In a tough job search, getting to an interview in itself can feel like a real achievement.

If you’ve been accountable in your applications, only going for roles where you are a strong fit, these are tangible opportunities to secure employment.

But the interview itself isn’t the be-all and end-all.

It’s better to see them as the start of a conversation, one that’s only complete when you either have an acceptable employment contract in your hand, or if it’s an unequivocal no.

Continuing this conversation in the right way, and in ways other candidates may not think to, can bring both marginal and maximal gains.

Today we’ll look at:

Let me tell you a recent story to set the scene.

A few weeks back I filled a vacancy which had a strong shortlist. The final three were all employable, and the company would have taken all three had they been able to.

The second choice candidate was very disappointed but took it well, with good grace.

I worked hard to give all three a good experience, with regular updates and constructive feedback. I too was genuinely disappointed for the ‘unsuccessful’ candidates.

Two weeks after accepting the offer and returning the signed contract, the first-choice candidate withdrew. She’d received a significantly improved offer having been headhunted.

Within two hours of passing the news on to the hiring team, the 2nd choice candidate was offered and accepted the role.

There’s detail I’m not including here, but the key point is that her behaviour during the process, and how she took the initial ‘no’ contributed to a very easy decision to employ her.

How we treated her during the initial process, and her ‘no’, contributed to an easy decision for her to accept.

It’s reciprocal.

In many ways, an interview is like a sales meeting.

One party pitches their offering, which might be customised against the questions asked.

The other party makes a decision on whether and how to proceed.

In an interview though, this is equally true of a candidate and the employer being the seller, and the other the buyer.

However, this isn’t an equal and proportionate reflection.

As a job seeker, you get the final say on whether you say yes, no or something in between. Your decision is influenced by factors you may not divulge to the employer, such as an unexpected intervention (illness, accident, family), personal circumstances or other offers that may come up.

It’s the same for the employer. They may have a hierarchy of decision-making, changes in the business, and changes outside of the business - many things that can influence an interview decision or time frame, away from what was initially agreed.

In a sales process, we know that a deal isn’t agreed upon until the invoice is paid, so even if there is an initial ‘yes’ in a meeting, we follow up suitably to get closure.

It looks something like this:

However what it actually looks like is predicated on understanding what their sales (hiring) process is, playing to their rules and breaking those same rules in an appropriate way.

You can take those bullet points pretty much word for word in an interview process.

In the UK 61% of private sector employers are SMEs, with the remainder Corporates, although the vast majority of the money is in the corporate space.

The differentiator in recruitment is that the more corporate you get, the more transactional and matrix-led recruitment becomes.

Some of the rules of the game will be different.

This is an oversimplification to highlight how and why things are different depending on the context. Public sector, charities, geography, bias, habit, strategy - everything informs what appears similar process from the jobseeker perspective.

A ‘thank you’ note might be seen as meaningless corporately, other than as a thank you.

Whereas in an SME it might be seen as responsive behaviour that’s a sign of what someone is like to work with.

I’ve seen both scenarios, including where the behaviour in between interviews has contributed to a candidate being appointed, in a tight decision.

Even in corporations, decision-makers always have biases. Just because the company extols ‘systemic best practice’ doesn’t mean those same decision-makers follow the rules in their mind.

Ideally, aim to understand what you are dealing with, to inform the tactics you take.

A caveat on the following points: it’s important not to be cynical or come across as coercive. Be respectful of the process, unless that process is working against you unreasonably.

Most of the employers I partner with are interested in their candidates’ feedback and interest post-interview - to help them reach the right decision for the right reason.

Were you applying directly to them, their interest in your view would be the same.

A naturally written thank you note sent appropriately, will never work against you.

It might work for you, and it’s a situation where someone’s bias can be a benefit.

“Dear Greg,

I wanted to thank you for your time today, and the opportunity to interview at ABC Corp.

It was a pleasure to meet you and Gary, and helpful to understand more about your role and environment. I remain keen and would be delighted to return for the next stage if you are in agreement.

You mentioned you’ll make a decision by the end of next week, and I look forward to hearing from you in due course.

Do let me know if I can help with anything in the meanwhile - my number is ….

