by Trevor Gelder, Corporate Director
Talent Acquisition and Deployment
You’ve made it through the interview… Now what? How to follow-up? It is always good form to send a quick thank-you e-mail, as it offers a great opportunity to add details about something you discussed or make a comment about something you learned in the interview. Make your note quick and simple, but also show that you were paying attention.
Next, how long do you wait before you check back with the employer? This is a great question best asked at the end of your interview. If you ask when they expect to make a decision or when the next step would be, you will generally get a good time frame for your call and it will help you to get through the waiting anxiety. If they say it will be two weeks, then wait two weeks. If you haven’t heard back by then, it would be appropriate to call or e-mail and check on the status. But do not go overboard.
What does going overboard look like? I had one candidate I interviewed by phone. At the end of the call, I told him that the manager who would be interviewing him next was out of the office until the following Tuesday and I would contact him after that. Regardless, this candidate called me several times before the manager was back, and was not willing to leave a message, so he would call every 10 minutes until I answered. He also called several other people in the office and told them he was following up, making it sound as if I wasn’t keeping him informed. By the time the manager got back, the candidate had changed my recommendation 100 percent. Initially, I thought he was a great fit for the job, but now I could see he was high maintenance before we even got him on board – not to mention that he created problems among my coworkers. He had a great shot at the job, but he blew it.