Most job seekers aren't sure how to follow up after an interview or submitting an application - not knowing when an employer will call or when to follow up if they don't. Don't miss this important step. Employers often watch how you work on your job search to assess how you’ll work in the job.
Follow these keys to effective follow up:
Follow the "Rule of Three's"– In the first 5 to 7 days after submitting your resume or application, follow up by phone or in person and express interest in the position. If you don’t receive a response within two weeks, try again by email or send a message through LinkedIn. If you still haven’t received a response after a month, consider sending a handwritten note. Continue following up every few weeks to touch base on the progress of the search until the position is filled.
Make the extra effort– Always follow up with a thank you note within 24 hours of any interview. Send an email as well as a handwritten thank you card. The extra effort and the sincere appreciation for their time will speak volumes as to what kind of employee and coworker you will be. Be sure to also let them know you are interested in going to the next step!
Be persistent– Don't get discouraged. If you don't receive a response, don't stop making phone calls. Even if it's uncomfortable, remember to be confident. If you've done your research, the employers you've picked will be lucky to have you. Even if they've chosen another applicant, you may get a job lead for another position with the company by demonstrating your interest and professionalism.
Job seekers often slow down their job search during the holidays and assume employers are not hiring or interviewing. But, according to studies, over one-third of employers expect to add employees during the fourth quarter including over the holiday season.
Here are three reasons why ramping up your job search over the holidays will give you an advantage:
You'll have less competition– While other job seekers are taking time off of their job hunt, you should increase your activity. It will demonstrate your commitment to your future employer, and make it easier on the hiring manager.
Hiring managers are more available – Although holidays can be busy, hiring managers’ calendars are often unscheduled, allowing them time to attend holiday gatherings, clean out files and plan for the new year. Reach out by phone or preferably in person to follow up on your application or schedule an informational interview.
You'll gain momentum for the New Year – While other candidates will just be trying to rekindle their job search, yours will remain strong and your relationships with employers will be primed for start of the year hiring decisions.
The NextJob Team
P.S. Consider seasonal work or volunteer opportunities during the holidays while you continue your job search. You’ll expand your network and gain new experience, knowledge and connections that may lead to a full-time opportunity.
Helping you land your next great job...faster.
Employers can subscribe to our Reemployment Industry Insights mailing list and job seekers can subscribe to our Job Search News & Tips mailing list.
At NextJob we are so thankful for the privilege of working alongside our customers and their employees, helping them back to work. Customers of NextJob, have also helped us with our charitable Job for Job program: for every job search package our customers purchase, we donate a matching gift of our proprietary online job search skills system to someone in need.To reach those in need, we partner with organizations serving people who are homeless, in poverty, disadvantaged, disabled veterans, victims of domestic violence or chronically underemployed. Our mission is to help our partner organizations give a hand up into employment for our neighbors in need.
This holiday season, we thought we’d share two stories from Emergency Care Help Organization, our NextJob partner in Central Florida. ECHO serves residents in crisis with food and clothing and offers access to life-stabilizing programs and resources including our Job for Job reemployment program.
ECHO Director Eleanor Saunders recounted one of the more inspirational stories. “Mark was homeless. He walked four miles to class each week. We received a donated bike and gave it to Mark. He was faithful. After a few months, he landed a job in HVAC with a local company. He has since passed his 90 day probation period with flying colors!”
Another ECHO job seeker offered her story as well:
“I first came to ECHO for GED classes. Then I got more information on how to help my family by me attending Job for Job classes, where I was able to build my resume, practice for interviews and most important they gave me a confidence that wa
s lost somewhere down the line of my life or maybe never really had.
I got to practice different things and started to look at myself in the future with a real JOB and capable of being able to do something in the long term, not just an immediate need to pay a bill right now. I got the feeling of long term success and this was something I never experienced before…I did my interview and got hired with great benefits and most important, now I have the opportunity to help others and give someone else this boost that I much needed in my life.”
- Marlen, Job for Job Client
As we head into a season of giving, we’re thankful for the privilege of partnering with our customers to make a real difference in people's lives and wish you all a very happy holiday season!
John Courtney, President & CEO
P.S.As always, we welcome suggestions of nonprofits that could use our resources to make a difference in the lives of those they serve and we welcome support in spreading the word. Simply contact Dale at dalef@nextjob.com to share your suggestions.
Employers can subscribe to our Reemployment Industry Insights mailing list and job seekers can subscribe to our Job Search News & Tips mailing list.
Despite over five million open jobs, the average job seeker remains unemployed over six months and over one third of unemployment insurance claimants are still exhausting all of their benefits, without landing a job.