Kind regards,”

But it’s also an opportunity to build on, or mitigate, elements in an interview, for instance, if there’s an example you neglected to share, or if you didn’t convey information in the right way.

Maybe they let slip they’d be concerned if the role would keep your interest in the long term - why not own this?

“During the interview, you asked if I could see myself in this role long-term. It’s certainly a role I’d enjoy - taking on a hands-on role I can get stuck into is an exciting challenge, while I think my experience in xxx would be beneficial for yyy”

That kind of thing.

Try and keep it more succinct than my email though!

Write it in your own words, in a similar tone to how you came across in the interview.

Will it make a difference? Only marginally, in some situations.

Is it worth doing, as a natural way to continue the conversation? I think so.

Don’t be disheartened if you don’t get a reply - they may have a visible policy to follow.

And to that coercive point above definitely don’t say

“I’m the best candidate, you’d be a fool to miss out” or something more subtle that might suggest the same.

In an ideal world, you’d get a full view of the interview process before the interview.

However, some employers like to play a game of interview chicken, unveiling more and more interview stages as you go through them.

Most are somewhere in between.

It’s a good idea to try and establish the full process as early as possible, in case there is anything that is non-negotiable for you.

For example, I know some people categorically do not want to do technical tests or ‘business plan’ style presentations, having had their fingers burnt in the past.

It’s your choice what might be a non-negotiable, but for any reasonable employer, these are typically used as means for fair assessment.

I’d treat any interview in the same way as the first interview: prepare as fully as possible and assume nothing.

Unless you know their hierarchy of decision-making, that new person you meet at fourth stage for an informal chat might well be the person with the final say.

Even a social get-together after an offer is put forward might be seen as an assessment.

It’s a careful balance. You want to show you are interested, but not desperate. You need an answer, but not to be inappropriately intrusive - even if that’s not your intent, perception holds weight.

Following up in the right way is a good tactic, in sales and in interviews.

If you can gain an understanding of their time frames or process, work to that.

But anything and everything can happen behind the scenes, including unexpected absences, so things do slip in a way employers may not see as notable.

On the Tuesday after the Friday you were expecting to hear, drop them a polite line.

“Hi Greg,

I wondered if you had any news on how you want to proceed with this role. Is there any news you can share?

Kind regards,”

You can play a bit of keeping up with the Joneses too, if it’s true -

“I remain interested - I do have two interviews this week with other employers. Would you like me to keep you updated?”

Sometimes no news is no news, and if you can afford to be patient do so.

Eventually, you may come to a point where you need a decision from them to facilitate a decision from you on another endeavour - such as if your 2nd choice company gives you a job offer.

A breakup email can be a good thing. This may not prompt a decision from them, or even an answer, but if that’s the case you give yourself agency to walk away with no ‘what ifs?’

And if they do come back later, you can make a separate decision on whether you revisit them.

One such email might be

“Hi Greg,

I enjoyed our interview on May 21st. You mentioned you’d reach a decision the following week. Can I assume you have moved forward with another candidate?

I’ll draw a line through my application for now, however, I’ll be happy to pick up our conversations at a later date if you are still recruiting.

Kind regards,”

Written appropriately there are three outcomes:

That last point may be simply ‘no news’, or something actionable. Sometimes it might even prompt good news.

Whatever the outcome, you can move forward.

Sometimes a no might be a ‘no for now’, especially when you are later on in the process, such as being pipped to the post at final interview.

In many situations that may be the last interaction you’ll have with a company.

However, if yours is a ‘business as usual role’ where there are a number of employees fulfilling similar duties in the same company, you may well be suitable for other roles that come up in future.

How can you keep in touch appropriately so that you help them reach straightforward decisions when another vacancy does come up?

Find reasons to occasionally keep in touch (maybe once every couple of months).

If they are active on LinkedIn, you could follow their content and add constructive comments.

Keeping in touch long-term is about building a networking relationship which you both might benefit.

It may come to nothing, but it may give you early, and even only, sight of a new vacancy.

Of course, if you see another vacancy advertised, check it out. Personally I’d drop them a line directly rather than apply, given you are continuing a conversation, rather than come in cold.

And if they reply to say ‘don’t bother’, at least you know!

That’s the end of this interview series. Anything you’d like me to cover in the next episode?

Regards,

Greg