You Sent the Resume/Had an Interview--NOW WHAT?

You sent the resume/had an interview—now what?

I just got off the phone with a friend of mine who is an HR Director at a large company. I like to keep in touch with her to get the other side of the story about how candidates are coming across in their job searches and some of the latest tactics that work for her, and those that don’t.

She was telling me about an out of work friend who, after submitting her resume, was calling the hiring manager daily to inquire about the status. “After about three days of seeing the same number come up on caller ID I’m sure that hiring manager won’t be calling her back, regardless of how qualified she is. Who wants to hire a stalker?” my friend commented. And sadly, it’s true. Just like that guy or gal who calls you incessantly after having a great date, or a salesperson you briefly talked to in a store. You might have been interested in them, or working with them at the time, but too much, is still, too much.

So what should you do? Send your resume, and if you have the contact info (and the ad does not specifically say “Do not call.”), you can place a brief, friendly follow-up call the following week to touch base and let them know you’re a real person who didn’t just hit the Submit key on Monster.com. You can even say one or two unique aspects about your experience that specifically relate to the position leave your name and contact info, and then that’s it. If you’re a fit—they’ll call you back. If you’re not—then they won’t.

However, if you have made it to the interview stage, you have earned a little more leeway. First, you should NEVER, EVER leave an interview without asking—“What are the next steps?” or “What is your timeline for filling this position?” You can even ask “I’d love to follow-up with you, what works better for you, a call or an email, say, next week? I don’t want to turn into a stalker. “ (insert casual laugh here) There you have it—you just got their timing, showed you were interested, and saved yourself a stress-ridden week of worrying about the position.

After you’ve made that initial post-interview follow-up call, don’t revert to your former stalker ways and leave a voicemail every day, but it is OK to check in with them, either by phone or email every week and a half to two weeks. You can simply remind them of your interest in the position, or better yet, include a link to a relevant article about something happening in the industry is completely appropriate.

Uhhh, I have to ask job interviewers questions? What should I ask?

Many people get so excited and stressed out about preparing what they're going to TELL an employer that they don't realize the value of ASKING an employer some great questions.

When I was a hiring manager, I remember the candidates who asked genuinely interesting questions about my company. It gave me insight to their way of thinking and was proof that they had enough presence of mind and confidence to develop some good questions.

The more interesting candidates are the ones I asked back for a 2nd interview, and then hired.

First, let me say that you should NEVER, and I mean NEVER ask about benefits or salary on the first interview (or phone screen). That's the equivalent of going on a first date and asking about the size of the engagement ring. You're just not at that point in the relationship where that's relevant. I have IMMEDIATELY disqualified candidates who asked me that question too early. It demonstrates to me that the candidate is just in it for what they can get from me. Not attractive.

So in coming up with your questions to ask, here's a few that I wish candidates would have asked me more often:

"I see from your website that you do (produce, make, etc.) X, I did a little more digging and found another company Y who seems to do something similar? Are they a major competitor?"

'I have experience in this market with this specific problem (fill it in here), it looks like your industry (market), could be facing the same challenge, but you would know much better than I. What do you think?"

"How does your company differentiate themselves in this market?"

"What challenges has this department faced in the past year?"

"What do you think would be the most challenging thing for me to learn in this role?"

"What qualities in a new hire would NOT work in this position?"

"What is your time line for hiring for this position?"

"What is your biggest concern about my background or experience?"

"What did you see on my resume that looked like the best match for this position?"

"Who are the "customers" that I would be working with? What other departments does this one interface with (work with)?"

"How would you describe your managerial style?"

These questions also serve the dual role of giving you information to decide if you even want the position. You may be desperate for a job now, but getting into the wrong position and then getting let go from it, can be more drama than you're really looking to take on.

Also: No matter HOW many people you interview with at a company--ALWAYS ask questions. I was amazed by the job seekers who threw away the opportunity to get different perspectives on the more opinion-related questions by saying "no, no questions, I already asked everyone else." Ask everyone questions. Will the interviewers compare notes after you've gone, Yes. But asking for a different perspective on a question you've already asked someone else gives you even more insight into the workings of the company, and who couldn't use more insight?