This is costly for employers and job seekers alike. The average claim against an employer’s unemployment account is over $5,000 and, for job seekers who are parents, a six-month or greater spell of unemployment nearly tripled the rate of poverty.
Read this month’s Reemployment Insight, “The Six Month Question” to learn more about the 5 factors you should ensure are included in your reemployment support model.
With 2.2 M people still stuck in long term unemployment and another 6 M hoping to get back into the labor force, we all tend to know someone who’s struggling to land a job.
Many of us, especially those of us in jobs that touch workforce topics, such as HR or unemployment, are expected to know something about landing a job; and we often do. But it’s often difficult to know exactly what we can do to help. Fortunately, with the right approach, job seekers can improve their chances of landing a job by nearly 600%.
Read this month’s Reemployment Insight, “Three Ways to Help a Friend Back to Work” to learn more about three of the most effective strategies used to help people land jobs.
At 75 million workers, Millennials are now the largest generation in our workforce. According to studies, they are cause-oriented and more focused on who they work for and why. They’re also socially-driven and highly connected.
For a growing generation of workers, how an employer treats employees at exit matters. In a workforce now dominated by Millennials that are empowered by social media, the implications are stronger than ever, both for the culture of those left behind in a layoff as well as those sizing up an employer’s brand when considering a new job opportunity.
Click here to read this month’s Reemployment Insight, “Breaking Up is Hard” to learn how employers can take matters into their own hands and manage the brand fallout of unemployment over social media.
Over half of college graduates are unemployed six months after graduation and 39% of Unemployment Insurance claimants are considered long-term unemployed having been out of work for more than six months.
Research shows that job seekers receiving the right kind of help can increase their chances of landing a job by six times. What is the right kind of help? Broadly, the right help—according to the research—is teaching a variety of job search skills, providing motivation and encouraging proactivity. In the outplacement world, this can be provided using the right combination of the latest technology and a job coach.
I use the word coach, because a good coach helps people strengthen and sharpen their skills, in this case, job search skills. They fill the job search tool box with important stuff: advice, instructions, motivation, inspiration and direction.
A job coach can be many things to many people, but a good job coach will play the following key roles as part of the team that will help a job seeker land their next job.
Mentor
A good job coach won’t just tell a job seeker how to do something. Instead, they explain why certain processes and actions in their profession are necessary and beneficial to the job seeker’s success. The coach will help identify and provide advice and direction on how best to target professional opportunities. They will also help develop strategies for improving performance in particular areas. This approach helps the job seeker understand not just how to do something, but why they need to do it.
Motivator
For a job seeker to be successful in their job search they need to be motivated about their work history, career direction, skills and ability to move forward. A good job coach will help them identify what they are doing well and assist them in capitalizing on their strengths. At the same time, the coach will point out their weaknesses, or areas in which they need improvement, and help them develop an approach to bettering themselves. The coach needs to build an honest, trusting relationship with each and every job seeker they serve in order to help each job seeker achieve their goals.
Goal-Setter
A good job coach helps chart the course of the job search through goal setting. They help set agendas, develop timetables, plan for the job search, and help the job seeker stay focused and on-track. In addition to meeting with the job seeker on a regular basis to assess progress, the coach will be available on an “as-needed” basis to help evaluate opportunities, plan for interviews and develop networking strategies.
Confidence Builder
A good job coach will recognize and celebrate positive strides and remind the job seeker of the progress they’re making. They will help identify and highlight a job seeker’s strengths in a way that builds confidence.
Everyone has had a great coach in their past. It may have been a parent at home, a sports coach in school, a manager at a summer job who pushed them a bit or a mentor who took them under their wing. These were all coaches in their lives.
A good job coach can help each job seeker learn a critical life skill – job search.
Just another cost of doing business…or a missed opportunity?
This past month, the Department of Education proposed expanded eligibility rules for its Pay As You Earn (PAYE) program which is designed to help relieve the debt burden for close to six million students.
The national unemployment rate has dropped to 5.1%, yet 39% of UI claimants are still “exhausting” their benefits – often at six months which costs employers an average of over $8,000 per claimant.
Some consider these claims a sunk cost, but it doesn’t have to be money down the drain. Research shows that job seekers can improve their likelihood of finding a job by nearly 600% with the right kind of help.
Click here to read this month’s Reemployment Insight, “The Big Unemployment Insurance Write-off” to learn how exhaustee claims and average claims can be reduced by one to two months, saving $1,300 to $2,600 in claimant charges.
This past month, the Department of Education proposed expanded eligibility rules for its Pay As You Earn (PAYE) program which is designed to help relieve the debt burden for close to six million students.
