Okay, you landed the interview, you did your research, and on the big day you handled yourself well. So now what? Everyone knows how maddening it can be to replay the minutes of your interview in your head, and to quiet that often self-critical stream of thought, we sometimes tell ourselves, “Well, there’s nothing I can do now, let’s wait and see if I get the job.” But of course the ball is still in play and there are a few things you can still do to polish the memory of that recent conversation in your interviewer’s mind and improve your chances, even if only in subtle ways. Here are a few ways to handle any post-interview worries and stoke your chances of landing that job.
1.) Proceed as if you’re a contender– Even though the interview is over, the wheels have only now really begun to move. Yes, what you said and did during the interview is the most important part of getting hired, along with some strong qualifications. But, presuming you didn’t totally whiff the interview, you can still put some English on the ball and influence the outcome of the process. So before you leave on the day of the interview, ask what the next steps in the process will be and what you can do to keep things moving. Asking is a proactive statement, and it allows the interviewer to further picture you in the role. Even if you get a “you’ll be hearing from us” in response, the implication of asking about next steps shows that you’re feeling good about how the interview went and especially that you’re eager to join the team.
2.) Send a “thank you” note as soon as you can– It doesn’t have to be a particularly long or involved e-mail, but make sure to follow up that same day with any of the people who spoke to you during the interview. As with asking about next steps, sending a follow-up email is a way to continue to foster the conversation, the relationship, and the process. It’s also polite and it displays to your potential new employers that you are on top of the small niceties that can mean a lot in the sometimes impersonal world of the workplace.
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3.) Connect on LinkedIn– Ask first if it’s okay to send you interviewer a LinkedIn connection request. It’s par for the course for the modern job hunt, and you don’t want to seem like you’re behind the times. And even if you don’t land this particular job, that LinkedIn connection can pay off dividends down the line as you continue to network in your career.
4.) Keep following the company in the news– You may get the job and you may not, but for the time being you’ll have to assume as though there’s a good chance you’ll be called back in for another round of interviews. And that’ll be your opportunity to show that you’re not just qualified but also intensely interested in working for that particular company. So keep up on your research and stay on top of any news about your potential new workplace in case you need it in the coming weeks. Think of it as a way to keep moving forward while awaiting any new information from your potential new employer.
5.) Keep checking in, but do it strategically– There’s a lot of red tape when it comes to hiring new employees, especially if it’s a large and well-established business with endless amounts of unseen people that need to sign off on you. So while hearing back right away after an interview is a pretty great sign, there’s no reason to assume you’re out of the game until you hear it from them directly or find out some other way that that the role you were applying for has been filled. Check-in emails can be brief, and it can be very effective if you can reference something tangential that you spoke about during your interview, rather than simply reminding your contact that you’re twiddling your thumbs and still really want the job. If your contact has news for you, this will remind them. And if they don’t, it will at least keep you on their mind. One check-in email every three or four weeks is a reasonable rate of contact until you hear something concrete. Good luck!
