You interviewed for a job a few days ago, but haven’t heard anything from the company. Now what?
Here’s some guidance for how — and when — to follow up after a job interview.
Preparing for the Job Interview Follow-Up Even Before the Interview
The best time to decide how to follow up is in the interview. Asking about the next steps in the process at the end of the job interview can help provide a lot of clarity for your follow-up actions.
Near the end of the interview, ask the interviewer when you can expect to hear back from them about a hiring decision or the next step in the hiring process. This will help guide your follow up. If the interviewer doesn’t have a specific timeline, ask if it’s okay for you to check in with them. Ask if he or she would prefer you to call or email. And determine a specific date for doing so — usually a week or two at a minimum.
Ask: “Is it okay if I check back with you next Friday if I haven’t heard from you? Would you prefer I call you or send you an email?”
If you do establish a specific follow-up protocol (date and method), make sure you follow it. That can solidify you as an even stronger candidate when you follow up at the time and manner you established you would.
What if you don’t hear back from the interviewer?
If you don’t hear back from the interviewer on the date promised, that’s not unusual. It doesn’t mean you weren’t selected for the role. Often, things come up that can delay the hiring process. Sometimes the company’s priorities for hiring have changed. If the interviewer is also a manager, other job responsibilities can have an impact. Maybe they got sick or had a family emergency. All of these can impact the hiring timeframe — and may not necessarily be communicated to you.
When — and How — to Follow Up:
For situations when there was a definitive schedule provided — but that date has passed — an email follow-up is often the best way to touch base (if you have an email address for the interviewer). Write a short email using this template:
Dear [Interviewer Name],
Thanks again for the opportunity to interview for the [job title] position on [date]. I am still very interested in this role, and look forward to the next step in the process. Please let me know if there is any additional information I can provide — or if you can give me an update on the timeline for filling this position. Thank you.
[Your name]
After sending the email, if you don’t hear back in another 5-7 days, it’s fine to follow up with a phone call. (See the next section for tips on following up by phone.)
Following Up When You Didn’t Establish a Follow-up Schedule With Your Interviewer
What if you didn’t ask the interviewer about the next step(s)? And what if the interviewer didn’t mention a timeframe for making a hiring decision? What then?
The first step is to wait. See if you hear back from the interviewer. How long should you wait? You’ll generally want to wait at least a week. But you won’t want to wait more than 10-14 days before you reach back out to inquire about the status of the hiring decision.
A phone call is usually the best method for following up in situations when a specific date and method has not been established. Even if you don’t reach the interviewer directly, you can usually leave a voice mail message. If you can reach the interviewer’s extension directly, try to reach them directly a few times before you leave a voice mail message. (If you have to talk to someone in order to get transferred to the person, leave a voice mail the first or second time you call.)
Here’s a sample voice mail message you can leave:
“Hi, [interviewer name]. This is [your name], and I interviewed with you for the position of [job title] on [date]. I wanted to reiterate that I’m very interested in this job, and I wanted to be sure you had all the information you needed from me. If there’s anything else I can provide you with to help you make your decision, please let me know. I’d also like to know a timeline for next steps, if you’re able to share that. You can reach me at [your phone number] or [your email address]. Thanks again for the opportunity to be considered for this job.”
If You Reach the Interviewer Directly By Phone
If you’re following up with the interviewer by phone, don’t say, “I’m calling to see if you made a hiring decision.” Instead, remind him or her of who you are, and what job you interviewed for. (This is especially important if the interviewer is in human resources and is likely hiring for several roles at the same time.) Say, “I just wanted to reach out to you and make sure you had everything you needed from me. Do you need anything else from me at this time?”
That makes it easy for the interviewer to say, “No, we have everything we need” (which will be the usual response), but it can lead you into your follow-up questions.
These can include:
• Has the timeframe changed for making a hiring decision?
• Is the next step still (whatever the interviewer had outlined as the next step in the process)
• Am I still a candidate for this job?
• Would it be okay if I checked back in with you? (And be sure to ask when you should do that!)
The key is asking the interviewer when he or she would like you to make contact again. It’s perfectly fine to ask that question — but then make sure you don’t follow up more frequently than you were told.
For example, if you were told to check back in a couple of weeks, wait two weeks before following up.
If the Delay Is After the Second or Third Interview
If you haven’t heard from the interviewer after a second or third interview, it’s possible that the company is checking your references, and this can be a time-consuming process. Or, it’s possible the job was offered to another candidate, and they are waiting on a response. If that candidate turns the role down, it’s possible you will be offered the position. So until you hear a definitive “no” on the opportunity, it’s fine to keep following up.
The longer the process goes on, the less frequently you should reach out. In some cases, the hiring process may take months; in that situation, calling weekly would make you a pest, unless the interviewer has encouraged you to reach out each week. Once every couple of weeks is sufficient. If you’ve followed up three times without a response back, though, it’s probably time to move on.
Tap Your Network to Follow Up
If you’re having a hard time connecting with the interviewer — or the process is taking a lot longer than you were initially told — it might be helpful to get some “inside information” to help you determine the reason for the delay. If you have a contact at the company already, reach out and ask if they know anything about the hiring process for the position.
If you don’t have an existing contact at the company, tap your network of connections to see if you can identify someone who works there. Or use LinkedIn. Search for the company in LinkedIn, and then click on the “People” tab on the company’s business page and it will show you people who work at the company.
You might also check in with your references (if you provided them to the interviewer) to see if they have heard anything from the company.
Keep Applying — and Interviewing
Even while you’re waiting to hear back about this job opportunity, keep your job search going. Focus on the things you can control (applying and interviewing for other opportunities) rather than the things you can’t control (an employer’s hiring timeline).
