The Right Way to Follow Up After an Interview

Your well-crafted résumé and thoughtful cover letter earned you a job interview for the position of your dreams. After some focused prep work for the big day, you felt you nailed your interview performance. Upon closing, the interviewer thanked you and said they would be getting in touch soon.

Ultimately, the suspense is killing you. You want to hear either good news or bad, but without seeming like an overbearing pest. So what are the best strategies for following up in the most professional manner after an interview? Let’s take a closer look at the smartest ways to approach this scenario.

Send a Quick Thank You Note Right Afterwards

Within a day after the interview, send a quick note to the interviewer thanking them for the opportunity to talk. An email or text message works for this purpose, but use a hand-written letter through snail mail if you want to make an additional impact. If so, send the note immediately after the interview.

Don’t call them, as this seems a bit too overbearing. A simple and quick written note works best.

Connect on LinkedIn

In addition to sending a thank you note, connect with the interviewer on LinkedIn. As the interview is ending, ask for a business card and mention about wanting to reach out on LinkedIn. However, don’t use that opportunity to pepper them with messages about whether they made a final hiring decision.

If you don’t end up getting the job, at least you added someone to your network. An honest and professional approach in this regard serves you well throughout your career.

Contact Them About a Potential Decision Only Periodically

After your initial thank you note, only contact the company about their hiring decision in a periodic fashion – once every week at the most. Once again, take a professional tack in your message; perhaps even including some news or other useful information related to the company’s business. Beyond that, keep things brief and to the point.

Remember, you can expect to hear from the company about a potential offer soon after they decide. Sometimes, if they went in another direction they may take some time contacting all the other interviewees. Once again, patience and professionalism need to be your focus. Hopefully, positive news is coming your way very soon.

When you need additional advice with all aspects of a job search, speak with the expert recruiters at Peyton Resource Group. As one of the top general staffing agencies in Dallas, we know the companies looking for talented professionals. Schedule a meeting with us soon.

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