What Should I Do After I Have Applied For A Job?
What should I do after I have applied?
The short answer is simple: Follow up!
In this economy one job opening isn’t being applied for by 10 people it’s probably being applied for by 10,000 people if it’s a good job.
Your initial objective, whether you have applied in person or you’ve applied online is to get in contact with a recruiter that is going to review your resume. This means you need to call or return to the business in person to let the recruiter know that you are serious.
How serious are you about the follow up? ( Two Options)
Follow Up In Person (Better Option)
Time and time again I have seen that showing up in person and trying to get in contact with the recruiter has paid the greatest dividends. Showing up in person shows commitment to see your resume through the application process. It is harder for a recruiter to ignore you if you are putting the extra effort forth to make contact and make sure your resume was received. In addition, if you are able to meet with the recruiter you can inquire about a interview either then or setting up a time for a future interview.
Follow Up By Phone
If you are limited to making contact by phone then the principle of be assertive is just as important as in person. Be sure to let the recruiter know you are following up on your application and would like to know if you could setup an interview. Hopefully you can get through and this goes smoothly. But the amount of people applying for an opening these days can be staggering so sometimes the recruiters screen their calls. This doesn’t seem fair but life isn’t fair! Recruiters want to see you pursue this job like your going on a hunt. It is very possible the first couple of times you call you won’t get through or go straight to voice mail. I would recommend that you try to get in contact with a person and not leave a message. Not that leaving a message is bad but if you make a mistake while your talking or you forget what your saying then that is all recorded in the message your leaving. Better to fumble your words while talking to a real person where you can correct yourself instead of leaving a digital screw up for the recruiter to listen to over and over.
If you call by phone we recommend blocking your outgoing number. Many recruiters will screen their calls, blocking your outgoing number goes a long way!
What about follow up by email?
This is a lame way to follow up on your application. Email shows no effort on your part in pursuing your application through the process. If the recruiter gets a bunch of email then your email may easily be discarded or even worse with so many businesses having spam filters on their email accounts your Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo, etc email accounts may just get tossed in the spam folder without the recruiter ever seeing it at all.
What about follow up by snail mail?
Once the preferred way to follow up with a short handwritten note. Depending on the company or person you interview with you might be able to judge if they prefer the old school method of hand written notes. It seems to be falling out of favor in a fast paced business environment. Unless you applied for a job this way then why would you follow up this way?