How to follow up after an interview

Congratulations! You applied for the job, passed the phone screening and have just completed the face to face interview.

It feels like you have really accomplished something; then a few days pass…then a week. Now it’s been 2 weeks. You thought the interview went well and that you had nailed it. But you haven’t heard a damn thing in 15 days now.

What is the protocol? Should you call? Should you wait another week? Maybe you should have already called a week ago? Perhaps an e-mail? What if I could tell you that there is a way that you can avoid some of this uncertainty and get a read on if you are a strong candidate or not? And it can be accomplished by asking one question at the end of the interview:

“If I don’t hear anything, when would be a good time to follow up?”

That’s it! Now you can find out when and if you can follow up, and based on the answer you receive, you can probably tell if the hiring manager is interested in moving the process forward to subsequent interviews or to the offer phase.

Here are some examples of some of the answers you might get and what they actually mean:

ANSWER A: “Don’t get back to me, I’ll contact you.” Pretty explicit. Also, an indication that you may not have the job if this person cannot be bothered to answer a follow up e-mail or phone call. If you asked a person after a first date if you can call them back and they told you this you would probably bank on never going out with this person again. Hopefully you didn’t pay for their dinner.

ANSWER B: “2 weeks, if you don’t hear anything.” Call back in 2 weeks. 2 weeks is the canned non-committal answer. It’s also a long time if you are a strong candidate, but there could be other factors at play here. Perhaps they want to interview more candidates maybe the hiring manager is taking her family on a trip to see relatives that they don’t like in Iowa. Definitely not a rejection and if you don’t hear anything by all means call back in 2 weeks.

ANSWER C: “A few days, definitely not longer than a week.” Ding Ding Ding! They are clearly interested in you. The shorter time frame given is in indication of an intent on the employer’s part to move the hiring process forward. This is good news and although I wouldn’t pop open the bubbly, I would advise on enjoying a ice cold beer and some freshly popped popcorn. Actually, I would advise that for anybody.
The follow-up call

In terms of what to ask in your follow up call, it should be pretty brief. I would recommend starting with something like this: “How are you? This is Sal Ami, I am following up after our interview on July 25th for the position of Wastewater Taste Tester. I want to see if you have come to a decision yet or if you need anything else from me?”

By saying your name, the date of the interview and the job you applied for, you are also alleviating any potential embarrassment in case the manager forgot who you were, which is common after interview 10 other candidates. (Although no one would never forget a name like Sal Ami)

If you get a non-committal answer back, it is okay to ask what the timeline is for making a decision, and by all means to remind the hiring manager that you are still interested in the job.

Another reason it is good to follow up is if you receive another job offer from another company. This is the best of all worlds as you can follow up, share your good fortune with the hiring manager, and if they are serious, then they have been put on notice that they need to get their shit together and put an offer together quickly. The really good news here is you can get two competing offers which can be huge in a salary negotiation. This is the proverbial catbird’s seat.

In the case that you forgot to ask the follow-up question: If a week or so has passed since the interview, is it appropriate to follow up? The answer is “hell yes!” A passive approach may give the impression that you are not interested in the job.

Some people have anxiety about following up, fearing that they might come across as too needy and that they might scare the company off (Kind of like coming across as the crazed stalker after a date or two).

I offer this: If you are looking for a job, you ARE needy because you need A job or A DIFFERENT job. Anyone who has half a soul should recognize that. Job searching is a humbling experience that will knock your ego down a peg or two. If the hiring manager is petty enough to write a person off because they followed up after an interview, then this is probably not someone anyone should want to work for in the first place. “Oh, you’re an asshole! Thanks for the warning buddy!” Bullet dodged.

Also, if you need a phone, I recommend the TracPhone Galaxay A01. Maybe you don’t want to use your company issued phone to job search, or maybe you are engaging in illegal activities. In any case, no need to bust the bank. Here is something a little less expensive. Pay as you go and don’t get stuck with some stupid long term cell service plan. I use one for my consulting business, and it works great!