How to Respond to a Job Application
If you haven’t heard back from the hiring manager and it’s been a week or more after you submitted your application, you should follow up. You risk losing out on a fantastic chance if you do not follow up on your job application.
When Should You Follow Up on a Job Application?
Just because you haven’t received a response to a job application doesn’t imply you aren’t qualified for the position. The recruiting manager may have been swamped with resumes, or they may have just forgotten about your application.
If it’s been a week or more since you applied for a job and you haven’t heard back, try calling the hiring manager.
How to Respond to a Job Application
The primary question when following up on a job application is whether you should email or call the hiring manager. This is a tough decision to make because:
Various recruiting supervisors may have different tastes.
- Companies may have various cultures, and your personality may not be suited to one of these options.
- Because the choice is yours, here’s how to do both.
1. Email
Consider sending a follow-up email if you submitted your resume through email. Writing an email has several obvious advantages as well as disadvantages:
Advantages of Email Follow-Up
- The simplest method (because you’ve presumably already contacted the business)
- The quickest method to contact an interviewer and the quickest way to write
- The most dependable method to ensure that your follow-up gets noticed
Disadvantages:
- It may seem that you are not putting in as much effort as you might.
- Interviewers and recruiting managers may see you as casual.
- It is quite easy to ignore errors and submit without thoroughly editing.
Here’s how to send a follow-up email:
- Create a formal topic line: Your subject line should be catchy, professional, and relevant to your message.
- Reintroduce: Reintroduce yourself and ask about your application’s progress.
- Summarise the most important elements from your cover letter and job posting: Reiterate some of the information you’ve already provided. Remember to explain why you’re the greatest match for the job.
- Conclude politely: Request a response from the recruiting manager, even if they decide not to invite you to an interview. You may then cross their business off your list and go on to the next.
Points to Remember:
- Maintain a font size of 10 to 12 points.
- For your resume, choose a professional typeface such as Arial, Times New Roman, or Verdana. Never, ever use Comic Sans.
- Use just black text. Emojis, bright colours, highlighting, and all capitals are inappropriate.
- While minimalism is acceptable, write more than one or two lines.
- In the subject line of your email, be straightforward and clear: explain the objective of the communication. Remember to add your name.
2. Telephone Call
Making a phone call is more aggressive, but being assertive isn’t always a negative thing. Here are the major benefits and drawbacks of making a phone call:
Pros of Phone Call Follow Up
- Your voice may be heard by the interviewer.
- He comes across as straightforward and self-assured.
Cons of Phone Call Follow Up
- It may be uncomfortable, particularly if you are easily agitated.
- The interviewer may not be available.
- It’s tough to determine when and if to call back if they’re not available.
Points to Remember:
- Remember to request the recruiting manager’s name. Do your homework, but if you can’t locate their name, request “the recruiting manager.”
- Be cordial.
- Immediately identify yourself. First, provide your name, followed by your objective (calling to check on an application)
- “Word vomit” should be avoided. You’ll most likely feel nervous and may get tongue-tied. Speak gently and respectfully, and avoid talking over the other person.
- Call at a time that is convenient for you. The ideal times are in the morning and mid-afternoon. Please do not call at 4:59 p.m.
- Make a script if it will help. However, do not read straight from it. Consider it “notes.”
- If the recruiting manager or interviewer is not available, leave a message and do not return calls for at least a day or two.
