Your first and/or final in-person interview is complete! Interviewing and all the steps involved can be taxing. After it’s complete, take a few minutes to celebrate your hard work. Further, reflect on your excitement level after meeting some of your potential future associates. Now it is time for the final lap, here are some follow-up items once your final interview is complete.
Reflect
The company isn’t the only one who has a choice in offering you the position, you have a decision to make as well. Take some time to reflect and document notes on your feelings post interview. These notes will also help in the post-follow-up communication.
- What new information did you gather about the people, position or company during the interview?
- What did you like about the information you were provided?
- What did you learn about the people you met? What did you have in common?
- Were you able to tour the office? Could you envision yourself there?
- What questions or concerns do you still have?
- What are you most excited about if given the position?
Interview Thank You Note(s)
That’s right, old fashioned pen and stationery handwritten thank you note. Don’t let the ink fly with a generic message, though; reflect on each interview and personalize the note to each interviewer. Example:
Karen,
I just wanted to send this note to thank you so much for your time and insight about the sales position. You created such a comfortable environment for me to ask questions, share information and learn more about my role.
I’ll definitely have to try Rosa’s Café in the near future, and hopefully you and your husband will be able to dine at Mario’s soon! Look forward to further communication.
Thanks again,
Doug
Interview Follow-Up Email
While the snail mail takes its time getting into the hands of each interviewer, send a quick email to the selection team within 24 hours post interview. While the thank you note will be more personal in nature, the email will reflect the business perspective. This email can also serve to follow up on any questions you have or questions you felt you could have answered better. Example:
Subject: Appreciate your time and advice
Body:
Karen,
I didn’t think I could be any more eager about working as part of the sales team at Chemsearch FE until I met with you, Bryce and Karen. Specifically, one example that enhanced my excitement was your thoughtfulness in answering my question about how the role fits into the bigger picture.
Getting a comprehensive overview of the company and position, I’m confident that this role would be an excellent fit based on my ability to connect with people, drive for results and willingness to learn.
I have given further thought to your one question about “how I measure success,” and I wanted to expand on this by providing the attached example. This is a spreadsheet that I used to track my metrics while working at my previous position.
This role is a clear fit in the direction I want to take my career, and I’ll be optimistically waiting further communication or job offer from you in the near future. For now, thank you again for taking the time to thoroughly answer all my questions as well as allowing me to share information about myself.
Sincerely,
Doug
P.S. Here is a link to that video we talked about at the beginning of the interview. Enjoy!
Stay in Touch, but Don’t Be a Stalker
The recruiter should have given you some indication of next steps with some loose dates during the interview (if not, don’t be afraid to ask about them in the follow-up email). Don’t make an assumption that a missed deadline is a negative indication; deadlines get missed for multiple reasons. Follow-up using a positive tone. For example:
Karen,
Good morning! Hope that you’ve been surviving this summer heat; I can’t believe we’ve had three straight weeks over 100 degrees.
After interacting with everyone on the team, I’m sure there is a lot of effort and deliberation that goes into making hiring decisions at Chemsearch FE. I just wanted to check in to see if there were any additional questions or resources I could provide to aid in my candidacy consideration. Also, if you could please let me know if there have been adjustments to your hiring timeline for this position.
Appreciate you,
Doug
Handling Rejection
As defeated as you might feel about not getting a position, take a deep breath and embrace the rejection as a learning opportunity. Kindly thank them for the prospect, and ask for any feedback they might be able to provide you. Example:
Karen,
I’m disappointed about not being selected for the sales opportunity. However, I really enjoyed getting to know everyone and being given the opportunity. Everyone was incredibly genuine and helpful these last few weeks. I really valued your insight during the interview process, and I was hoping you might be able to provide me some additional feedback on the team’s final hiring decision.
Is there anything you feel I could work on to enhance my resume or interview skills for future endeavors? Or were there any specific qualifications you would’ve liked to see if I were to apply to a similar position? Anything you are willing to provide would be extremely appreciated.
Thank you and best of luck to your team and new hire. Hopefully we will cross paths again in the future,
Doug
Other additional topics to consider:
- Typical and unique question asking
- Rapport-building questions
- Good open-ended questions to start learning
- Questions to show you did your due diligence first
- Questions to repeat to multiple people in the interview process
- Unique questions that will set you apart
- Knowing the weight and variations of different interviews. Talking about the interview funnel (phone screen with recruiter vs. in-person interview with hiring manager vs. in-person interview with a VP), but also the differences of each
- Phone screen
- Digital interviews (Skype)
- In-person interview
- Types of questions a recruiter can ask you
- Behavioral
- Situational
- Generic
- What is a recruiter noticing on your resume?
- Red flags
- Yellow flags
- Green flags
If you get the job, kudos to you! If not, don’t get discouraged. This just means there is a better opportunity in store for you!
