Whaddaya hear, whaddaya say? Welcome to episode 14 of the Career Consigliere podcast, your no frills, no BS forum for navigating the corporate job scene. Jimmy with you, as always, for what we hope to be a highly informative and engaging half an hour, or so! Today, we dedicate the entire episode to follow ups that you the jobseeker make during and after the interview process. You’ve heard this come up a lot in previous episodes, and I thought it was important to spread some clarity on this topic. We’ll cover how you should approach follow-ups in such a way that you keep yourself in the running, while also being realistic about the outcome and maintaining your professional dignity. You’ll walk away today with some actionable strategies for putting all this to work. Should be an enlightening one today, podcast land: so letttsssss get it!
I’ll get right to the point on this one, because there really isn’t much I have to tell you about following-up after an interview. You’ll be much more interested in my rationale for why I say this, which I’ll get to shortly. So here’s what I recommend for following up after an interview. Wait a “good week” and see what happens. When I say a “good week”, I don’t literally mean 7 calendar days (although it could actually work out that way). It’s really more about riding the “rhythm of the week”, as I call it. For example: let’s say your interview is on a Wednesday (most of mine always were, just the way it worked out for some reason). If you don’t hear anything about next steps by Monday of the following week, then make your presence known again on Tuesday morning. You’ll want to give your contacts Monday to recalibrate from the weekend, and get in the flow of a brand new week. Usually, Tuesday morning tends to be the time this happens. Every organization is different, but from what I’ve observed working for several large corporations in a bunch of different jobs, everything is usually firing on all cylinders on a Tuesday morning. Don’t send it at the stroke of 8am, but shoot for between 10-11. Definitely before lunch, but not right first thing so that it doesn’t seem too premeditated or planned.
You want to avoid looking desperate and giving off the impression that you were sitting up all night with bloodshot eyes in the fetal position saying (robot voice) “MUST SEND EMAIL....NEED JOB....ANXIOUS TO FOLLOW UP”. Now, let’s say your interview is on Monday. Then, follow up on Thursday or Friday morning that same week. There’s no magic number of days to wait, but something like this should be the sweet spot, a “good week” is what I call it. You want your conversation to still be fresh in their heads, but you don’t want to be all anxious and overzealous about it either. I told a story in an earlier episode about a guy who followed up later that same day, and made an EGREGIOUS typo and really embarrassed himself. That’s episode 12, so go back and check that one out if you haven’t heard it yet – don’t be that guy!
What should this follow-up look like? This is really all you need. Let’s say you’re interviewing for a IT Specialist role with Big Box company. “Hi, so and so, wanted to say thanks again for speaking with me last week about the IT specialist role with Big Box. I enjoyed our conversation, and hope that we have the chance to speak again soon. If you have any questions or need further information, feel free to contact me: you have my resume, and all my information is below. Best regards, (your name). Below your name, include your email address and phone number. Yes, the recipient is a competent human being, and yes you’re aware they already have all your info, but make staying in touch with you as convenient and fool-proof as possible. It’s a nice professional gesture and sends a good message.
You might adjust the wording slightly depending on who it was that you interviewed with: for example, if it was the hiring manager, maybe you mention something specific that you talked about in the interview, something that you’re particularly excited about. And if it’s the talent acquisition person, your call to action in the interview might say something more like “hoping to continue further in the process, please let me know if you need anything else from my end.”
If it was a group of people that you met with, send one email with all of them on it. You should have all their email addresses from all the corresponding you’ve done, but if not, you can add something like “please relay this to anyone I may have missed”, just to cover your bases. We go with email for this because it’s the least invasive (calling them on the phone to say thanks is just kind of weird). And we’re way past the days of mailing a follow-up letter. This can still be an effective strategy to get your resume noticed initially, as we’ve discussed in the past, but it’s utterly useless and kind of laughable to do this with a follow-up letter.
