I probably get more questions about how to follow up on a job application or job interview than any other other topic … well, perhaps second only to “is what my employer doing legal?” questions. And I get very tired of answering them, so over at U.S. News & World Report, I’ve rounded up the basics on follow-up: following up after you apply, following up after an interview, and following up if you have another offer.
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I wish my father-in-law had seen this before he followed up on an interview he had last week. He had the interview on Friday afternoon (near end of day) and sent a follow-up email on Monday morning asking the HR rep he’d met with if he could have a decision made by Friday. His reasoning was that he didn’t want to get too involved in a current project if he was going to be leaving his team. I have to admit I cringed when I heard about this.
He mistakenly thought that his previous experience getting hired on, which was turned around very quickly (an offer made within 2 days of interview) was the universal standard (he also didn’t clarify what the timeline looked like at the end of his interview). Unfortunately, he didn’t take into account that the company he interviewed with is significantly larger and that, as you mentioned in your article, “the company bureaucracy needed to finalize an offer takes weeks to work through” – this could very well have been the case.
The HR Rep was kind enough to send an email on Friday, but stated due to a few circumstances, couldn’t make an offer and would be in touch in the next few weeks. :/
smart. and then when you get those emails you can just refer them to the article.
His reasoning was that he didn’t want to get too involved in a current project if he was going to be leaving his team. I have to admit I cringed when I heard about this.
Nice article.
So lets say i’m in the pre-interview proces and i just sent my application a couple of weeks ago, to whom should i follow up if the only email that i have is an auto-reply address ?
I guess it should be to the hiring manager, right ? lets say i cant find him on the company webpage, because is a big company, and i’m not getting any information when i call them, should i just try to guess him Googling or in Linkedin ?
Well, first of all, you really don’t need to follow up at this stage, because the ball is in the employer’s court. They know you’re interested. But if you must, try LinkedIn! But if they’re not giving out the info when you call, it’s because they don’t want follow-ups at this stage.
I am not trying to be rude when I say this, but the simple fact is that if there is no information on the company web page about who the Hiring Manager is or how to contact him/her, they don’t want you to.
I work for a large company, and unfortunately I am the one and only person in Personnel. I politely ask people not to call to check on their application (it even says so on the web site). I hate that I have to do that, but I cannot handle all of my work and stay on the telephone all day. I know it sucks, but it’s just not going to happen.
Like AAM said, they have your application and/or resume so they know you are interested. I don’t always call people back for interviews as quickly as they would like for me to, but I can’t help that. I also make sure to tell them that I appreciate their patience. The ones who call daily or argue to try to get me to commit to a certain time line get put on the bottom of the pile
Just a little advice from someone on the other side. :)
I forgot to add above that my name and contact information are on our company page in case someone has a question that cannot be answered on our page. It happens sometimes and I don’t mind that. But if there’s no name on the company web site, don’t hunt the person down. Not a good idea IMO.
I probably get more questions about how to follow up on a job application or job interview than other other topic …
“than other other topic”
Fixed! I’m typing too fast lately.
If my application was sent to an HR person, but I do a bit of research and track down the hiring manager, should I inquire directly with hiring manager or always go through HR?
Nothing wrong with emailing the hiring manager once. (Don’t call though.) She may just forward you to HR, but if you’re a strong candidate, she might tell HR that.