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12C h a p t e r

The Interview
Follow-Up

Sending the interviewer a follow-up letter ensures that you remain in
the forefront of his or her mind. It also positions your candidacy ahead of
the others, who haven’t sent such a letter. Though sending a thank-you
letter is a simple task, the majority of job seekers fall into the “no follow-
up trap,” for the following two reasons:

1. Fear of rejection. Worried that the answer is no, jobseekers often
would rather wait it out than send a letter that will yield a neg-
ative response quicker. Most want to hold on to the hope, to
the possibility of a yes. However, the sooner you know the in-
terviewer’s intentions, whether negative or positive, the better
off you are, since knowing will allow you to focus your efforts
on other opportunities, if need be.

2. Do not want to appear pushy. Most job seekers mistakenly believe
that, if the interviewer is interested, he or she will call. Fur-
thermore, a common misunderstanding is thinking that send-
ing a letter smacks of desperation. On the contrary, the opposite
is true. Following up on the interview demonstrates your un-
wavering enthusiasm for the position. This sentiment leads the
interviewer to take your candidacy more seriously than some-
one else’s.

American Management Association
www.amanet.org