Not hearing back from employers can be frustrating, however, you can go the extra mile and follow up on your job application. Marie Njuguna, an Executive Manager at Little Einsteins and Recruitment Agency Lead at Bureau de Secretaire offers some tips on the right way to follow up on your job application process and get responses from employers.
The job application process can be a very stressful and exhausting experience, even for the most confident individuals. After all, you are trying to impress hiring managers with your competencies, knowledge, and personality. Fortunately, the job market is slowly recovering from the Covid-19 recession, which means there are more opportunities out there than before. However, you need to keep your applications laser-focused if you want to stand out from the competition; your resume should be on point and ATS compliant.
Skilled professionals who follow up with hiring managers after submitting a job application have a higher chance of getting an interview than those who don’t reach out again after applying for a post. Follow-up is credited as key when it comes to landing that dream job – this is as long as you do not cross the canvassing line.
Read on to learn how to follow up on your job application and get responses in return.
The importance of following up after a job application
Following up is part of the job application process and it might help you get that dream job. Any follow-up, whether after submitting a job application or post-interview, illuminates you as a competent, knowledgeable, and well-versed professional; It says "I am here, I am qualified, and I want this!"
Hiring managers want a confident person who is qualified and knows what they want in their professional space. A job seeker following up on a job application says a lot that cannot be summed up in a resume, about your character and demeanour.
Marie Njuguna, highlights the following tips on how to follow up on your job application process and get feedback. First things first;
Research, research, research...
Research is an important element and a good foundation for any job hunt. Research will inform on the why, the what, and the when. Why that company or employment space, what workforce they need at a particular time, and when they are recruiting.
Research also informs you as a job seeker on what career space you want to immerse yourself in, which companies have ticked your 'career boxes', and which career environment you want to go into. A combination of these two research elements will set the path toward a successful job hunt. Without researching employment spaces and aligning the same to your competencies and skill set you will be like a blind mouse in a maze.
With informed research in hand, you can now start applying to employment spaces that match your unique set of skills and qualifications. Fortunately, technology has afforded us a plethora of channels and job boards to find your desired job.
The first follow-up: Post-job application stage
Follow-up starts after you've applied for a post. When you apply for a role and the advertisement has a deadline date, prepare a follow-up email 2 - 4 days after that date addressed to the same email address that you applied to enquire about the progress of your application. Reiterate the exact post and your interest in it. Be sure to indicate your competencies and skills again, just as you did in your cover letter.
At this stage, you have done your due diligence in terms of research and know what you want in an employer and work environment. You have gone ahead and correctly applied for the desired position. If the two have been done the right way, you are sure to get an interview invitation, and thus the second stage of follow-up commences.
The second follow-up: Interview stage
If a hiring manager extends an invitation for an interview after you have applied for a job, your second follow-up begins here. A well-structured reply to the invitation is paramount. Be sure to thank the hiring manager for the invitation, stating the exact information relayed to you. Confirm your availability and re-state the dates, the time, and the position to be interviewed for. This will give the hiring manager an opportunity to confirm the information relayed to you, and also gives you an opportunity to open up the communication lines between you and the hiring manager.
The third follow-up stage will be during the interview.
Once given the opportunity to ask any questions to the interviewing panel, one of the questions you should ask is about the next steps. This should entail what you should expect after that interview in terms of expected communication and confirmation.
Good examples include:
"When am I expected to hear from you?" or "When is your expected date of filling in the position?"
This will give you timelines on when you can commence your fourth stage of follow-up.
The fourth follow-up: Post-interview stage
This is the most important stage if you did a commendable job during the interview. Following up after an interview is two-faceted:
Thank the hiring manager and the panel after the interview for their time. A tip, state the place and time, and most importantly ‘The Who.’ Mention the hiring manager by name and any other panellists who interviewed you. This shows your alertness and professionalism during the interview process. Do not forget to reiterate your interest in the position.
The information you got during the interview on the possible timeline for hiring will inform the context of your second post-interview follow-up. This email should be an inquiry email with the same information as your first follow-up email, restating the position, when you interviewed for it, who interviewed you, and when they said they would fill the position. The purpose of this email will be to enquire whether you were successful and if you should expect any further information. Do not forget to state your interest in the job together with your skills and competencies that match the role.
Following up in the second post-interview email is where the delicate balance between follow-up and canvassing comes in. Do not bombard the hiring manager with reminders. If you do not hear from them after one kind reminder, thank them and move on. You might not have been their match.
Tips on following up on your job application
Do not canvass
Canvassing is frowned upon in the hiring process. It involves contacting the recruiting team or other company employees in an attempt to unfairly influence their decision in your favour. You could miss out on a very good opportunity that you are qualified for because of not knowing where the canvassing line starts. However, canvassing or a softer form of canvassing can be seen as interest in a job and confidence in your qualification, thus knowing when it is networking and following up and when it is full-on canvassing is very important.
A candidate really requires the right language in an email and a well-timed phone call to turn canvassing into a professional follow-up on a job application. When this is done well, you'll appear professional and confident in your skill set and qualifications.
You have the right to know why the application was unsuccessful
While it is true that there is a fine line between following up and canvassing, you do have the right to know the progress of your application and interview results.
If you applied for a job and they never got back to you, you should follow up with them again to ask if you were even considered for the position. Furthermore, you might even get information about what you need to improve on or any skills you need to learn.
Pro Tip: Reach out to recruiters
Reaching out to recruiters in a non-canvassing way should be part of the larger research that is required to match you to an employment opportunity.
One of the least-known yet highly effective ways to reach out to recruiters without crossing the canvassing line is connecting with hiring managers and C-suites in your area of expertise on platforms like LinkedIn. What this does is it gives the decision-makers a chance to see your resume before an employment opportunity arises. They will have interacted with you and your posts/articles on your profile beforehand.
Conclusion
Overall, following up after applying for a job is just as important as applying in the first place. If you do not follow up, you are essentially abandoning your job application process before it ends. The job application process starts with researching the desired position and company and ends with the answer to your follow-up email or call. Seeing the process through shows the hiring manager that you are serious about the position and that you want to be a part of their team. With these tips in mind, you are bound to get responses from your hiring manager.