And guys...THAT’S IT. Remember what I’ve said in the past, if you’re the one the company has their eye on, you sending a follow-up email should mean a hill of beans. And if they’re REAL serious about you, they’re not going to want to play games and risk you getting scooped up by someone else. They might even get back in touch with you before you’ve even had a CHANCE to send you’re follow-up, and that’s a great position to be in. But assuming the company isn’t tipping their hand and they’re playing the corporate version of “hard to get”, send one, yes your ONE and only follow-up a “good week” after the fact. It communicates to the organization that you’re still interested in the job, even after having met with them. Some candidates change their mind after the interviews happen, it’s happened to me even: you realize the job isn’t what you thought it was, you noticed things about the company you didn’t like, any number of things can turn the tide. And if that’s the case, don’t even bother sending a follow-up if you don’t want the job: it’s your career, and you have ZERO obligation to anyone that isn’t paying you. But, assuming you ARE still interested, sending this follow-up lets everyone know that you’re still in the game. It’s a due diligence move, and puts the ball in THEIR court to pursue you further. And at this point, your job in the interview process is done!
Guys and gals listening: I’ve seen people type five paragraph, Pulitzer Prize-worthy essays to follow-up after an interview. I’ve seen people send follow-ups in double figure quantities in the course of a week to a company that clearly has no intention of moving forward with them. I’ve seen people actually call the company on the phone to ask for an update, only to receive such a vague, noncommittal answer that they felt worse than they did BEFORE making the call. And you know why? Two reasons: one – they have no other serious prospects. And two: this is what they’ve been told to do. It goes back to that old, outdated narrative I always talk about where the candidate makes themselves obsequious and subservient to the organization and treats the interview process like they’re talking to God himself. And you want to know the funny thing? The company, since they’re not a divine entity, notices this. And it actually makes you less appealing, regardless of how qualified you might be on paper. Here I draw another parallel to the dating world: a girl or a guy doesn’t answer your text, they’re ignoring you. You think hounding and harassing them is going to make them want you more? You follow-up ONE TIME, in a dignified and self-respecting fashion. And if they still leave you hanging? We take wisdom from the great Eric Cartman: “Screw you guys, I’m going home”.
Where does this kind of spirit come from, and why do I preach it to all of you? Listen to ONE of my episodes, any one of them, doesn’t matter, and you’ll know right away that I’m a person of dignity, character, and not one to bow down to anyone. I had very good role models growing up: I was raised by inner city refugees who grew up during a period of anarchy on the streets: watch any documentary on “The Bronx is Burning”, or just about any mob movie, and you’ll understand. Yeah, there’s some dramatic effect, but they’re all based on lots of truth about the kinds of things that really went on. My family raised me in a safe, much more sane type of area, but I spent a ton of time visiting the hood, and what I saw myself, combined with all the wisdom that all my influences gave me, had one clear message: let NOBODY push you around, and look out for YOU, because nobody else is gonna. Some great words to live by: And I can tell you this: I wouldn’t have made it this far in my career, or my life, without this being drilled into my head since birth. I know a lot of people that were never taught these kinds of things, and let’s just say their lives and careers are very different – I’ll leave it there.
And you wonder, what in bloody hell does any of this have to do with job interview follow-ups? It really comes down to this: you’re representing yourself out there on the job hunt. You have no lawyer, no agent, no anybody acting on your behalf. And it can be a real battle: the time involved, the work and preparation involved, the worry and stress involved. And when the day’s done, you’re alone with all of it. Sure, you might have a good support network around you with friends, family, whoever it is, and I hope you do, really – it helps tremendously in stressful times. But ultimately it’s YOU, you alone, who gets in the ring, throws the punches, and keeps the gloves up, figuratively speaking. And if we let them, prospective employers WILL mistreat us: we’ve covered it in previous episodes. They’ll mislead you with job postings, waste your time with bogus interview questions trying to set you up to say something stupid. They’ll try to lowball you on salary all in the name of saving 3 or 4 grand on a balance sheet. They’ll give roundabout answers and terrible communication when you ask important questions. And, most of the time, they’ll just completely ignore you and leave you flapping in the breeze. I don’t mean to sound negative, but this is competition folks. Only the strong succeed on the job market: If we could have Charles Darwin on the show, he’d even tell you that himself. Bottom line: we need to act as our own agent and advocate for ourselves as best we can, while maintaining our professional and personal dignity.
Yet all the time, I see job seekers doing is completely bending over for these companies. Acting like total yes men and yes women and letting these organizations completely have their way with them throughout the job search process. The BIGGEST way this plays out, without question, is when it comes to following up after an interview. Let’s say the process is going great: you’ve had one or two great interviews, and now you’re anxiously waiting for next steps. That’s usually when the ghosting happens.....all of a sudden the consistent, solid communication that made you feel like you were making progress goes completely quiet. And that’s when candidates start acting very desperate. They start sending multiple follow-up emails that effectively translate to “Despite your unprofessional and disrespectful lack of communication, I’m going to continue showering you with praise, accolades, and kiss-assery in hopes that I’ll be rewarded with the privilege of earning a fair-market wage to work a disproportionately stressful job at your company, if you’ll be so generous.”
