What to do after the interview

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

The interview process may be over but you still have some work to do. What you do after the interview can make a difference to your current and future employment opportunities.

Once you walked out of the interview there are several things you should consider.

Send a thank you note

Sending a thank you note to the interviewer is a polite way of thanking them for their time, consideration, and interest in you. Try not to be too generic with your message; you want it to look like you put thought into the gesture.

In addition to thanking the interviewer a thank you note can also be used to reassure them about your suitability for the role, or address a question which you feel you gave a weak answer. It is however just a note so don't send them a multipage document.

Inform your references they may be contacted by the employer

If you haven't already told your references that they may be contacted by the employer then it is time to do so. You want them to be prepared in the event they're contacted. Otherwise they may not be sure of what to say about you.

Use your networking contacts

In addition to contacting your references you should connect with your networking contacts. Do you know someone who can put in a good word for you at the company you just applied for? The more good things the employer hears about you the better your chances.

Don't harass the employer with emails or phone calls

Now it's time to play the waiting game to see if you've got the job. It's one thing to contact the interviewer to see if they have made a decision. But if you're annoying them with constant emails and calls, you'll quickly find yourself getting ignored. Apart from your thank you note, or if you're asked by the employer, you shouldn't be contacting the interviewer until after they said they'd make their decision and get in touch with you. Before that point you just have to be patient.

I know it can be tough waiting to be contacted, and by all means follow up if you don't hear from them. Keep in mind though some companies find it easier to just simply ignore you rather than telling you, you didn't get the job. This has happened to me. They tell you they will contact you in two weeks. This comes and goes, so you contact them only to be told they need more time to decide. This cycle continues until they finally start ignoring your calls and emails.

Don't try to force the employer to make a decision

You may think you can force the employer to hurry up and make their decision by telling them you've applied for other jobs, or received other offers. This can backfire though. If they're very interested in you, they may hurry up so they don't lose you. But if you're just one applicant among many, and you force them to make a snap judgement, you may miss out.

Continue looking and apply for jobs

Don't put all your eggs in the one basket as the saying goes. You obviously hope you're going to get the job but what happens if you don't, do you have any other options? You should continue to apply for jobs while waiting to hear back from the employer. You can always turn down any interview or job offers in the event you're offered the job you wanted. It can sometimes take months for an employer to make their mind up. Do you really want to sit around for all that time doing nothing? It makes sense to keep looking.

Accept rejection professionally

I can be difficult to deal with rejection, especially if you really wanted the job. But you have to be professional about it. If you're rude to the employer it can hurt your chances of employment with them in the future, you never know when they might have a new opening, or who they know that you may work for in the future.

Review what did and didn't work

So you didn't get the job, no point obsessing over that fact. Instead review what worked and what you can improve upon for your next interview. What questions were you able to answer well and what did you struggle with.

It's all about continuing to creating opportunities for yourself. So don't do anything that can hurt your current or future applications.

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