The Soft/Effective Follow up After Interviews

It’s a familiar situation. An interview, perhaps a second or even a third. Follow ups on your part, but no response (at least something definitive) from the employer.

Also, I’ve followed up and gotten responses such as “we’re still thinking it over,” or “we haven’t come to a decision, yet.” Sometimes it’s true, and, sometimes, it’s a quick way to either get you off the phone or to discourage immediate further contact.

That “thin line” between being considered persistent versus being considered a pest is always a challenge.

When we’re looking for employment, we want closure, specificity.
So, it may be time to try to get closure using a different track. Call it the “soft” close:

Dear Mr. Genk:

I am writing to thank you for the chance to interview for the Area Manager opportunity with Bipplequist Industries. Bipplequist’s long term growth plans strongly match my prior experience, and I am very excited by the possibilities.

However, I’m guessing that you’ve probably filled the position by now.

Please keep in mind for future opportunities.

Sincerely,

Zorb Gelnick

This can be an email, text or voicemail message (but not more than one – that’s simply overkill.)

Here’s why it may be able to help you:

It’s where some of the most hidden of jobs in the job market could be. The job that hasn’t been filled, but most applicants think it has been – based on lack of response by the employer. Folks may try standard follow up techniques, get no response, and figure it’s time to move on. That could be true.

However, as “ASAP” as some hires are supposed to be, they don’t always turn out that way. And it frequently has nothing to do with the candidate pool. More often, it’s a matter of the ever changing priorities that come up for potential employers: finishing projects, putting out “fires,” playing “catch up,” client/customer issues, meetings, other HR or hiring-related issues, or even vacations (needed participants/decision makers aren’t available to “sign off.”)

However, I’m guessing that you’ve probably filled the position by now.
Please keep in mind for future opportunities.

These sentences, particularly the first, can become very helpful when the process seems to be “going nowhere.”

Here’s the reason. If the employer has not made a decision, your gentle note can get their attention. Your indication that you believe the job is filled is your very polite way of saying “I really like your company. However, you must have selected someone else, so I’ll continue my search.” No implicit demands or frustration on your part. It’s “gentle” or “soft,” and worded much differently from what employers normally may receive in the follow up arena.

If you are someone they truly had interest in, they may not want you to “move on” just yet.
Smart employers may respond. They’ll want to let you know that you are in consideration, and that they haven’t filled the opportunity, yet.

I’ve learned this through practical application. It’s kept me “alive” in specific situations where I didn’t know that was the case.

Even when the answer was “we have filled the position, but thank you” I’d still get closure.

However, I’m guessing that you’ve probably filled the position by now.
That’s a powerful sentence that has the virtue of being very gentle and polite. No anger, no criticism, no complaining, no hard sell, no accusations, no frustration. Simple, but a bit more layered than that.

When you aren’t hearing back from employers where you believe you have interviewed well, particularly if there have been multiple interviews, it’s a great tool.

As I learned in Sandler Sales many years ago, “After all, how much are they paying you, now?”