Proper Ways to Follow Up After Your Interview

By Juan Obrien


You just finished a job application interview. You are pleased with the way you handled yourself and that voice inside you assures you that you have made it. The people who handled your interview told you that they would call you soon. Unfortunately, you did not hear from them. You were very disappointed. And what's worse, things like this are constantly happening. Just remember: Companies can display improper etiquette just like people. It's not good, but it is common.

Cheryl was happy with her interview on Tuesday. She knew that she did very well with the interview. She even thought that it was just appropriate to send a thank you letter. The company representative told her that the results of her interview will come out by the end of the week, but it's already Friday-- and she still did not receive any calls. By this time, she is already having doubts if she would even receive any. She started asking herself, Is it okay for me to call and ask about my interview? Or should I just wait over the weekend?

Fortunately, for Cheryl, her cousin Gloria is a Human Resources officer at a different firm. She finally decided to ask Gloria for some advice regarding her application. Gloria told Cheryl that it is okay to call back, but she should call the company on Tuesdays because Mondays are always a bad time to follow up.

The following Tuesday, Cheryl prepared herself to make the call. She had written a script of her inquiry to make her sound self-assured. She also practiced to make sure that she would sound just right. She dialed and heard a voice mail. Her message went like this:

"I'm Cheryl Jones. We met last Tuesday when I came for the job interview. I just want to follow up the condition of my application and I am thinking if you still believe that I am suited for the job. I will be pleased if you try to reach me today. My telephone number is 333-999-8888. Thank you for this time."

If a company does not call you back as promised, it is okay to get back to them and leave them a message. Do not call unless you are ready. Make sure that you sound professional and polite. Explain to the company representative that you need to know the status of your application before you consider other opportunities because their company is your best option. Try to follow-up once until the third time. If they still do not respond, consider your application to be denied. Otherwise you will just seem annoying to them.

There is a great possibility that you will be able to talk to a person when you follow up. If this happens, grab this chance to inquire about your job application. There are times when a person will talk to you and give you reasonable advice, but this rarely happens. Make sure to thank this person when this occurs and try to gain wisdom from this circumstance.

Employers understand the candidate's curiosity about their application results, that is why most of them wait for the right timing to announce the results. The bad news is that there are employers who like to leave candidates hanging. You should think about this possibility before engaging your application. Make the most of your time waiting by looking for other opportunities.




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