Many candidates worry about the pauses in a search – between when the resume is dropped off and an interview is scheduled, between interviews, between the last interview and an offer decision. How do you know when to check in? It all depends on what you agreed upon at the outset. This is why you want to ask what the employer’s timetable is and with whom exactly you should follow up. That said, if you need to check in more times than you expected to move the search along, by all means check in but focus on deepening your relationship with the other person, not just the job at hand.
Many candidates worry about the pauses in a search – between when the resume is dropped off and an interview is scheduled, between interviews, between the last interview and an offer decision. How do you know when to check in? It all depends on what you agreed upon at the outset. This is why you want to ask what the employer’s timetable is and with whom exactly you should follow up. That said, if you need to check in more times than you expected to move the search along, by all means check in but focus on deepening your relationship with the other person, not just the job at hand.
Don’t make every communication a check-in about your job search. Turn the tables, and focus on helping your contacts. Give freely. It takes the pressure off of making the perfect pitch (you’re no longer pitching!). Yet, it yields enormous benefits of keeping yourself out there and building a reputation as someone who is helpful and motivated.
Is Your Job Search Flexible or Just Unfocused?
As a recruiter, I’ve seen lack of flexibility on the recruiting side with employers clinging to every last detail in their ideal spec while perfectly good candidates get overlooked. As a career coach, I see jobseekers prematurely dismissing possible targets waiting for that perfect job. It’s true that you want to be focused in your job search (otherwise you dilute your efforts and come across as scattered and possibly desperate).
5 Questions to Test If Your Resume Is Recruiter-Proof
After recruiting in search and in-house for over ten years, I have read thousands of resumes. Due to sheer volume of resumes received and all the other things that vie for the recruiter’s attention in the hiring process – scheduling, interviewing, networking, reference checks, client debriefs, and more – the resume review process is ruthlessly quick.
Why Conventional Wisdom On Work Flexibility Is Always Wrong
In a previous post, I wrote about why employment statistics are always wrong. In a similar way, conventional wisdom on work flexibility is always wrong. It is impossible to generalize something that is inherently case-by-individual case. Therefore, any boilerplate advice or conventional wisdom is bound to omit a key consideration, underweight or overemphasize other considerations, or take too long-term or short-term of a view.
