Had a Great Interview? Now What?

I almost never hear from a client or candidate that the interview bombed. Most interviewers are polite and make the candidate feel good about their experience and give them the impression there is a chance, if not a good chance that they will be called back for a 2nd interview. How can you increase your chances of getting to the next step if you feel you gave all you could in the interview? A good thank you follow up letter maybe?  A typical courtesy thank you letter won’t get the results you’d like and will not make you stand out when the weeding process begins.

First, you need to have done a good job during the interview asking good questions and gathering information to build your Value Added Response.  A good V-A-R will need to hit the proverbial nerve, knock it out of the park, and seal the deal…. I think you get the idea. So what is a Value Added Response you ask?  A VAR is anything you do or present in your follow up that will help the company see you as a valuable prospect and worth talking to further. The goal in the interview process is to convey to the company that you are the man/woman for the job.   Think differently than your competition and you will get noticed.

Your focus in the interview follow up should be about them and not you.  Keeping that in mind, a good follow up strategy will provide processes or information that will help THEM and will NOT be a reiteration of your qualifications and past work history. Right? So what do you do? During the investigation process, which you of course did prior to the interview, you learned a few things about the company, executive or manager you met with and the reason they are hiring. You uncovered some voids where the company NEEDS you. Speak to those needs and how you will add value. A 30/60/90 day strategy is also impressive.

Be creative as you think of other ways you can add value in your follow up response. Competitor information, articles related to something discussed in the interview, even passing on a good book that you think the recipient would appreciate.  A Value Added Response will make you stand out in the process and likely get you attention and ideally to the next step.  It may take a bit of time as companies are slower these days in their hiring processes, but continue bringing value added benefits weekly if possible.  If you are turned down in the end, take it graciously and write a very cordial thank-you note to the hiring manager and/or HR.   Professionalism pays.

HAPPY JOB HUNTING!