Employment Communication

"After Interview Actions are Crucial"

Never underestimate the importance of following up after an interview. Beth Gilfeather is founder of Seven Step Recruiting in Boston and offers advice that can help seal the deal.

1. Compose an effective thank-you note. E-mails are perfect because they can arrive quickly and are less likely to get lost. But if the potential employer is an old-fashioned type, a handwritten note may be the best choice. Make sure to send a note to each person you spoke with, and send it within 24-36 hours after the interview.

2. Don't overdo the follow through (for assignment purposes, use this step only if it applies to you right now). If you haven't heard anything about the job by the date you were told you would, wait one more week before you send an e-mail. If no date was supplied, send a follow up e-mail one week after the interview. A delay does not always mean disinterest.

3. Keep up your pursuit even if you did not get the job. If you are truly interested in the organization, continue to look for openings by following it on social media.

Discussion: How can you be certain about names, titles, and e-mail addresses of the people with whom you interview? How frequently should you contact a potential employer with e-mails or phone calls? What's the line between being persistent and annoying?

Next:

Assume that you are building/reshaping your personal network after having read the Harvard Business Review's, "How to Build Your Network" article by authors Uzzi Dunlap. Conduct an information interview using the instructions in the above reading. Write a thank you note to the person you interviewed by following the 3 steps in the "After Interview Actions" article above. Try to identify an information broker or superconductor (explained in Uzzi & Dunlap article) and conduct an information interview with her or him. If you are interested in changing your job or advancing, this is a wonderful opportunity. If you aren't interested in these, find someone in a career that you find interesting, explain to your interviewee that you are doing this for a class, and that you need to act as if you are interested in exploring his or her career.

1. The person's name, position and organization

2. Why you chose this person to interview

3. Your interview questions

4. What happened in the interview

5. The names of at least two people you were referred to

6. The person's reaction to your resume

Finally, on your personal letterhead (you can make up an address for privacy concerns), write a post-interview thank you letter (1pg) to the person you interviewed

Summarize your interview in approximately 2 pages and answer this question in your summary: "How frequently should you contact a potential employer with e-mails or phone calls?"

Conduct an information interview and write a thank you note & email to the interviewee.

BACKGROUND READING:
Required Materials
Information Interviews

Informational Interviewing Tutorial. This is the best introduction to information interviews we could find on the web. It tells you everything you need to know to conduct one.

Informational Interviewing Tutorial. Accessed February 17, 2011, at: http://www.quintcareers.com/informational_interviewing.html

How to Build Your Network

This is an eye-opening article about career networking. It introduces some of the key concepts of social networks and shows how they apply to improving your professional network.

Uzzi, B. & Dunlap, S. (2005). How to Build Your Network. Accessed February 17,2011, at:http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/faculty/uzzi/ftp/uzzi's_research_papers/uzzi_dunlap%20hbr.pdf

Case study source: Schiavone, K. (2012, June 24). Foot-in-door syndrome? Los Angeles Times, p. B4.

So you'd like to know more about what I do...

This might be one of the first things said to you in an information interview. Information interviews are incredibly useful tools in a job search.

Network Your Way to Success

Below is a link to a web page from an instructor at California State University Northridge that gives a good introduction to the topic of information interviews and job networking.

Richardson, D. B., (1994). Network Your Way to Success. Accessed from:http://www.csun.edu/~vcecn006/network1.html.

The below readings are used in the case assignment. Use the library instructions above to retrieve articles without a link.

6 Resume Writing Tips for Business School Grads

Jada, A. G. (2012, 6 résumé writing tips for business school grads. U.S.News & World Report, 1. )Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1015365544?accountid=28844. http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/top-business-schools/2012/04/11/6-resume-writing-tips-for-business-school-grads.html

Resumes, applications, and cover letters

Khoo, V. (2012). How to... write winning cover letters and résumés. Charter, 83(5), 44-45. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1023445351?accountid=28844

The below readings are used in the SLP assignment.

Uzzi, B. & Dunlap, S. (2005). How to Build Your Network. Accessed from:http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/faculty/uzzi/ftp/uzzi's_research_papers/uzzi_dunlap%20hbr.pdf

Informational Interviewing Tutorial. Accessed from: http://www.quintcareers.com/informational_interviewing.html