Followup Email after Phone Interview

A followup email after a phone interview is a very crucial part in finding out whether the employing party is interested in hiring you or not. It is a tense situation of wondering whether you aced it, where a followup is a much-needed step...
Phone interviews are usually conducted by a recruiting company to make things a little quicker in the hiring process, although of course a copy of your resume has to be forwarded to them first. Upon seeing your resume and contact details, the one who is in charge of the hiring in the HR department or someone else delegated to do the hiring, will get in touch with you in that proceeding week itself. Sometimes if you're lucky, they call on the next day itself after you send them an email where you show interest in the position that is now open. Once you get that much-anticipated phone call, it is up to you to make sure that you are ready and collected when it comes to the phone interview. Once you mount that barrier and make it to the other side, it is then entirely up to the company now to decide whether you're the right person for the position or not.

A followup email should ideally be sent a week from the phone call if you haven't heard from the company already. It can be extremely unnerving since a whole week of waiting can really get to you, but then again you can busy yourself with other job interviews, and keep a reminder on getting back to the former company.

How to Write a Followup Email After Phone Interview

Writing the email in a way that doesn't come off as desperate or too forceful is a key when getting back to the company in question. First ask yourself if you were able to pull off the phone interview where you hung up feeling confident and assured. That way, you can tell yourself that you don't have anything to worry about. True that you'll be sitting on the edge of your seat and constantly going back to your messages or cell phone, but you need to be calm and together during this point. So let's focus on how you can write that followup email since companies tend to lose track of applicants and need reminding. Being as busy a time as recruitment can be, you can't blame the hirers for being a little too late on the callback. Here are some pointers to keep in mind while writing your followup email.
  1. Don't project the desperation of your situation in the email, don't make it sound like you have options and that other companies are willing to use you as their prime asset. Some people tend to act a little too defensive and point out how they did the interview so well that they're confused about how the hirer could be so blind to that fact. Being such a hard ass won't work in your favor.
  2. Respect the process and understand how these things tend to take time, and make it apparent in how you write by being understanding in why they couldn't get back (be discreet about it though).
  3. Make it clear how you could really be invaluable to the company, by reminding them of the interview day and date, and resending a second copy of your resume to refresh their memory.
  4. Resumes need to be attention grabbing, so I'm guessing that whatever drew them to call you in the first place, just shows that you did send them a pretty neat resume.
  5. Use salutation in the right manner, and communicate your point across effectively without dodging the main reason you're emailing. You don't have to retell the hirer about your entire list of credentials (they'll have the resume copy to see that).
  6. Before sending the email proofread it to cancel out any mistakes that could jeopardize your chances of getting the job.
Followup Email Sample After Phone Interview

Keeping the above pointers in mind, we now move on to find out how to word out and arrange your content before sending it off to the company.

Followup Email Sample

Email Address Box: (Type in email of the company hirer, followed by your email address to make sure that it has been sent)
Subject Box: (Type in your name followed by "followup on "date (example= 14th March 2011's" phone interview for the post of "mention designation")

Dear Madam/Sir (better to type in their name if you know the spelling. Start female names with 'Madam', and male names with 'Mister')

I am writing in regard to our last conversation, which was the phone interview conducted on the (mention date of phone interview), about my potentiality in joining the organization. I had mentioned in that interview why I would prove to be an idyllic choice for the company, and upon giving you a background of my experience and qualifications, you said you were impressed and would think over the possibility of handing me the job.

Just to give you a little reminder on who I was and what my credentials were when I first emailed you before the interview, I have attached my resume stating all my details. It would be much appreciated if you were to get back to me, since I am looking forward to being a part of the team, and doing all I can to prove that I am deserving.

Yours sincerely,
(Your full name)
(Phone number and address)

After you send the job interview followup email, the waiting process recommences but this time you know that if they don't get back to you, then your chances could be slim. Some companies get back to applicants even if they didn't make it to the post, while others don't respond. Either way keep your fingers crossed, and hope for the best.
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Published: 3/15/2011
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