Don’t foul-up the follow-up

Ill communication won’t help your hopes of being hired

What are the best ways to follow up after a job interview? We asked several career coaches to find out.

“The one thing you always want to do is to remind the interviewer about the qualities that make you the perfect choice for the job. Most people can tell you when they are truly connecting during an interview. They can tell which topics resonated the most with their interview. Those are the topics to bring up in a quick email. Aside from saying thank you for the opportunity to interview for the position, simply reiterate something you said during the interview that struck a chord. If nothing else, it reminds the interviewer of why you’re worthy of the job or at the very least, a chance at the next round of interviews.” - Phil Sabatello, Los Angeles

“People should use social media to their advantage after job interviews. If you’re someone who is a potential hire, it is very likely that someone from HR will be keeping an eye on your Twitter account, your Facebook posts or even your Instagram photos. There’s nothing wrong with a tweet about a successful interview or the desire to work for a certain company. I’ve seen people write some really positive captions for photos of a company’s building or of something along the commute to or from the interview. It’s just a way to show your recruiters that you’re excited about the potential job.” - Grace Ryan, Chicago

“I don’t like the idea of following up an interview with a phone call. I do like the idea of following up an interview with a voicemail. Basically, you strategically call after work hours and leave a message, thanking the interviewer and offering up a couple of points about why you’d be a great fit for the position. You can do this in tandem with an email or a thank-you note.” - Beth Dunham, Charlotte, N.C.

“I think it’s very helpful to be proactive once the interview is over. If you can get in early and give the recruiter a reason to reduce or possibly end his or her search process, it’s to your advantage and to your interviewer’s advantage. You need to give a reason to say, ‘we’re not going to find a better candidate, so we should just end the job search here.’ The best way to do that is to go back over your interview notes and send a summary of what you can do for the company. You should have some real knowledge of the job and expectations after the interview. Now it’s your job to synthesize those thoughts and create a final sell-sheet.” - Thomas Brinker, Chicago

“As antiquated as it may sound, I still think the people who send an actual thank-you note are often the people who are most remembered. Of course you’ll need to do due diligence with an email thank-you or a voicemail thank-you, but if you are one of the few who actually takes the time to write out a card or print out a brief letter and personally sign it, it could go a long way. One of the things I tell job candidates is that they need to give their recruiters material for their desk. It could be something that they print out about you that they found on the internet or perhaps something they wrote down during your interview. But there is no better desk material than an effective, personal thankyou note. It could be the last confirmation a recruiter needs before deciding to offer you the job.” - Sydney Earle, Oakland, Calif.

“While there are simple steps to take after an interview — an email, a phone call — you don’t want to be eliminated from consideration because you become, for lack of a better word, a nag. If I’m the VP of HR for a large company and I have to hear a voicemail from you every morning asking if the position has been filled, there’s a good chance you won’t get the job, no matter how qualified you are. If you come across as annoying, you’re just giving that HR person a big reason not to hire you.” - Darin Walsh, Arlington, Texas

“Here’s one for you, how about a follow-up video? I recently had a client who told me she sent her interviewer a video that she created about her readiness for the job. She spoke directly to the person who had interviewed her the day before and included some examples of her work and — I think this is great — an on-camera reference from her former boss, who just happens to be her sister, and the job was when they worked together at a Dairy Queen in 2011 when they were in high school. It was clever, professional, creative and funny. And it got her a job offer within a week.” - Pia Warren, New York