I almost
never hear from a client or candidate that the interview went worst. Most
interviewers are polite and make the candidate feel good about their experience
and give them the impression there is a chance, if not a good chance that they
will be called back for a 2nd interview.
How can
you increase your chances of getting to the next step if you feel you gave all
you could in the interview? A good thank you follow up letter
maybe? A typical courtesy thank you letter won’t get the results
you’d like and will not make you stand out when the weeding process
begins.
First,
you need to have done a good job during the interview asking good questions and
gathering information to build your Value Added Response. A good
V-A-R will need to hit the proverbial nerve, knock it out of the park, and seal
the deal…. I think you get the idea.
So what is a Value Added Response you ask?
A VAR is
anything you do or present in your follow up that will help the company see you
as a valuable prospect and worth talking to further. The goal in
the interview process is to convey to the company that you are the
man/woman for the job. Think differently than your
competition and you will get noticed.
Your
focus in the interview follow up should be about them and not you.
Keeping that in mind, a good follow up strategy
will provide processes or information that will help them
(HRs) and will NOT be a reiteration of your qualifications and
past work history. Right? So what do you do? During the investigation process,
which you of course did prior to the interview, you learned a few things
about the company, executive or manager you met with and the reason they are
hiring. You uncovered some voids where the company NEEDS you. Speak to
those needs and how you will add value.
Be creative as you think of other ways you can add
value in your follow up response. Competitor information, articles related to
something discussed in the interview, even passing on a good book that you
think the recipient would appreciate. A Value Added Response
will make you stand out in the process and likely get you
attention and ideally to the next step. It may take a bit of time as
companies are slower these days in their hiring processes, but
continue bringing value added benefits weekly if possible. If you are
turned down in the end, take it graciously and write a very cordial
thank-you note to the hiring manager and/or HR.
Professionalism pays…..if not now then it will
pay in future, it’s for sure.
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