Relaunch Your Career

If you don’t hear when you expect to, it is acceptable to make a telephone call to follow up, or send a follow-up email, thanking your contact for the interview and asking if there is any news. If the answer is: ‘not yet’, say that you are still very interested in the post, and you will wait to hear from them. How effusive to be about the organisation and the job while having this conversation depends on your personality and the circumstances, but letting a potential employer know you are keen is never a bad thing.

If you are told that you have not been successful, the most important thing to do is find out why. Try to manage down any feelings of disappointment, and ask whether it would be possible to have some feedback on your interview. It may be that you are asked to call in at another time, or someone may call you back.

Having someone tell you what you did wrong is never a pleasant experience, but genuine feedback is like gold dust – it will add value to your applications going forward, helping you to iron out any issues that might be preventing you getting hired. So believe what you’re being told, take notes, thank the person and learn, learn, learn.