Resume 101 – The Do’s and Don'ts of How to get Noticed (for the right reasons). Part III in our III part Series.

The Follow Up: 

Phew, that’s over.  Now, you wait.  And wait.  And wait.  It will seem like forever before you hear back from a company, especially if you are not working or in school while you are interviewing.  The first thing you need to know is companies may have several candidates.  The interviews are probably arranged prior to your in-person interview and no matter how much they like you, they really do need to finish their due diligence and speak with an many candidates as possible.  The other thing you need to know is, a week working at a company is a lot shorter than a week at your job or school.  It can be really hard to get everyone’s schedule together to meet to discuss candidates.

But before time passes:

1. Write a Thank You note.  Honestly, this is a lost art that needs to be resurrected.  A “thank you” e-mail is o.k. but a hand written note sent through the mail is much, much, better.  I never cease to be amazed at how impressed hiring managers are when they receive a hand written thank you note.  If you are going to e-mail your thanks, write a different e-mail for each interviewer – we do share these and are not impressed when it is the same e-mail sent to each person.

2. Make a phone call.  It is not a bad idea to follow up with the recruiter a week or two after your interview.  Follow the rules above in point 2 in Part II or our III Part Series, if you must leave a message.  If you do not hear back, leave another message a week later but that is about all you should do.  The sad truth about recruiters is that they are very busy and are not able to take the time needed to follow up with all candidates.  They want to, but there are only so many hours in a day.

3. Retain your documentation from your interviews.  With any luck, you will have several interviews and sometimes they start to all blend together in your mind.  Keep your job descriptions, notes from interviews, and business cards collected together until you are offered, and accept, the job you want.

Think of looking for a job as your job.  If you pay attention to detail, work smart and aim to impress, you will stand a much better change of landing the job you want. 

Best of luck to you!