It’s past the close date on my application and I haven’t heard anything. Should I chase?

I’ve applied for a job I really would like, but there’s been no word from them and the interview date was scheduled for tomorrow. Should I assume I haven’t got it, or do you think it’s possible there’s been some slippage? Should I chase up, or will that seem rude?

Many applicants worry that, if they chase up applications they will seem pushy or rude. But the truth is, anything can be happening behind the scenes, and your call could be the difference between being the chosen candidate and not.

So long as you are polite and enquiring and sound cheery and positive, you’ll simply seem keen. And keen is good.

Friendly persistence often pays off

Consider these examples:

One client chased up a teaching job back in February this year when the date for interview was fast approaching. Her spur was that the job was located 260 miles from her home, so she needed to know whether to make travel arrangements. She called, emphasised that she was very keen on the role, and asked if they could tell her whether she had been selected for interview, please?

The response from the other end was from a rather frazzled school office manager, who told her that Ofsted had arrived without notice that week to carry out a full school inspection. This opened the door for my client to empathise; to ask how it had gone and to create a rapport with the office manager. She went on to learn that she had, indeed, been selected for the rescheduled interviews. On arriving at the school, she was able to ask for the office manager by name and introduce herself, thus increasing the rapport on interview day. She got the job.

Another client called about a job he really wanted with a major electronics company he had interviewed with some weeks before. On calling, he discovered that the company had just discovered that their chosen candidate had lied on her CV. They had discontinued her application, and they were back to square one. He called just as they were deliberating what to do. He told them he was keen, emphasised that he understood the challenge and could meet it, and said if they offered him the job he could start the next Monday. They hired him.

Expect the unexpectedasking for feedback.

July 2nd, 2010 | Category: application, feedback, stand out | No Comments »

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