So if you're anything like me, waiting
to hear back from the employer that you're interviewing with,
is easily one of the most stressful parts
of the entire process.
So in this video, I'm going to walk you through not just
how to respond, but when to respond.
It's going to be my goal for you today
to educate you on how to not under-communicate, but then
not to bombard your recruiter, or your hiring
manager, with a cascade of emails just seeking
to understand where you are in the process.
There needs to be a good balance.
OK, so quickly, let's just recap what a follow-up email is.
A follow-up email is simply a note, or a message,
that you send to your hiring manager, or your recruiter,
because you've applied to the position,
or maybe you've even interviewed for it,
and you haven't heard anything back yet.
Now, this is going to be really important, because it's going
to do four main things for you.
One, it's going to serve as a reminder to your recruiter
as to who you are, and why you're a fit for the role.
Two, it's going to give you another shot
at making a good impression.
Three, it's going to help you move conversations along
that may have slowed down in the process.
And then, four, a follow-up email
is going to resurface you as an interested candidate
for the position.
If you're finding this video helpful so far,
and you're enjoying what you're learning, and potentially want
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And then for your benefit, we have other career advice videos
that I think would be really helpful for you
as you navigate this process.
Now, let's discuss when to follow up.
There are going to be three primary times
that you want to make sure that you're
following up appropriately.
The first one is going to be immediately
after your application.
The second is going to be immediately
after your interview.
And then the third is going to be after your interviews,
as you're waiting to hear back throughout the process.
You know, something very important to keep in mind
here is that recruiters are very busy folks,
and it's highly likely that they are interviewing
for other positions, as well.
We want to make sure that we are respecting
their schedule and their time.
However, if you haven't heard anything,
or if you do need to reopen those lines of communication,
a follow-up email may be very necessary.
So let's talk about when to follow up in any of these three
scenarios.
The first is following up after an application.
If you have submitted your credentials
and you haven't heard back in about a week,
that would be the appropriate amount of time
to wait, and then send a note to introduce yourself
as a candidate.
For more advice on following up after an application,
click on this link right up here for more.
So next is following up immediately
after your interview.
This is crucial to your candidacy.
So what you want to do is wait no longer than 24 to 48 hours
to send this note, and you want to send an individualized note
to every person that you've interviewed with.
Now, things to include in this note, of course would be,
thanking the interviewers for their time,
reiterating your excitement and zest for the role,
but importantly then what you want to do
is recall something in the conversation
that really stood out to you.
So whether it was a story that either you or they told
that you remember, a specific example
of a project that you worked on that you were really proud of,
whatever it might be to very softly and succinctly
remind them as to who you are.
It's going to really help you out.
Now if someone had referred you into the role,
this would also be a great place to mention that individual,
and then thank them for their assistance, also.
Now you may be in the situation where
you have sent a follow-up note, and then
you still haven't heard anything back.
So what I would recommend in this case,
is if you need to send a follow-up note,
or if you want to kind of reinvest in the conversation
and get it going again, I would wait a minimum of a week
after that initial follow up email.
But again, your recruiter, or your hiring manager,
they could be processing a lot of candidates at one time,
so it could take a little bit of time to get back to you.
At the end of the day, this is what
I would recommend if you haven't heard back anything at all.
Make peace with that, take a therapeutic pause,
and maybe consider other opportunities.
The ultimate goal of the interview process, and for you
to get to know this employer a little bit better,
is just to see if it's going to be a symbiotic match, right?
You want to make sure that it's a culture fit,
and if part of the culture that you're looking for
is clear and consistent communication,
and that's not what you're getting
from this particular employer, it simply
might be time to move on.
So now that you know when to send a follow-up message,
let's talk about how to construct the body of it.
So there are going to be four main components
that you want to keep in mind when
you're thinking about the construction of your email.
Subject line, reminder, purpose, and call to action.
Write a concise subject line.
In this subject line, you want to make sure
that you are straight to the point
and very, very clear with your recipient
as to what the purpose of the note is.
So an example might be, thank you for your time,
re: John Smith's application for brand coordinator,
or it could even be follow-up for brand coordinator position.
Share a brief reminder.
So brevity is going to be paramount in this follow-up
note because it's highly likely that the person who interviewed
you, or your recruiter, is going to be very, very busy.
