After The Job Interview
After your job interview, it is advisable not to sit near the phone waiting for it to ring with your job offer. Don't call the interviewer back immediately you get home to ask for the result of your interview.
Instead, as soon as you get home after the job interview, write and send a 'thank-you' note to the company where you have attended the interview. In your 'thank-you' letter, you should express your gratitude towards the company for giving you an opportunity to have a job interview, and for making the experience a memorable one. Through your 'thank-you' letter, you can reconfirm that you indeed want to work for the organization and indicate that you are looking forward to hearing some good news from them soon. If more than one interviewer has interviewed then you then it is advisable to send a 'thank-you' letter to each one of them.
Also in your 'thank-you' letter, it is a good idea to restate the services and experience that you can give to the company and how your services and experience will benefit the company. It is important that your 'thank-you' letter is grammatically correct without any spelling mistakes, and written neatly.
If you do not receive any response from the interviewer within two weeks after the job interview, then you could send an email or call the interviewer to check the status of your job application. If a decision about you is still pending then ask the interviewer when he expects a decision about your job application will be made. If the decision is finalized and you are rejected then ask the interviewer the reason for not giving you the job. Try to get the exact feedback from the interviewer about what they would recommend that may improve your chances of selection at your next job interview. These recommendations will be helpful for your future interviews.
If you receive a letter from interviewer that another applicant was chosen for the job then you should send a follow up letter to the interviewer and again thank him or her for giving you an opportunity to have the job interview. Let them know that you would be interested in applying for a similar position in future, should one arise.
After the first job interview, many organizations may call for short listed candidates for a second job interview. Express your pleasure at being chosen for the second interview. Contact them through email or phone to ask about the format of the second job interview. If the information is not given in the letter inviting you to a second job interview, call the interviewer and ask for details of the time and the place where the interview will be held.
Ask if the second job interview will be carried out by the same interview panel as for the first job interview. If not, then ask for the name of the interviewer and ask the interviewer’s designation in the company. If the second job interview is far from where you live then ask him or her about how to reach the place. Second interviews give an opportunity to view the company in action. You can now decide whether you will be comfortable working in this organization. Observation will definitely give you the answer. Do not forget to send a second thank you letter after you finish the second interview.
If you are called for the second job interview, it means you stand a good chance of being offered the job. If you are selected for the job after the second interview then do not argue with the employer if he or she is planning to pay a lower salary than you expected when you start your new job. Many employers want to see what contribution a new employee is making to their organisation in thier first few weeks into the job before they pay the full rate for the job.
If you are selected for the job then you should also inquire about the rules and regulations of the company, dress code of the company, number of casual leaves that can be taken etc.
I hope this article provided you with the information and understanding you were looking for.
Brian Waybridge, the author of this article, has been a member of job interview panels for many years.