Step 7: Following up on a Job Lead

How many times have you sent in a résumé and waited…and waited…and waited, wondering when or if the employer was going to make a decision?

You've probably asked yourself: Have they already hired someone else? Should I keep looking for other jobs while I wait to hear from them? What can I do to find out if I am even in the running for this job?

An effective follow-up after submitting a résumé can assist you in answering these questions.

Planning Follow-Up Calls
Hopefully from the preliminary research that you did while preparing your résumé, you have some basic information about the company to which you applied, including:

• the position you had applied for
• the company's requirements to fill the position
• the location of the company
• a telephone number, fax number, or e-mail address, and
• a contact person

The follow-up after submitting a résumé is a little different than what you would do after an interview. Your follow-up at this point will generally take the form of a brief telephone call of no longer than 5 - 10 minutes.

What you want is an opportunity to talk to the employer, or someone else in the company who can provide you with information on how the hiring is proceeding.

An excellent opener to a brief follow-up call is to mention in your cover letter that you will be following up in a few days to confirm the receipt of your résumé and discuss interview opportunities. At the very least, this gives you a reason for calling if questioned.

Remember, your follow-up call is a great opportunity to build familiarity with that potential employer.

View a sample Follow-Up Call.

We can see from the example that the job seeker was not overly pushy in trying to speak to the employer directly. Instead, she was given the information she needed by the receptionist. The job seeker was smart to ask for the receptionist's name. In case she does follow up again, she can ensure that she is talking to the same person.

Tips for effective follow-up calls:

• Be in a quiet environment.
• Be assertive, but not aggressive.
• If the contact person is not available, try to get the information from someone else, or ask when would be a good time to call back.
• Don't leave a message on voice mail, or leave your phone number with the receptionist. This puts control back into the employer's hands and you may find yourself waiting to hear back from him or her.
• Have a copy of your résumé and cover letter in front of you to refer to.
• Plan some questions to ask, or points that you want to make sure you cover in your call.
• Be polite with everyone you encounter, acknowledge that they are busy and you appreciate them taking the time to talk to you.
• Follow through on any suggestions the employer gives you ("call back in a week", "submit another copy of your résumé", "talk to so and so" etc.).
• Use the follow-up to build familiarity with the employer.