You nailed that interview and now you’re waiting to hear back from the company. The next step is to wait for that decision. The waiting is the hardest part, right? While there’s not much you can do to change the decision-making process, there are some practices that will increase your chances of receiving a positive response.
4 best practices for following up after a job interview
If you follow these 4 best practices for following up after an interview, you are more likely to get a positive response.
Follow up with a thank-you email ✉️
A thank you email is simple and easy way to show that you appreciate the opportunity. Simply send a short message thanking the hiring manager for setting up an interview and letting them know what you can bring to the table. This is a good time to mention that you’d love the opportunity to meet their team and let them know what you can do to contribute. Be sure to keep the email short and sweet.
It’s important to follow up because it may make an impression on the hiring manager. If they’re taken with you, it’s a good sign that they want to meet you. If you don’t follow up, you’re giving them the impression that you were on the hiring manager’s calendar for a few minutes, but then you disappeared into the ether. Just make sure you keep your thank you email short and sweet. A thank you message should be less than two sentences long.
Summarize why you’re a great fit 🤝
The hiring manager has probably sifted through hundreds of candidates to get to the final two. If they’re even taking the time to look at your resume and reach out to set up an interview, they likely know why they’re a fit. It might be helpful to write a short paragraph outlining why you’d be a great fit for the position. If you’re applying for a marketing job, you might write down why marketing is a big deal to you. If you’re applying to a sales role, you might write down why the sales process is important to you. This is a great way to show the hiring manager that you’ve thought about why you’d be a good fit. It’s also a great way to show that you’ve done your research!
Be respectful 🧑🏽💻
As you’re preparing for the interview, it might occur to you that you can treat it like a job interview. That’s generally good practice when it comes to interviews, but you might want to take it further. It’s important to be respectful when you’re following up after the interview. You want to show that you respect the hiring process and want to make it as easy as possible for the hiring manager. First, don’t bombard them with dozens of emails. Most hiring managers have a preference as to how many emails they receive. It’s okay to send one follow up email, but sending a dozen emails shows that you’re not respecting their time. When you follow up, make sure you’re sending a thoughtful, respectful message. That doesn’t mean you have to be polite, but it does mean that you’re thinking about the hiring manager. You want to send a message that shows that you’re interested in the company and the position.
Don’t wait more than 24 hours ⏰
When you follow up after the interview, there’s a small window to make a decision. You want to follow up within 24 hours after the interview to increase the chances of a positive response. The worst thing that can happen is that you follow up, and a few days pass, and you still don’t hear back. Then you have to wait another few days. That’s a lot of time that you can’t use to follow up. The worst thing that can happen is that you follow up, and the hiring manager doesn’t respond. The worst thing is that you lose out on that opportunity. You’re going to have to make some decisions in life, and the decisions are going to be hard. The decision to follow up after an interview is one that many candidates dread, but it’s also one that will increase your chances of getting a positive response.
