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Follow-up, Follow-up, Follow-up!

by Annette Clemens, Assistant Director

At the most recent internship preparation seminar, I found myself invoking the favorite adage of real agents to describe the top three characteristics that makes a property sell quickly:

  • Location
  • Location
  • Location

This may sound silly, but it illustrates the point.  The fact that location is the most important criteria bears repeating.

The same can be said about selling yourself to a potential employer, only the favorite adage of recruiters and HR specialists is: follow-up, follow-up, follow-up.  To put it another way, the surefire way of not getting a job offer is to blow off the employer after an interview altogether.

So what does this mean exactly?  It means that each and every time an employer contacts you, either for an interview or with questions, you must always return the phone call or e-mail.  It doesn’t matter whether you are interested in the position or not.

Let’s look at some examples.  If an employer calls you for an interview but you’re bogged down with assignments, writing papers, and studying for exams, you should still call the person back and explain why you will not be interviewing.  All this requires is a five-minute conversation, which will eliminate any confusion or frustration on the employer’s part.  Additionally, you should always let an employer know if he/she makes you an offer but you decide that you are not interested in the position.  There is nothing worse than leaving an employer hanging about a hiring decision.  Remember that the employer has his/her own schedule and does not have time to be tracking you down.  It is considered rude at best, and unprofessional at worst, not to communicate with an employer.

By the same token, if you have had an interview for a position, whether you are interested in the job or not, you must always write a thank you note or letter to express your appreciation for the interviewer’s time.  This correspondence can be in the form of an e-mail or snail mail.  At the very least, thank the interviewer for the opportunity to talk about the position and tell them that he/she can contact you with further questions.  Your note should end with a reiteration of your address and phone number for quick reference.  The thank you note should be sent within 24 hours of the interview.

There are a few reasons why follow-up is so important in today’s work world.  Sometimes a company may wait to see who will follow-up before it makes a decision about who to hire.  Candidates who do the extra work of returning phone calls and writing thank you’s display initiative and motivation.

Secondly, and just as importantly, you may do yourself irreparable harm by not following-up.  One unreturned phone call on your part may come back to haunt you later.  It’s possible that the same interviewer may switch to a company that is offering the job of your dreams later on down the road.  You also shouldn’t overlook the fact that many hiring authorities frequently network at professional organizations and occasionally partner with competitors.  You can take my word for it – they talk.  So make sure that you always provide solid follow-up with employers.  You don’t want to develop an unprofessional reputation before you even know that you have one.