Re: How many days after an interview should I follow up on the status of the intervie
What is the recommended number of days to call back and follow up with the employer on the status of the interview? Make a phone call after two days? or three days? or five days? Do you think it shows my interest for the job and may increase my chances of success?
Thanks in advance!
Of course, you realize now this is a question you should have settled before leaving the interview.
Typically, candidates are advised to include the following before leaving an interview
- get a real feel for whether the employer is still interested
- express with conviction whether the candidate is still interested
- ask for a time table for each of the following
- the employer to fill the position
- the employer to determine if candidate is still in the running
- a contact person to follow up
Candidates should send (same day or following day) an email thanking the interviewer and reinforcing candidate's interest in the position, asking again for affirmation and timetable of decision(s)
So, if you haven't sent such an email yet, do it now!
If you haven't heard anything after one week past the interview (if you haven't done ANY of the above), call the interviewer, apologize for the delay in followup and start from #1 above.
Same thing goes if you haven't heard anything one week past any of the timetables you receive. Most folks feel one week is not "harassing" compared to shorter times, whereas longer delays convey a sense of disinterest on the part of the candidate.
I usually advise an attempt to establish voice contact versus strictly email, since it is psychologically harder to blow off a candidate over the phone than by email.
When making phone contact, always ask up front
"do you have time to talk? if not now, when would be a good time?" Don't waste a phone call without getting some sense the deal is still "live." If the contact won't give a window of time, the candidate has some rethinking to do to assess whether he understood the positive signals from the interview correctly or whether the contact is actually "in the loop" to be able to provide the answers.
there is a chance some interviewers may simply be professional interviewers and not have access to the decisions by the actual decision maker. It's something candidates should try to determine during the interview. It's one of the reasons to confirm the correct followup contact.