Tuesday, July 29, 2008

I?ve Had the Interview ? What Do I Do Now?

By Ray James

After you have attended a job interview, it is not a good idea to sit waiting near your phone for the offer of a position. Refrain from telephoning the interviewer immediately after the interview to make enquiries. A much more favorable alternative is to send a thank you note to the people responsible for the interview afterwards. Thank you letters should always express your gratitude towards the company for allowing you the opportunity and experience of an interview, and making the experience a memorable one. Through your thank you letter, you can reconfirm that you indeed wish to gain employment with the organization and indicate clearly that you are waiting positively to hear some good news from them in due time. If the interview was conducted by more than one interviewer then you must send a thank you letter to each one of the people involved.

It is also entirely appropriate to remind your potential employer, in this note, of the services that you are able to bring to the company and how these services will be of use to the company. Obviously, any thank you letter that you are prepared to send has to be well written, grammatically correct and void of spelling mistakes.

If after a period of around two weeks you have not had any response from the interviewer it would be acceptable to send an email or call them to enquire about the status of the position. If a decision is still pending, you may politely ask the interviewer as to when the decision is to be finalized. If the decision is finalized already and your application has been rejected then it is quite ok to ask the interviewer the reason for the rejection. Endeavor to get the exact feedback from the employer as this may well improve your chances of selection at the next interview. It is always advisable to listen to and act accordingly in response to constructive criticism.

Quite a number of organizations will call people for a second interview, perhaps for a final ?cull? of applicants. By all means feel free to express your pleasure at being chosen for the second interview. Be sure to find out the format of the second interview and where and when it will be conducted. It is also a wise choice to ask for the name of the interviewer and their position in the company. You may also wish to ask for directions to the place of interview if it is being held in an area in which you are not familiar.

In the second interview, it is often possible to view first hand how the company operates, which is beneficial if you are concerned about any aspects of the position. It is always appreciated if you send a second thank you letter after this second interview and it is also a wise choice as they have taken the time to consider you especially.

If, after the second interview you are successful in obtaining the position, under no circumstances take this as an opportunity to discuss the salary with the employer if you feel that he or she is not paying enough. Your argument will only serve to aggravate the employer and he or she may decide to choose another candidate. It is acceptable to ask questions regarding the rules and regulations of the company, their dress code, and your leave entitlements.

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