The Slightly Uncomfortable But Necessary Times and Techniques to Following-Up

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The Slightly Uncomfortable But Necessary Times and Techniques to Following-Up by Mark Anthony Dyson

Follow-up is a staple of business and careers. It’s uncomfortable, yet necessary. Your career might be light years behind because you are afraid of being rejected or pigeonholed. We are going to dissect some awkward situations where follow-up is critical. I hope to remove some of the fear of following up and moving past any mistakes. You can feel fearful and deploy courage. Courage will win once you experience the benefits.

We live in an age where constant business moves and decisions exist. You’re not an employee anymore who settles into a job for years to come. You are a business of one. As soon as you accept this reality, you will seek clarity about your career more urgently.

I’ve been saying for more than two years now, “job search is a lifestyle.” But when I said it, it wasn’t new. “Everyone is a business of one“ is not new, either. More acceptance of it is new. You can bet people make perpetual moves because they’re uncomfortable with uncertainty. A close friend of mine is one of those over-employed people. He says 70% of time during his recent job searches is spent making follow-up calls.

Here’s what makes follow-up tough and time-consuming:

Calling back to follow up after an interview or conversation for opportunities is humbling. They promise to call you after a date, and the hiring manager or HR didn’t contact you. Yet, you’ll need to follow up a couple of times to no avail. You don’t want to be a pest, yet how many times is too many is subjective.
There are times the follow-up can be a dud. Not everyone will welcome a follow-up but will appreciate your effort. All of it may amount to nothing. You must be OK with it because you can move on. It’s only disappointing if there are no other potential opportunities.
HR professionals and hiring managers are not always thrilled to call you back. It’s one more call of a hundred they need to make, and even though you performed well during your meeting, you may not stand out to them yet.
Decision-makers say they like persistence if someone calls a few times to get through with an email or phone, yet they don’t always reward those who are tenacious. You must be resilient because the “not-rejected-not-hired” tone is painful.

Follow-up is about business.

In business, it takes several contact points to collaborate with another entrepreneur. In most employer/employee situations, the same idea applies. People go into business with whom they know, like, and trust. When hired, the employer trusts their investment in you will bear fruit in an employment situation. In today’s job search, you are separate from the company.

You are the business. Start treating yourself and your career that way.

Employment is a paid collaboration between you and the company that always looks to add talented professionals to their team. People who apply and interview are a dime a dozen. Those who stand out are the contenders. That’s the end game with follow-up.

Success: Doing what’s uncomfortable

Between me overexplaining and you overthinking it, following up is necessary, especially when it comes to having the conversation rather than just getting a yes or no.

Every interaction is intel for you, including what is said and what isn’t. Most people are uncomfortable with the unknown, but uncovering the unknown is the task.

Follow up on good conversations.

Networking takes work to meet people, but the magic is in conversations that initially are unrelated to what you need at the moment. The best conversations I’ve ever had were where no one asked for anything. Chemistry is a legitimate reason to follow up after a great discussion 24-48 hours afterward in thanking someone for their time. When you don’t take these for granted, the return will multiply over time.

Getting constructive direction

For coffee or an informational interview, helpful people will throw a nugget for you to follow. It could be a job lead, someone to call, an event to attend, a course to take, or someone’s LinkedIn profile of someone who shares great content. Some people will say, “let me know what you think,” and more often than not, the other person misses a follow-up opportunity. I call this “constructive direction.” Understand the person wants to know if you’ll follow up. They are interested in your success and may give you more help.

One step further in this is to ask, “Can I follow up with you and let you know what I found?” Or, “how did this interaction go?” People will be more helpful than you think, and sometimes a gentle prompt of curiosity on your part can provide more intel for your job search.

Job offers

While this response is the most critical, you still must be strategic in what you’ll say. The basic tenets of responding to a job offer are communicating the time you want to look over the offer, and think thoroughly about the compensation package. The first thing your response should include is to express gratitude for the opportunity.

Graceful in rejection

In my days as a manager, it was rare that I received thank–you letters. Once, I received a thank–you letter from a woman who said, “Whether hired or not, I thought you were thoughtful and respectful of my achievements. Our interaction was rare as most interviews are so impersonal and trite.” I hired her, and she became a rockstar team member.

When you need to provide a more precise answer

Interviews are nerve-wracking and sometimes very stressful. Not everyone is calm under pressure, nor can they offer adequate answers to questions. It’s OK to follow up with the interviewer during or after the interview to clarify an answer. If you’re writing a thank–you note or email, you can take the time to clarify a specific question if you felt your original answer was vague or unclear. You can also call the interviewer to offer a different answer if you think it would impact the outcome.

Epilogue

Every stage of the job search process requires follow-up. As you prepare for a successful job interview, you must put the same energy into the post-interview follow-up. People are busy with many priorities and people who depend on them. Go beyond discomfort and fear. Top candidates who regularly make it to the final stages of the hiring process understand more what happens outside of the interview than during the interview.

Overall, follow-up is the key to successful networking. Treat each interaction and relationship you build as if it will grow and not be final. The opportunities to give are immense compared to what you’ll get in a second chance.

About Mark Anthony Dyson

I am the "The Voice of Job Seekers!" I offer compassionate career and job search advice as I hack and re-imagine the job search process. You need to be "the prescription to an employer's job description." You must be solution-oriented and work in positions in companies where you are the remedy. Your job search must be a lifestyle, and your career must be in front of you constantly. You can no longer shed your aspirations at the change seasons. There are strengths you have that need constant use and development. Be sure you sign up to download my E-Book, "421 Modern Job Search Tips 2021!" You can find my career advice and work in media outlets such as Forbes, Inc., Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, Glassdoor, and many other outlets.