Interview Follow-up

Interview Follow Up

By The 6FigureJobs Editors
You finished the interview, there’s clearly a fit, so what’s the first thing you should do when you get home? Sit down and write a thank-you note to each person that you interviewed with, of course. This may seem obvious and 96% of those polled by 6FigureJobs indicated that they already know to do so. But what is the etiquette for the best methods of follow up? That can easily be debated.
Email and handwritten thank you’s are the two most popular forms of follow up and both are acceptable. Of those polled in the 6FigureJobs survey 60% prefer email and 35% prefer to mail hand written thank you’s. Of those surveyed 1% go as far as to send flowers or chocolates, which can be a good idea when interviewing for a high profile position such as C-level or Vice President. No matter what you choose this should be done no more than two days following the interview.
The salutation should be formal - “Dear Ms. Joan Johnson” – unless, during the interview, she said “call me Joan”, then the salutation can be friendlier - “Dear Joan”. Let the formality of the interview indicate how you should address the salutation. The closing is your choice: “sincerely”, “best regards”, or “respectfully yours” are all acceptable.
In your thank you note, show appreciation for the employer's interest in you and remind them of why you are the perfect person for the position. Briefly site specific examples of how your accomplishments match to the position, or company, goals. Add a personal touch whenever possible. For example if you notice that the interviewer has an interest in sailboats, write your thank-you note on a note card with a sailboat picture on it, or reference something you discussed with the interviewer.
The phone call thank you is less preferred but is also acceptable. Of those polled 1% say they prefer this method, but has some challenges. For example, if you reach the person’s voicemail (and that’s likely), you leave yourself with the concern that they may not get the voicemail, accidently delete it, or overlook it when they have a large pool of candidates. If you do leave a voicemail always be professional, courteous and enthusiastic about the position, and continue to build rapport and sell your strengths – briefly – during the message. If you are in one of the more aggressive professions such as sales, you are almost expected to prove your aggressiveness by calling back every two to three days, unless told to wait. But you don’t have to call each time, you can send an e-mail and that may help you cut through their voicemail clutter.
After you get your thank you note out, follow up as indicated in the interview. You should have asked the question of how and when to follow up at the interview. But if you didn’t ask, or when or how to follow up was not made clear, do so with a phone call within a week to ten days, or sooner if the employer is looking to make an immediate hire. If you find during your follow up that you have not been chosen for the position, keep a positive attitude and use this opportunity to bring the interviewer into your network, possibly even asking them for referrals to other contacts.
Always consider the thank you and follow up just as important as any other aspect of your job search strategy and put just as much thought and effort to it as you would your resume. Share your tips or success stories on the 6FigureJobs Blog.