Dynamic Business

The follow-up process

Would you like to supercharge your employment prospects? Follow up. This will put you in a minority. If it is possible with an application, the optimal approach, just like many effective sales initiatives, is to phone, mail then phone.

An initial phone call does two things: it will help you clarify with the recruiter whether the role may be right for you and if it is worth your time and effort applying.  It will also put your name top of mind with the recruiter. They will respect the fact that you are seeking to qualify the opportunity and that saves time for everyone. That is a good foundation if you do proceed.

After the application is sent, allow about a week and call again. You can simply confirm that the application has been received, or make a fair enquiry as to the likely process and timeframe for progressing your application. The recruiter may already have started to form opinions, and may have commenced interviewing. As a result, their questions may be more specific, and relevant to you.  This is an opportunity for you to present the reasons you applied for the role, and the benefits you would bring.

Until you are formally advised otherwise, follow up. A recruitment process can take twists and turns, a favoured candidate may decline, business events interrupt timeframes, so don’t assume no news is bad news. But avoid being a stalker. Repeating the follow-up every two days annoys recruiters, and is soul destroying for you.

Don’t give up (but make sure you do something else!)

Even after applying all of this advice–your shoes are clean, you turn up on time, you spell and pronounce the recruiter’s name correctly–you will receive rejection letters, and silence. And yet the job was perfect for you, you have relevant experience, you know that you can create a lot of value, your referees would shout your praise, and this is the next perfect step in your career.

But that is your perspective not theirs. You will rarely receive feedback for a rejection, although you should feel free to ask if you have succeeded in having an interview, or multiple phone calls. At this point, the process can be discouraging and my advice is to press on. Don’t give up. You are exactly the right person for a smart organisation, and they will rejoice the day you joined them! Keep that faith. So follow up and don’t give up. But in the meantime, make sure you do something else!

Take a break, take up golf or volunteer. A busy person is more employable, for the same reason we are attracted to full cafes rather than empty! Pursue your job-seeking tasks diligently. Naturally you should consider your career options. Is this the time to start a business, study, change career, or move?

To summarise, the lessons of professional selling can be applied to selling yourself in a recession.  So what are you waiting for?

–John Huggart is managing director of Sales Positive (www.salespositive.com.au), management consultants that work as partners with clients to achieve sales effectiveness and fast, sustainable growth.

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