So many times I am asked about ‘how to follow up’ and what is the best, most appropriate way to do it without seeming pushy.  How can I follow up without presenting myself as overconfident, not being aggressive, excessive or presumptuous?  As simple as it may appear from the outside looking in, it is not always that easy to do the follow up.

Maybe you applied for a job and you receive nothing but dead air. Naturally you wonder what’s the status.  How can I find out? It creates so much anxiety, as waiting is always difficult. Perhaps you applied and they scheduled you for a first round interview. You felt it went well, they said they would decide in a few weeks. Your job after that interview is to FOLLOW UP with a thank you and then you wait and wait and wait. And then, they call for round two!!!! Awesome and now you are deep into the process. Round 2 goes well and you are feeling like you are about to land something really big and then you wait and wait and wait. So how do you manage this follow up without appearing desperate, excessive and possibly disengage the hiring manager? There is no defined line or threshold between being PROACTIVE and a pain in the butt so what can you do?

You do the right thing – You FOLLOW UP. You have to do it. You keep it tight and concise, but you let them know you are INTERESTED and want to continue the conversation. If you don’t know, you have to ask. Be mindful not to overstep and inquire too often, but following up is a must do and if you don’t the interpretation on the other side is that you are not interested or you don’t understand protocol and they might just move on to another candidate. When you have meaningful activity for a job, an interview, a networking event, a job fair – You become your own PR agent and you FOLLOW UP.

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