One of the toughest parts about looking for a job is knowing when to be a pest and knowing when to give it time. Everyone’s been there. You pull off what you consider to be the best interview of your life, float all the way home on cloud nine, and settle down beside the phone to wait for the call. You wait… and you wait some more. When it’s obvious enough time has passed that you should have received a call, you begin to worry. What’s your next move? In the most unenviable of job hunting scenarios, there are a few things you can do to deliver subtle “pokes” to your potential new boss to make sure he or she doesn’t forget about you.
Send a Letter
This is no invitation to send a three-page diatribe about how eager you are to be hired, or to reiterate your qualifications just in case someone forgot about you. Instead, simply send a brief letter addressed to the individual you interviewed with to thank them for taking the time to invite you in. Nothing more. This may seem like a token gesture, but it’s a professional courtesy that far too few job hunters actually go through with. It may also be what separates you from the rest of the applicants. As a rule, you should always mail a thank-you note within a day or two of your interview. Doing so is sort of like putting out a preemptive reminder for them to call you back.
Make a Call
If you were hoping to see "send an email" here, you're going to be disappointed. Besides, emails have a way of getting buried under the typically deep avalanche of interoffice messages that hiring managers have to deal with on a daily basis. Calling and asking the hiring manager for an update may not feel very comfortable, but doing so will help you accomplish one very crucial thing: you’ll let them know you’re seriously interested. If you’ve already followed step number one and have mailed a thank-you letter, give it a good week to ten days before you pick up the phone so that your letter has had enough time to get to them. If they’re not available, leave them a voicemail.
The Final Follow-Through
If you had to leave a message and the hiring manager hasn’t called you back within 48 hours, call again. Repeat. If another 48 hours elapses with still no response, try again and leave a final message. Remember to be courteous in all of your communications. The last thing you want to do is give someone with hiring power the idea you’re difficult to deal with or impatient. If these steps don’t work and you never receive a call back, you can move on with the knowledge you did everything within your abilities without crossing the line into the realm of “pest.”
Landing your dream job may not be easy, but there are many things you can do to vastly improve your chances. At Artisan, we know some of the best methods of doing just that. Contact us today to learn more.