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After a long and drawn-out job search and interview process, you might be tempted to follow up with the hiring manager to ask if you got the job.
In itself, that's not a bad thing. But you need to follow up without appearing desperate.
In fact, as part your job interview preparation, you should be prepared to ask about the timeline for the hiring process. Asking can get you the information you need while also passing a message to the hiring manager that you are interested in the position and want to get started.
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Many job seekers fail to follow up after a job interview and consequently feel disheartened when they fail to receive callbacks for subsequent interviews or job offers. They feel like they are always waiting for an answer and can easily lose hope.
It doesn't have to be this way. You can reach out to the hiring manager or recruiter after the interview with a well-crafted note.
Reaching out does not mean that you will get the job. But it sets you apart from others as it shows your genuine enthusiasm for the job, team, or organization.
Follow-up communication reinforces a hiring manager's faith in your potential. It can show them you are professional, remind them of your genuine interest, and help you get information you can use to move forward with other offers, if necessary.
Following up distinguishes you from other equally qualified candidates you are competing against for the same job title.
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The right balance is critical when following up after a job interview.
You must balance several factors such as the time frame after the interview, the length of the message, and how much interest to express without appearing needy.
The right time to send a follow-up after an interview is twenty-four to forty-eight hours (one to two business days).
This time frame strikes the ideal balance between in terms of eagerness and enthusiasm, while allowing the hiring manager to reflect on your suitability and job skills.
Keep your follow-up letter or email brief and personal.
Thank them for the consideration, reiterate your continued interest in the position, and be sure to mention specific aspects of the job or company that resonate with you.
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Once you reach out after the interview, you will likely receive a response.
The response could be positive, negative, or ambiguous. These responses must be handled with different well-crafted strategies to maximize the potential of you being considered in the next steps of the hiring process.
And, of course, you may also end up hearing whether you got the job or not. But beyond that, you can also get additional information that might be helpful in other ways.
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A positive response is the best-case scenario for a follow-up email or letter.
It means you could soon be up for a new job. You need to avoid appearing overly excited to maximize the chances of receiving a job offer.
First, you must avoid looking over eager to boost the chances of receiving a job offer.
Offering an over-eager response could be an indication of underlying psychological factors or detract from a hiring manager's interpretation of your ability to focus. In short, it may damage your status.
Once you receive a positive answer to your follow up email, you must give the hiring manager space to make the hiring decision by themselves.
Do not overstep or become too agreeable or aggressive. Let the next steps of the recruitment process play out as they are meant to.
If you become too agreeable, you might put yourself in a negative negotiation position for things like working conditions, salary, location, and working hours.
Do not call or email too often. Wait for the process to occur organically. If they are going to offer you the job, it is inevitable that the employer will reach out.
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No one enjoys getting bad news after an interview.
However, when presented with lemons, it might be time to make lemonade.
With the right mindset, you can turn this setback into a learning opportunity that can help you prepare for other interviews.
The key thing to handling negative feedback is to have enough grace to ask for detailed information from the hiring manager, recruiter, or potential employer.
With this information, you can gain key insights that will help you achieve better interview preparation in future.
If the feedback is generic and superficial, do not shy away from seeking a more detailed explanation on why you didn't get the job.
Once you receive feedback, is time to review and reflect.
It is tempting to brush everything aside and move on to the next thing. But that means you may miss out on a significant learning opportunity.
If the interview process happened in stages, carefully analyze your response and try to figure out what went wrong.
Rank your performance at each stage and try to figure out ways to improve.
Setbacks shine a light on what you lack and where you have room to grow.
With the right information at hand, you can figure out how to build a better rapport with recruiters, level up soft skills, or recognize that the rejection was out of your hands.
Reaching out even after receiving negative information could also leave the door open for future job prospects with the same recruiter. Remember, you're also building relationships and you want the recruiter to think of you in the future if you're the perfect candidate for a job they need to fill later.
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Ambiguous or delayed information is difficult to deal with.
You don't know whether to move on or wait to hear if you got the job.
This could mean several things and could hurt your mental well-being and make you lose interest in the job.
The employer or hiring manager could still be interviewing other potential candidates, busy with other matters, collecting additional information, for example, talking to references, or they just have not made the final decision yet.
If you hear nothing from the recruiter, take proactive steps to follow up to clear up the ambiguity.
You can reach out after the specified time or certain date you expected to hear from the company. If a number of weeks has gone by since interviewing, you might also want to connect. You can try to reach someone on the phone or via email, depending on what you think is the best way to reach the interviewer.
If you cannot make direct contact with the interviewer, follow up with head of the recruiting department or other company contacts.
If you cannot clear up the ambiguity or confusion, go ahead and start looking elsewhere.
A lack of contact means that they are either no longer interested in hiring or they chose another candidate.
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With so many factors to consider when looking for a job, a career coach can help you in several ways.
First, a Highrise career coach will help you achieve clarity when you are faced with uncertainty about your career direction or goal.
With ambitious yet achievable goals, you can maximize your career progress.
Additionally, a career coach can help you develop new skills or improve existing ones. A skilled career coach can identify areas of improvement and help you through training, certifications, and practical exercises.
On the networking side, a career coach can help you develop the best networking strategies and connect you to industry professionals.
Finally, a career coach will hold you accountable. Accountability is critical throughout the job search. A career coach will offer objective yet supportive guidance to maximize your chances of getting employed.
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