Follow-up

Days go by without hearing anything. You’re really interested in this job and would like to know what’s going on. What’s stopping you from calling the Consultant? One simple follow up call in order to evaluate the progression of your application is all you need to make. Consultants are more than happy to let you know what stages your applications have reached.

Recruiters

During the follow-up call is also a prime time to ask additional questions that you may have forgotten to ask during the first initial call. It will also shine some light onto the current status of your application. If you haven’t received any information from the consultant about the role, it may be that the deadline for all application isn’t for a few more days so the applications have not been processed yet. Other reasons may be that the client could be on leave and this will affect then timeframe when applications will be processed.

Don’t be shy to ask when you can hear back from them for the results of your application.

Potential employers

There may be times where you apply to vacancies directly, without the help of recruitment agencies. Following up on a job that you applied personally is still relevant, it would also help if you know who you need to talk to regarding the role. As with recruiters, chasing up with potential employers you to find out how your application is progressing. Again, you can use this time to ask questions.

Benefits

We all want to know what is going on and communication is the key. You won’t damage any chances that you may have with an application if you do chase up consultants or employers. They may see this as a positive and could even be the deciding factor in your application if they are on the fence. Showing initiative to call will show that you are enthusiastic and interested in the role.

Caution

You do need to be cautious of how often you call as this can also sway a decision to a ‘No’ when you were a strong candidate. A good rule of thumb is to wait about two weeks after the deadline if you haven’t heard anything by then. During that time frame, it gives recruitment consultants and employers time to discuss and shortlist the candidates.

Feedback

A follow-up call may also be used to find out if you are successful or not. Although it should be good practice for consultants, not all consultants notify you if you are you were not shortlisted. Use this time to get some feedback, why was I not successful? Is there anything that I could improve on? The consultant should have all this information from the client to pass back to you. This little bit of information will be vital for you in the future as you can use the feedback to help prepare for other job openings.