What To Say When You Follow Up

What to Say When You Follow Up Research by teresaphillips1965 on Flickr Analysis paralysis is a phenomenon that happens when you hesitate taking action until you have enough data, which is an enigma. It’s valuable to do research before reaching out to an employer. There are some things you should know: the leaders, the customers, the products and services, the current and short-term future initiatives, and the culture, etc. Once you reach out, however, many job seekers fail to follow up, and miss the opportunity to get the application and/or résumé read. Analysis paralysis is sometimes at fault. It can also be fear or not wanting to be perceived as too aggressive or annoying, which is also fear. Often I hear it’s not knowing what to say, and how to come off as enthusiastic versus desperate. This post assumes you have sent your individual (versus group copied) thank you notes to all who were involved in getting you to that stage AND that you asked before the conclusion of your interview what the next steps and timeline is. I don’t assume that you invited everyone to connect with you on LinkedIn with a customized message because very few people do this. That is because most people think of an interview as transactional instead of potentially transformational. That is true of job search networking in general. Many people have a “What can you do for me now” perspective, which limits success in the short term, but more importantly in the long term. If you invest more time diversifying and deepening your network, making anything happen becomes a matter of making some calls and scheduling some meetings. So, within 48 hours of your interview, you have sent individual thank yous and customized LinkedIn invitations. Then let’s say you were told that there would be some news about next steps sometime next week. Schedule your follow up for the following Wednesday (generally 2-3 days after you expect to hear, or 7-10 days after the interview.) During these days, set google alerts for each person, and the company if you hadn’t done that during your target company research prior to the interview. Look for signs of what they tend to like, share or engage on their LinkedIn profile. Start taking note of what is engaging each person, and watch the company pages and profiles. Compile a mini-library of articles that may be of interest to each person and the company. If you can find things that directly correlate to things you discussed in the interview, that’s even better. When it comes time to follow up, unless you hear from them sooner, forward or send an article you suspect is of interest either by e-mail or social media. Determine which is most appropriate by what appears to be more heavily utilized throughout the day. This does not have to be a lengthy communication. It can be formal or informal. Take your cue from what you perceived the recipient to be. Of course, be professional. It can be as simple as: Dear Jill, This article may be of interest to you, based on our conversation. I truly enjoyed meeting you and look forward to hearing about next steps. I know this process can take some time. I continue to consider other opportunities, but I have been thinking a lot about all of the great things I know I would be able to do as your Vice President of Client Services and would love to know how the process is coming along. Please update me at your earliest convenience. Best wishes in finding your ideal candidate. Sincerely, Karen Huller If you legitimately have another opportunity progressing toward an offer, do take the opportunity to be forthright and let them know. You may even want to call and let them know. However, be prepared to field questions about where you are interviewing. You don’t have to answer them, and don’t if an opening is confidential. However, only give an update if it’s legitimate. That’s it. It’s not more complicated than that.   Any chance you can take to add value, take it. Best of SteveWinwood: https://goo.gl/8dc7ED Subscribe here: https://goo.gl/mJ3es8 Music video by Steve Winwood performing While You See A Chance. (C) 1986 Universal Island Records Ltd. A Universal Music Company.