Annnd we are back. Did you read the first two blogs? If not, check them out before you read ahead.
If so, this is part three of Interview Mastery: Follow-Up and Self-Reflection.
SO: You wore the best professional attire, dominated the interview with confident questions and walked out with your head held high. Now for the hardest part….waiting. However; first thing is first: Send a follow-up.
Within 24 hours of your interview, an email (at the absolute minimum) should be sent out to all individuals that were involved. Make sure to send each person their own email as well, to thank them individually for their time. The follow-up is part of “post-interview” etiquette and is common courtesy. Forgetting to send a follow-up could potentially be a factor in not being considered for the job! Make a mental note to not forget it.
When sending your follow-up emails, be sure to email all of the individuals that you interviewed with. Keep the message short and succinct, but be sure to distinguish yourself in the email and leave them with a key takeaway that will allow them to remember you from other potential candidates. Also, be sure to reiterate how passionate you are about the opportunity and why you are qualified for the position. If you forgot to collect business cards of the individuals you spoke to and their emails are not available online, be sure to contact Human Resources or the person who organized your interview to receive any contact information.
For tips on how to write a professional follow-up email, be sure to check out our Tie Tip from last week to make sure all aspects are covered before sending. If you have the time and can go the extra mile, never hesitate to send a handwritten thank you card to all individuals that you spoke to within the company as well. A handwritten note still goes a long way, even though we are now in the 21st century. Simply keep in mind that time is precious in this situation and you don't want to delay in fear of them hiring someone else, so make sure a handwritten note is always in addition to the follow-up email to ensure they receive something from you as quickly as possible.
Finally, (just like online dating), you wait. Patiently. From a dating perspective, whenever someone blindly doesn't call back or they just end things without further communication, you can't help but ask yourself: Why me?
Here's a personal piece of advice: I have been in this situation and have been able to find a solution. I bought a journal and called it my “dream journal:" whether the dreams were attainable or way too far out there, either way I wrote them down. In application to interviewing: I wrote down thoughts such as:
What would be my ideal job?
What would make me fulfilled?
What are my strengths?
What are my weaknesses?
Then, after each interview, I reflected on the process and thought about ways to improve for next time, or topics/questions I felt confident in. Taking the time to look back on the interview and make notes kept me motivated to improve for the next. PS: I still to do this whenever I transition jobs, and it still works great! At the end of the day, all you can do is learn from your previous experiences until you land your dream job!
Key takeaways:
Kill out your interview and then send a follow-up email (no more than once a week...no one wants 800 emails from you)
Reflect on how you can improve for next time (assuming they do not get back in touch)
Wait patiently for an employee to reach back out
At this point, everything happens for a reason. If no one gets back in touch, it simply wasn't meant to be. However, we're rooting for you and hope you get that call back!
For personalized advice on how to best attack the interview you have coming up, sign up today for a consultation and let us help to get you prepared. Go get 'em tiger!