Job Interview Follow-Up Do's and Don'ts

by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D.

Remember that your work is not done once you finish the interview. You can't sit back and wait for the job offer, so consider these key rules and strategies for following-up your job interviews.

• Do ask at the end of the interview when the employer expects to make the hiring decision.
• Do be proactive and consider follow-up a strategic part of your job search process. Follow-up can give you just the edge you need to get the job offer over others who interviewed for the position.
• Do use these follow-up techniques to continue to show your enthusiasm and desire for the position, but don't make it seem as though you are desperate.
• Do obtain the correct titles and names of all the people who interviewed you. (Ideally, do get each person's business card.)
• Do write individual thank you notes or letters to each person who interviewed you -- within two business days. Each letter can be essentially the same, but try to vary each a bit in case recipients compare notes. Don't ever fail to send a thank you -- even if you are sure the job is not for you. And do write thank you notes after every interview.
• Don't worry so much about hand-written versus typed thank you letters, but don't make a mistake by sending it through the wrong medium; make sure you know the best method of reaching the employer, whether by regular mail, email, or fax.
• In your thank you letter, do show appreciation for the employer's interest in you and do remind the employer about why you are the perfect person for the position. See some sample interview thank you letters.
• Don't ever have any errors (misspellings or typos) in your thank you letters.
• Do alert your references -- if you have not done so already -- that they may be getting a phone call from the employer.
• Don't stop job-hunting, even if you feel confident that you will get a job offer. Do continue to interview and attempt to find other opportunities.
• Do follow-up with a telephone call to the employer within a week to ten days (or sooner, if the employer had a shorter timetable) to ask about the position. And do continue to build rapport and sell your strengths during the phone call.
• Do be patient. The hiring process often takes longer than the employer expects.
• Do continue following-up, especially if the employer asks you to. Remember the adage about the squeaky wheel getting the oil. Just don't go overboard and annoy or bother the employer.
• Don't place too much importance on one job or one interview; there will be other opportunities for you.
• Do use other job offers as leverage in your follow-up -- to get the offer you really want.
• Don't burn any bridges if you do not get a job offer. And do try and turn the situation into a positive by bringing the interviewer(s) into your network, possibly even asking them for referrals to other contacts. Read more about the art of networking.

See this website for additional job related information: http://www.quintcareers.com/

Unfilled Openings Frustrate the Jobless

By MARK WHITEHOUSE , Associated Press

Job openings aren't what they used to be.

Among the explanations for the stubbornly high U.S. unemployment rate, factors such as housing troubles and extended unemployment benefits have played a leading role. Increasingly, though, economists and job seekers are identifying another problem: Employers are being pickier, or not trying as hard as they usually do to fill the openings they have.

The reasons for the foot-dragging are closely related to the reasons employers aren't creating many openings in the first place. Companies lack confidence about the outlook for consumer demand, they're not sure what the government will do with taxes and regulation, and they want to keep squeezing as much output from their current workers as they can. They also feel they have plenty of time to pick the best candidates.

"What we're seeing is delay, delay," says Jeff Joerres, chief executive of staffing firm Manpower Inc., noting that clients are taking a lot longer to fill positions, even when they've been presented with the right candidate. He says he expects the problem to persist at least through next year.

The slow uptake could actually be a good sign if it means unemployment is being held up more by a temporary lack of confidence than longer-term "structural" flaws such as improperly trained workers. "It means there is some reason to think there's an exit path from the weak labor market that doesn't require us to retrain the entire work force," says Steve Davis, a professor at the Chicago Booth School of Business.

So far, employers aren't showing much sign of the confidence needed to turn the job market around. The unemployment rate held steady at 9.6% in September, and hires are growing even slower than the low level of job openings would suggest. Economists estimate that if openings were turning into jobs at the pace they usually do, the unemployment rate would be about three percentage points lower.

Donald Washkewicz, chief executive of industrial-parts maker Parker Hannifin Corp., says his company is being careful about hiring ahead of the November congressional elections. Uncertainty over issues such as tax increases and environmental policy, he says, are aggravating concerns about the broader economy: "Anything's possible in November. Things could get better for business—or they could get worse."

Some companies complain that when they do try to hire, they have a hard time finding the right people. Extended unemployment benefits could make people less willing to take the jobs available, or mortgage troubles and poor credit scores could make it difficult for people to move for work.

But job seekers say some of the blame should be placed on the companies—either they're not trying very hard, or they're waiting for the perfect employee.

"I think a lot of companies are fishing," says Korey Stephens, a former mortgage-finance manager who has been looking for work since early 2007, while simultaneously training to update his computer skills. "They're just putting their feelers out, and if they find someone who's ridiculously awesome then maybe they'll hire them."

