"Make a follow up call after an interview"

[changeruset2748]

I have been anxiously (and pointlessly) googling the means and timing of post interview notification and keep coming across advice from job search sites suggesting you should call the business within 2 days of the interview:

"As a guideline, it's best to follow up with an email or phone call within at least two business days of the date the interview took place. Be personal. If there was something that particularly excited you about the company, let them know. This is one more chance to convince them that you're the best person for the job."

I have never heard this and as a hiring manager myself I wouldn't appreciate that call, I'm public sector so a call like this couldn't have any bearing on the interview outcome. Have you come across this? It can't be common place surely, certain sectors??

@GintyMcGinty I wouldn't wait, I agree after a couple of weeks it's more likely to be a no than a yes, but I'd rather be told so I could put it to bed so would chase for that reason.

Christ no. I interview a lot and haven't got time for that. If someone wants to send a brief email or connect with me on LinkedIn, that's fine, but I don't want awkward phone calls!

Fair enough but as an employer phone calls and emails from candidates would not change my mind in deciding who gets the job.

I’ve interviewed and worked in both the U.S. and U.K. Follow up in the U.S. where you will be as pro-active, but don’t follow up in the U.K. where you will be seen as pushy.

@GintyMcGinty no of course not! As I say I'm public sector and recruitment is far too stringent to allow something like that to alter a decision.

"Following up by email and card or letter is essential."
This sort of thing always makes me snigger. Exactly what sort of card? A thank you card with a picture of a smiling cat? A postcard from Blackpool?

If firms didn't ghost candidates afterwards, it wouldn't even come up as a possibility because you'd already know they'd offered the position to somebody else.

If it irritates them to get follow ups, I think that they should look at their own behaviour before complaining that they're being contacted by people left in limbo.

My opinion is that if they can't be arsed treating candidates with respect after interview, I wouldn't have liked working there anyway, though.

Just had the call to say I got the job! So a follow up definitely wasn't necessary 😉

Well done and woo hoo!

Thank you, now need to make a really difficult decision as I have another offer on the table I've not get formally accepted. I don't think I will sleep tonight!!

We are more warmed to a candidate who sends a follow up email to say thank you. We work in a relationships business and that is what we'd expect of our staff - when they don't do it as a matter of course it feels off. I have read on here that it pisses off hiring managers but we interview only a few people so we notice if someone can't be arsed sending a thank you email, just like we notice when they can't be arsed reading our website to find out what we do - it's just bloody lazy.

Congratulations

Congratulations!

Congratulations OP!

I've recently secured a new position and went through about 25 - 30 interviews altogether before getting a job offer (3 in one week, strangely, so I can empathise with the struggle to make the right decision).

I barely ever sent a follow-up email unless I was told a specific date they would get in touch and they then didn't do so.

In the end, I decided that the recruitment process for a company was a good insight into how they might be to work for. If the best they can offer is poor communication or inability to keep to their word, it's a bad sign.

I once was offered a second interview during the first interview. Fantastic! Didn't hear from them again for 2 weeks, and was then told they had reopened the position in order to get a few more candidates to interview. I wasn't particularly impressed - why were they telling me that? And why can't they get enough interest in the position? When the official invitation for 2nd interview finally arrived, it asked for a project that was obviously a bid to extract free consultancy labour from interviewees. All these details paint a picture of an organisation I wouldn't want to work for.

Well done!

And I agree with the consensus that a call is not the appropriate thing to do. I'd hate it as a hiring manager.

I also hated the pre-interview calls I get from candidates who dont have anything to ask that isn't stated in the advert /job description, but are calling because they've been told it makes a good impression. It only makes a good impression if you've done your research and you come across well!

Well done on getting the job!

To answer the q anyway, I wouldn't follow up after an interview, they will let you know as and when they can and it's mostly just irritating to contact sooner.

Of course if it's been a couple of weeks radio silence then you know you probably haven't got the job - at that point I might send an email if I hadn't heard, just to confirm and put it to bed. Other than that I would wait to hear.

When the official invitation for 2nd interview finally arrived, it asked for a project that was obviously a bid to extract free consultancy labour from interviewees. All these details paint a picture of an organisation I wouldn't want to work for. We ask our applicants, if they have been successful at first interview, to do a consultancy task, to see how you work in practice - it certainly is not a bid for free consultancy - it's made up - ie no client has requested this work but it's a well thought through topical exercise, with a model answer scoring system, if you score highly enough you make it to the nest stage where we will talk through how you approached, researched and completed your task and give you feedback on how we appraised it. If you can come up with something we haven't thought of - we'll be very impressed but we are most definitely no relying on interviewees to provide free consultancy work - I can't get my head around any serious consultancy who would.

@memost

When the official invitation for 2nd interview finally arrived, it asked for a project that was obviously a bid to extract free consultancy labour from interviewees. All these details paint a picture of an organisation I wouldn't want to work for. We ask our applicants, if they have been successful at first interview, to do a consultancy task, to see how you work in practice - it certainly is not a bid for free consultancy - it's made up - ie no client has requested this work but it's a well thought through topical exercise, with a model answer scoring system, if you score highly enough you make it to the nest stage where we will talk through how you approached, researched and completed your task and give you feedback on how we appraised it. If you can come up with something we haven't thought of - we'll be very impressed but we are most definitely no relying on interviewees to provide free consultancy work - I can't get my head around any serious consultancy who would.

No, that sounds reasonable and expected - not this situation I'm referring to, unfortunately. This one was literally a request to visit a local branch of the organisation, introduce yourself to the staff and identify a specific issue that could be improved, then create a solution and present it. This was a bid for free consultancy work from 2nd stage applicants.

@EShellstrop They wanted you to go to a client to sell consultancy work? How did they rope the client into that situation - our clients are board member level - they simply would not give space in their diary for this kind of nonsense - not to mention the massive reputational risk on the consultancy.

It's interesting that most hiring managers on here don't like a thank you email - we are staffed by mostly ex senior big Four Consultants and those involved in recruitment all expect it and last recruitment every interviewed applicant sent a thank you email.