When you look at it that way, do you realize how crazy this is? If you greeted and complimented somebody, and they ignored you and walked away, would you go back for more? If somebody asked you for help, and they never said thank you or gave you anything in return for your efforts, would you ever help them again? If someone lied to you and really led you astray, would you ever trust and take them seriously again? Unless you have INCREDIBLY unhealthy relationships and really toxic tendencies, your answer should be none of the above. What makes the job search any different? Why would we want to bother with a collective of people, because that’s all an organization is, that doesn’t show us respect? They won’t take the time out of their day to give us a straightforward answer to our question, or to keep us posted on the status of our candidacy: so in return we want to give them 40+ hours of our time every week?
Let’s clarify: Yes, I’m very aware that people work to earn money, and money makes the world go round. I’m fully in touch with the fact that not everyone has the ability to be picky and wait for “the perfect job”, or “the perfect company” or perfect treatment throughout the interview process in order to keep their career moving: the lights need to stay on, and people need to eat in the meantime. No situation will ever be perfect – you’re going to have issues no matter where you wind up: Some organizations are better than others, and it’s all relative. But my point here is that we need to advocate for ourselves and defend against major pitfalls while we search for work. And the biggest way we can maintain our self-respect is by being professional, practical, and dignified when it comes to following up after interviews. We’ll summarize what this all looks like in today’s.......consigliere call to action.
Following up after an interview, regardless of what round it is or who it’s with, is always done via email. That’s the only appropriate way these days. And you’ll want to wait a “good week” before you do so. Use your best judgement on this: if you interview on Wednesday, shoot for early the following week. If you interview on Monday, you can do it towards the end of that same week. Doesn’t have to be 7 actual calendar days.
Keep your message very brief: Simply thank them for meeting with you, let them know you’re hoping to speak again, and make yourself available for any next steps. Your message should be a very easy read and be only a few lines long: very brief and to-the-point. Hiring managers, and ESPECIALLY talent acquisition people are WAY too busy, get WAY too many emails, and I promise, they’re not going to read your short story on how fulfilling the interview was and how you can’t wait to be part of such a thriving organization that’s involved in the community, uses cutting edge technology, and is passionate about climate change, donates to your favorite foundation....you get the point. Going overboard like this just makes you look desperate as a candidate, and can actually make you LESS appealing, regardless of how sexy your resume might be.
And why do we limit our follow-ups? Why do consigliere proteges keep it short and brief and don’t go out of their way to bow down? Because nobody looks out for us like we look out for ourselves. YOU are the only one representing you in the search process, and we can’t go kissing ass and bowing down to organizations that aren’t paying us and that we don’t yet know anywhere near well enough to pledge our allegiance to. Organizations can, and will, change their mind about candidates on a DIME – On the inside, I’ve seen very qualified candidates get completely and unfairly discounted for the most BOGUS, out of touch types of reasons, reasons that would send you through the ceiling. If we’re getting the runaround from a company, or if things aren’t looking good, spending our time pining for “the one that got away” does nothing except waste our time and weaken our mindset. That same time and energy would be MUCH better spent pursuing other opportunities. If you’re qualified, if you work hard, if you’re resilient, and if you look in the right places, you’ll eventually find the right job. Might not happen overnight, but your inputs directly influence the outputs, so keep the activity and attitude up, and eventually it’ll all work out.
Sadly folks, that’s all the time we have for today. But have no fears, and shed no tears, because I’ll be back with a new episode every week. As they say in the industry: no listeners, no show, so do me a favor, and stay loyal! If you find value in my content, please leave me a nice review, tell all your friends, and don’t forget to like, subscribe, and follow on whatever platform you use to get your podcasts. Beyond the confines of your headphones, speakers, TV screen, or any other crazy contraption with the ability to stream audio, I also provide one-on-one career assistance, so visit my website at career-consigliere.net to learn more about me, book me for one-on-one coaching, join my email list, or explore some of the other career services I offer. And to all of you out there in podcast land, remember this: Who’s the boss in your career? You, nobody else.