Mr. Stephens says he's spent more than a month chasing a banking job that a manager said needed to be filled quickly. On other occasions, he says, he's gone through interviews only to learn that the position had been canceled or frozen.

John Meline, a 39-year-old patent attorney who was laid off from a major law firm in October of last year, says he's seen some positions in his area of specialization advertised for as long as six months. When he sends in his resume, he gets no response despite his six years of applicable experience.

"It tells me that they're not really serious about filling the job, or they're going to be hyper-selective," he says. "They're just blowing us off."

A recent study by three economists—Mr. Davis of Chicago Booth, R. Jason Faberman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and John Haltiwanger of the University of Maryland—suggests the job seekers have a point. Using Labor Department data, the economists constructed an estimate of "recruiting intensity," which encompasses various factors that influence how fast employers fill open jobs, such as advertising, pay and the rigor of their screening process.

As of August, the recruiting intensity index stood 14% below the average for the seven years leading up to the recession. The economists estimate that the lack of intensity accounts for about a quarter of the shortfall in hires compared with openings.

At Leggett & Platt Inc., which makes metal parts for bedding and other purposes, Chief Executive David Haffner says his company remains hesitant about any kind of expansion, because it's not clear to what degree demand will snap back. But when it does hire, it's taking more time.

"With more experienced talent on the market in these challenging times, we are utilizing a more rigorous screening and interviewing protocol," says Mr. Haffner. "We feel it is crucial to add 'top graded' talent."

That could be good for companies and their shareholders. But it will mean a lot more frustration for the 14.8 million Americans looking for a job.



How to Get Better Online Job Search Results

It can be tough to figure out the nuances of the online job search. With the option to search by keyword, location, industry, company or all of the above at once, it's hard to know which query will return the best search results for you.

In the absence of knowing the best method for getting targeted results, many people default to what they DO know about their job search: the title of the position they're looking for. While searching for "marketing assistant" or "pediatric nurse" may seem like a good way to get direct hits on the jobs you want, searching by job title actually eliminates a lot of positions that may be exactly what you're looking for.

Why? Because job titles often aren't standardized across different companies and industries. One company's software engineer is another's database programmer. The job descriptions might be exactly the same, but the positions may have different titles.

In order to get the largest number of relevant search results, try one of these methods instead.

1. Search by keyword
Instead of simply searching by a job title, develop a list of keywords that represent both the type of job you're looking for and the work you're qualified to do. The list should be comprised of functions you've performed at previous jobs, duties you'd like to perform at your next job, as well as relevant skills and experience.

For example, if you're looking for software engineering position, your keyword search terms may include:

•Software design
•Software languages
•Algorithms
•Linux
•.Net programming
•Network security
•Computer science
•Master's degree

Instead of searching the term "software engineer," use the terms above terms to find job results that match what you're looking for.

2. Combine keywords with Boolean search terms

While searching by keyword will bring up a broad range of search results, combining keywords to create a "Boolean search" will allow you to narrow down your results.

Though the term may sound complicated, Boolean search is actually a simple way to combine search terms in order to form strings of keywords. They're surprisingly easy to conduct once you understand the basics.

The basics:
•Put quotes around terms you want to keep together. For example "software languages." This will ensure that your results are returned with listings that contain this specific phrase, not just the words software and languages somewhere in the listing.

•Combine words using plus (+) and minus (-) signs.

◦For example, if you're searching for a job where you can put your Master's degree to good use while working on software languages, your search may be: "Master's degree" + "software languages."

◦However, if you prefer not to use the JAVA language, your search may look like: "Master's degree" + "software languages" - JAVA.

•To make your search even easier, Boolean searches also enable you to search root words. Meaning you won't have to conduct separate searches for "programmer" "programmers" and "programming." Instead, type in the root of the word, with an asterisk, to search all forms of the root word. For example, you might search "software language" + program*.

3. Try an advanced search
If you're not sure exactly what you're looking for, or you're interested in a job function, but not a specific industry (i.e. an administrative position in any sector), start with a broad search -- you can always narrow it down as you figure out what you want and don't want.

On CareerBuilder, for example, you can type in a general keyword, like "administrative" and then narrow it down through a variety of search categories. If you realize you'd prefer to work as an administrative assistant in a medical office or at a school, for example, you can specify this in the advanced search.

Similarly, if you are only interested in jobs that pay over $50,000, you can enter in your salary requirements as well.

The more fields you enter values for, the fewer, but more targeted, your search results will be.

Kaitlin Madden is a writer and blogger for CareerBuilder.com and its job blog, The Work Buzz. She researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues.