No matter how many executives in transition, job seekers, or passive candidates I talk to in a given week, the percentage of those who follow up is very low. Do you follow up?
Timing and follow up are really absolutely vital to the results you get in your search. I have told more than one solid candidate to stay in touch, call me in a quarter and never see or hear from them again.
Some years ago, I worked with a hiring manager who interviewed all the time. At first I did not understand why, but the company was growing and after working with him for a while I got it!
Talent and company timing are not always on the same wavelength, he looked for talent all the time not just to fill current openings or to build his team, but because to him hiring top people was a priority. He taught me if you want to leverage opportunities you must always be on the lookout for them and open to them.
On his team, as with most businesses, follow up was critical, he would never hire someone who did not follow up. At the beginning of the interview he would ensure the candidate had his personal contact information, at the end of the interview, he would stand up, shake hands, look at candidate in the eye and say call me with your questions about the job, won’t you? Good luck to you!
Then he would nod and that would end the interview.
His style of interviewing a quest for talent interested me so I did a bit of tracking; few candidates called with questions or followed up in any way. The ones that did usually joined the organization within a year.
What opportunities are you missing because you did not follow up with the hiring manager for whom you want to work?
Who should you follow up with this week?
If following up is not your strong suit, or makes you feel, somewhat uncomfortable, try this and let me know how it goes …
End the interview with, “I am interesting in joining your team, <state why>. Could I propose scheduling a 5-minute “check-in” call with you (be sure it is with the hiring manager) on ___ (the day of the week) at ___ (the specific time of the interview one to two weeks later) to check in and see where you are in the process of building your team?” Confirm the phone number and follow up.
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