The program basically does two things. First, it gives some students the opportunity to have their remaining student debt forgiven after 20 years. Second, it allows student loan payments to be adjusted to better match a borrower’s discretionary income.
The proposed changes are getting mixed reviews with lots of analysis. What’s mostly missing though is a more rigorous focus on the “real” discretionary income issue.
While overall unemployment rates have come down to a seven year low of 5.3% at the end of June 2015 most know that there is much more to the story. Among the most alarming is that for recent college graduates, the statistics have been pretty bleak, with only 52% employed full time 6 months after graduation.[1] Compounding the problem is the fact that 49% of 2013 and 2014 graduates consider themselves underemployed or in a job that does not require a college degree.[2] These are the real income issues in our student debt problem.
At a time when graduates are struggling to find meaningful and lucrative work using their hard earned education, they are also struggling with large student loan balances hanging over their heads. When a student stays unemployed for their first 9 months after graduating, their lost wage opportunity is an average of $33,000,[3] equal to an average graduate’s entire college debt.[4] But what students appear to be more immediately worried about is will they find work that matches their schooling or their passions.
This really hit home for me when, five days before her graduation, I received a frantic call from my niece. Instead of relishing the joy and excitement of finally achieving her goal of graduating from college, she was in tears. She had worked so hard, but was without a job - at least not one that counted. Continuing to work at the local sub shop did not count for her.
Final exams were behind her and the uncertainty of what came next was overwhelming - where she was going to live, how she would learn to effectively look for a job and whether she would be able to land work in her chosen field. Not once did she mention her student loans, which are significant. She did mention that there were no classes on campus on job search and she and most of her classmates had little understanding of what a career center could or would be able to do to help.
Job search is hard - a job all on its own. The job market is tough, but, with more than 50 million hires a year and employers talking talent shortage, jobs are out there. The key is to equip our students with what should be considered a basic life skill – job search readiness. Researching the job market, networking appropriately with confidence, building a personal brand, crafting an accomplishments-based resume, developing the poise and clarity of thought to handle tough interview questions – these are critical skills that will shape a student’s path through an average of 13 jobs in a career and determine the fit and fruitfulness of the bulk of their weekday activities the rest of their working lives.
Adjusting student loan payments may help alleviate some pain, – let’s face it, a lot of pain – but the root cause of the problem and moment of truth for our students as they embark on this next phase of their lives is how they will learn to choose a career path and gain the skills it takes to land a job that’s right for them.
My niece was one of the lucky ones. This fall, she’ll be a music teacher in a school she loves and has signed the lease on her first apartment as a college graduate. She worked hard at her job search and she had job search help. In the process, she developed a critical life skill. Her question to me: “Why don’t they teach this stuff in school???”
* To learn more, employers are invited to subscribe to our Reemployment Industry Insights mailing list and job seekers are welcome to subscribe to our Job Search News & Tips mailing list.
Our unemployment insurance system was born in 1935 and, in some respects, little has changed. In particular, the work search requirement in most states has remained largely the same – contact a couple of employers each week and let the state know about it, proactively, or in many states, only if asked. But this approach has two major problems.
First, states rely mostly on claimants policing themselves, kind of like asking drivers to self-report when they break the speed limit. The national overpayment rate to those not complying with work search requirements is 4.5% of annual claims, costing employers over $1.5 billion for the year ending June 30, 2014. For context, that’s more than 15 times the cost of one of the Department of Labor’s more effective job search programs (the Reemployment Eligibility Assessment program).
Worse, the federal measure tends to understate what may really be happening. Evidence suggests 4.5% is a gross understatement and that one third or more of claimants are not willing to comply with work search requirements.
The second problem is that the required level of job search activity is low and can take just one hour to complete – that’s less than 1/4th the time the average person watches TV each day (4 hours). This is a low level of encouragement for someone who is unemployed and suddenly has a lot of time on their hands and needs work. Because the average UI claimant’s benefits are about half of their prior pay level, every week of added unemployment is costly in many ways.
Fortunately, there’s a better way – states can now use 100% verifiable work search activities that are equally or more valuable than contacting a couple of employers each week. For example, some states are requiring claimants to take online job search training because claimants rate their training at a C-/D+. States could require other similar online activities, such as inventorying their skills, building a resume and posting it, using online networking, etc.
How can employers help? UI agencies are sensitive to their Work Search Integrity rates. To see your state’s overpayment rates, click here. Then ask your state agency staff about the rate and whether they’ve considered moving to fully verifiable job search activities? Some would suggest they are about 1.5 billion reasons to do so.
Click here for more on this topic including a by the numbers look at the “Odds of Getting Caught”.
