanging! Here are my 3 tricks to help you be the BEST in your job search follow up:
Trick #1: Always appear gracious, positive, patient, and interested. Speak in a very respectful manner if you’re leaving a voicemail message, acknowledging that, “I know you are very busy, but I wanted to follow up on the email I sent you and to say that I’m still very interested in the position.”
Trick #2: When following up with an email, always attach the prior email you are referring to. If there was an attachment to the prior email, reattach it, as appropriate.
Trick #3: Match the communication medium the interviewer has been using, i.e. returning emails with emails, phone calls with phone calls.
What are your tricks and challenges for job search follow up? Comment here!
