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People looking for work tend to be reluctant to follow up after a job interview. It’s normal to think you might be annoying the interviewer and a phone call may hurt your odds of getting a job offer. However, it’s always a good idea to follow up; particularly if it’s done tactfully.

Following up after an interview is part of having good manners, and it will also provide you with a chance to make your case one more time to a hiring manager. Of course there are a number of ways you can follow up. According to a recent survey of human resources personnel from Accoutemps, the most popular preferred method for a post-interview follow-up is by email (87 percent), followed by a phone call (81 percent). From there, responses dropped off precipitously, with a handwritten note at 38 percent, social media message at 27 percent and text message at 10 percent.

With email and a phone call both being safe bets, below are a few tips on when and how to follow up after a job interview using each mode of communication.

Sending an email

Unless your interviewer has given you a timeline that included when you should follow up, it’s a good idea to send your follow-up email a little more than 24 hours later. That might seem like it’s too soon, but the point is to stay fresh in a hiring manager’s mind. If you wait more than a few days to send the email, they may get you mixed up with someone else, or they may have forgotten about you altogether!

In your email, include your name, the job you interviewed for, when you interviewed and a thank you. It’s also a good idea to reiterate your strong points and briefly address one issue you might have concerns about, like a lack of experience.

If you don’t hear anything after a week, go ahead a make a phone call to check your status.

Making a phone call

While following up with an email is very popular with human resources managers, a phone call may get you directly in touch with the hiring manager, and it shows a bit more initiative.

As with a follow-up email, you should try to make your phone call about 24 hours after the interview. Script out a message in case you get the interviewer’s voicemail. Include your name, the job you interviewed for, when you interviewed, a brief thank you and an offer to provide additional information.

If you do reach the hiring manager, express your appreciation for the opportunity and their time. Also reiterate your credentials, then check to see if there is anything else the job interviewer wants to know or any additional information you can provide.

At Action Group Staffing, we help job seekers with everything from resume writing to interview follow-up. Please contact us today to learn more about how we can help your career.


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