Be sure in the body of your note to include pertinent details,
like who you are, the position that you applied for,
maybe when you had your conversation,
and again something that really stood out
to you in that conversation that is going
to allow your recruiter, or your hiring manager, to easily
recall you as a candidate.
This also makes it easier for your recruiter
to redraft up materials that maybe you
had sent them previously, if they were wanting
to check on your status.
A good example of this might be, thank you
for taking the time to speak with me
last Wednesday about the marketing coordinator position
at Indeed.
I was really excited to hear about the new brand campaign,
and I really believe that my experience in successfully
coordinating cross-functional initiatives
is going to well equip me for the project
management necessary to take your campaign
to the next level.
So explain your purpose for writing.
So this could be as simple as you
want to reintroduce yourself as a candidate,
or remind the interviewer as to who
you are and your interest in the role,
or it could also be because you're just simply reaching out
to determine what next steps in the process might be.
Now this does not need to be long,
but a couple of examples of this could include,
I wanted to reach out to see if you
had any update on your decision, I
want to affirm my interest in the role,
and I wanted to see if there were any follow-up
materials that I could provide you to make the process easier.
Include a call to action.
So this is going to be a really great way to showcase
to your recruiter that you're patient,
that you're empathetic, and appreciative of their time,
but still interested in the position itself.
Now this is going to be more direct than your statement
of purpose, but it is going to allow you the opportunity
to then see what next steps might be.
For example, thank you for your time and your consideration
during this busy time of year.
Please don't hesitate to reach out to me via phone or email
if you need any additional materials.
For detailed examples as to how to write a great follow-up
note, click on this link right up here for more.
So let's take a look at a complete example of all
these elements put together.
The subject line could read, thank you for your time.
The reminder, Dear Mr. Jefferson,
thank you very much for your time yesterday.
It was a pleasure speaking with you about the account executive
role at Indeed.
I especially enjoyed discussing your need
for someone who can create value and insight during client
conversations.
Prioritizing the quality of the conversation
over a simple information delivery
has been one of my most successful tactics
in overcoming these roadblocks, and one reason why I've
routinely exceeded my quotas.
Purpose for writing, I'm excited about the prospect of bringing
that skill set to Indeed, and I want
to affirm my interest in the role.
Call to action, if you need any further information, please
feel free to contact me by email or by phone.
Thanks again, Jamie Patterson.
And finally, check everything before you send.
So before you actually hit send on that note, what
I want you to do is check your note for the following items.
First is to address the individual that you spoke with,
in particular.
If you've reached a point where you
are on a first name basis with them,
then great, go ahead and use that.
But if you haven't, what I want to make sure
that you do is use Mr. or Ms., and then their last name
before you proceed.
Review the length of your note.
So while it is important to be brief and concise,
it's also important to make sure that you
have all the necessary information in there to remind
the interviewer of who you are as a candidate,
and why you're qualified for the role.
Close the letter out with your name, your phone number
and your email.
So make sure that that signature down there
has all the necessary information for that recruiter
to reach back out to you, if for some reason
they might need, let's say, follow-up materials.
And then, finally, I want you to proofread.
Read the note a couple of different times.
Grammatical errors are just such a tarnish
to a well-written note.
What I want you to do is, maybe, start from the bottom
and then read your way up.
This is a little trick of the trade
that I have applied to reviewing my own notes
over the past couple of years, and it's always
worked very well for me.
I always seem to catch at least something.
All right, so let's recap all the necessary steps
you can take to craft a very compelling thank you
note and went to send it.
Assess how much time has passed.
So other than that initial thank you
note that you're going to send about 24
to 48 hours after that interview,
I want you to wait at least a week
to send a follow-up email from your last interaction.
Keep the email short and concise.
We want to strike a nice balance between brevity
and including all the details necessary for them to remember
who you are.
So your name, the position that you applied for,
when you interviewed, and then something
specific about the conversation that you want to recall.
And then, finally, I want you to make sure
that you include a call to action.
This is going to indicate to your recruiter
that you're interested in next steps,
and hopefully solicit a response so that you're aware of where
you're at in the process.
All right, everyone, well that is it for now.
I want to thank you so much for joining.
I really hope that this was helpful for you.
If you did find it helpful and you want more videos like it,
feel free to like and subscribe to this channel.
And if you'd like to connect with us on social media,
all of our information will be listed below
in the description.
We'd be happy to answer any questions for you.
But other than that, happy writing, happy interviewing.
You got this.