Job Interview Follow Up Do's and Don'ts

Do

1. Do call your prospective employer to get feedback

Most companies will give you a timescale within which feedback will be provided. If it goes beyond the date specified call them and ask whether there is any feedback available. Keep calling every 3-4 days until you get an answer. Calling everyday may be misconstrued as harassment but every 3-4 days will be viewed in a positive light as it shows your commitment to wanting the job.

Tip: Get the name of the hiring manager who interviewed you and a direct dial number and check out that it’s okay to call them to get feedback.


2. Do be polite but assertive

When calling for feedback be polite, pleasant but assertive. Explain that you are considering offers from other companies and are keen to find out the outcome of this interview as it was your favourite role. If a company knows that you are considering other job offers they will be more likely to work quickly to give you interview feedback or risk losing a good quality candidate.

3. Do thank the organisation for your interview

Regardless of whether you get the job or not after receiving feedback, make a point of thanking the manager or human resources staff for the interview. Remember that others who have been made a job offer may decline it and if a prospective employer perceives that you have showed character and respect they may remember that and offer you the job next.

I know a number of people who have adopted this approach and the companies concerned have been so impressed that they called them back having created another role for them!

4. Ask for feedback on how your came across in interview if you don’t get the job

This can be difficult as it can hurt your pride but ask the company how you interviewed. They may identify something you hadn’t thought of as a problem, perhaps about your presentation or listening skills or something else. You can then use this information to improve next time.

5. Do speak to the decision maker.

Human resources departments often deal with interview feedback but very often they have little idea of your potential importance to the company. So after interview they are likely to give you a standard response that they are still awaiting feedback from the hiring manager. The hiring manager has the real power so speak to them directly or in addition to the Human Resources department so that they are aware of your concerns or other offers you are considering. The hiring managers will often speed up feedback to you if you keep them informed of developments.

Don’t

1. Don’t harass

There is a fine line between being persistent and harassing. If after interview you have been told a date by which you should have feedback, don’t call before this date. After this date has passed you should call every 3-4 days but not sooner as you will become a nuisance and people will stop taking your call.

2. Don’t be rude or offensive

Finding out interview feedback can be exciting or disappointing. If you don’t get the job and don’t agree with the feedback do not be rude or offensive to employers. Remember they are just doing their job. Just write it off and go find that company that can appreciate your skills.

3. Don’t lie about other job offers

You need to be careful what you tell a prospective employer after interview in order to hurry up feedback. Don’t lie about job offers and use this to try and speed up feedback or it could simply backfire. The company concerned could simply reply that you should take the other job offer as they can’t get the feedback quick enough. This will leave you empty handed.