So you’ve found a job you’re interested in and made it past the application stage to the crucial interview point. You’ve hung up the phone or left the office and feel like you can now breathe a sigh of relief and wait for the interviewer to contact you again. If you’ve ever had this thought process it’s not the right way to do things and post-interview can be just as important as the meeting itself. If you don’t know where to go from this point we’re here to answer the question what should you do after an interview?
Call me, call me, you can call me any day or night…
The first thing on your to-do list after an interview is to make sure you find out the relevant information before you leave. Thank the interviewer for their time and ask them politely what the time-line is planned to be for making their decision. This will give you a rough idea to help keep you calm if two weeks pass and you’re tearing your hair out in stress.
Just remember that this is typically more of an ideal time-frame and that delays do happen, especially if they have interviewed several excellent candidates and can’t decide. You can also ask them who you should follow up with, or if you don’t want to ask them directly, ask the receptionist for the relevant contact details.
What can I say except you’re welcome
Many people think it’s up to the interviewer or hiring manager to reach out after an interview to express interest in a candidate or make an offer but this is not the case and shouldn’t be the first form of post-interview communication. Writing a thank-you note is not only good manners, but may help you secure the job.
According to a survey by TopResume, 68% of hiring managers agreed when asked if thank-you notes or emails make an impact in their decision making process. In addition, almost 1 in 5 interviewers have written off a candidate if they didn’t get in touch to say thank-you. Time to get your best handwriting out then.
Not all those who wander are lost
This may seem like an unexpected tip when thinking what should you do after an interview, but physically putting distance between yourself and the interview is a good idea. Not only will this stop you hanging around and risking bumping into the interviewer again as they head for a coffee, but walking away means you can clear your head with a walk before you undertake more steps.
How was it for you?
Now that you’ve taken time to get some fresh air and let the butterflies subside, you can start asking important questions and making notes. Ask yourself honestly how well you thought it went. Did you seem to get on with the interviewer? Did you answer their questions easily enough? How detailed and relevant were your answers? Where did you excel and where were you weakest?
As you ask these write down all of your responses as clearly as you remember them. This will stop you second-guessing yourself going forward and will help you to identify strengths and weaknesses. Even if you don’t get the job, keeping this information will be useful to look over for future interviews so you know which tactics worked well and which type of questions tripped you up.
Basic Instinct
Here’s another unusual tip on what should you do after an interview, but you should decide if you actually still want the job. It could sound wonderful on paper but then you got a bad impression through something the interviewer said or how they acted, or perhaps the company itself just seemed like a bad fit for you.
If you carry out these steps in a different order then it’s still polite to send a note thanking the interviewer for their time even if you then decide not to go ahead with the position if you’re offered it. Don’t take a job you think you’d hate just because it’s better than no job, being happy should be an important part of working.
One step at a time
Don’t think that attending the interview and sending a thank-you email is the last of your attempts to get the job. Also don’t think it makes you seem ‘weak’ for following things up again if you don’t hear anything back immediately. It doesn’t make you seem weak, just an interested and proactive candidate. Just remember to pace things though, you don’t want them to think you’re a stalker serial killer and end up being given a restraining order for spamming them every day.
If you got a reply of an estimated decision timeline after following the first tip you can carry out a follow-up call or email at a reasonable time within this. E.G, if you were told it might take 4 weeks you could call them around the 3 week mark, or if you didn’t get a response a good rule of thumb is to follow up a week after you sent your thank you note.
The game is still afoot
Even if you absolutely love the job, feel you nailed the interview and would give your left arm to work for that company, don’t stop looking for other jobs. For whatever reason you may not get the job and in the time you wasted hanging on for them to give you good news other equally good jobs could have come and gone.
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