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Once your interview is over and you are basking in the glory of having done well, you could be at a loss about what your next steps should be. For one, you should keep in touch with your interviewers or the company you interviewed for. Knowing how to follow up after a job interview is also crucial.
It pays to remember that you are still being evaluated even after your interview is over. So, our biggest advice? Make sure to maintain a good impression.
Here are some do’s and don’ts after a job interview, no matter whether it was a one-on-one in-person interview, group interview, or online interview.
3 Things to Do After a Job Interview
1. Follow-up
After your job interview is over and some time (2-3 days to a week) has passed, you should follow up. Following up is an effective way to:
- Show your motivation
- Confirm your interest in the company, open position, and team
- Tie up any loose ends
- Prove your analytical skills and ability to seek an overview of your performance
- Improve or reformulate an answer you gave that you aren’t satisfied with
When following up post-interview, you should let your motivation shine and be constructive with your word choices and answers. However, keep an eye on your tone, because you shouldn’t sound too aggressive.
2. Debrief
Once the interview is over, you should take a step back and write down:
- What you did well and where you faltered
- The interview questions you weren’t prepared for
- The questions whose answers you believe weren’t given satisfactorily
- The questions that cropped up in your mind after the interview
- Assess where you did well and why you did well so you can reproduce it in your next job interview
- Analyse your answers to the questions that you failed to answer totally or satisfactorily
Analysing how you performed in the interview will enable you to give constructive feedback to the interviewer (if you are asked for it) and help you perform better in future job interviews.
It also pays to do some research online to find how best you could have answered those questions where you faltered so that you aren’t caught off guard the next time.
3. Send a “Thank You” Email
Send a short and crisp email to your interviewer expressing your gratitude for your interviewer’s time and the chance to appear for the interview. It’s best to send this mail the day after your job interview. Ensure not to make this email too long.
You should send multiple thank you emails if you were interviewed by more than one person. You may ask questions in your email that came to your mind after the interview was over. Your email should also restate your interest in the role and the company. Ideally, keep it short, preferably within 4 to 5 lines.
It will be wise to use information that your interviewer told you during the interview to show you were really paying attention. Before you wrap up your “thank you” email, remember to tell your interviewer to contact you if he/she requires any further information for decision-making.
3 Things Not to Do After a Job Interview
1. Be overly aggressive
Harassing your interviewer(s) with multiple phone calls or emails or stalking and disturbing them on social media channels are a total no-no. Since you don’t want to scare off your prospective employer, it’s wise to be respectful and tactful in your approach.
Since the hiring process is often a lengthy one and can sometimes take a bit more time than expected, you shouldn’t lose patience and start doing things that are borderline harassment.
2. Neglect Follow-Up Interactions
Not following up, especially when you have been told you are still in consideration, will be a big mistake. Not following up in such a case could make your target recruiter or hiring manager lose track of who’s still interested or in consideration, thus making you get sidetracked. Though it’s vital to let them know you are still interested in the position, going overboard isn’t.
Don’t let grammatical or spelling errors find their presence in your follow-up interactions as they show you in poor light.
3. Stop the Job Hunt
Just because your interview went well is no excuse to stop looking for a job. Unless a job offer is made and the contract has been signed by the company and you, you should continue exploring your chances in the job market and stay focused. You should keep on sending in your job applications (even for other roles that interest you) and appearing for interviews to improve your chances of landing that coveted job.
Not stopping your job hunt and doing what it takes to get a job in your preferred role and company will help you tide over disappointments, rejections, and panic in case the recruiters decide not to hire you.
Final Words
Landing your coveted job isn’t some magic that happens overnight. You should learn and remember the do’s and don’ts and wait patiently after doing your work for the results to come your way. And while you wait for the good news patiently, remember to keep looking for jobs.
In case you need help finding the right job in the IT sector or as a C-suite executive, you can always rely on us at InHunt World!
This article was written by Sonali