What Questions Should You Be Asking When You Follow Up On The Interview?When you follow up on an interview, you've already been through the interview process and you're now trying to gather information about the status of your application. In truth, you're hoping that your follow up would be the catalyst the interviewers need to realize that you are enthusiastic about the position and just the person they need to fill the spot. To do this, you need to ask the right questions in the right way.
Avoid the Hard Sell
During a follow up, you should be respectful and courteous. This might be a time to highlight what you can offer the company, but it is not the time for a hard sell. Instead, you should use the information you gained during the earlier interview to model appropriate follow up questions or statements.
Important Questions To Ask
During your interview, you likely learned a bit about how the hiring process would be handled. If the interviewer didn't offer the information to you, hopefully you had the initiative to ask what to expect from the process. Use what you learned when phrasing your first question.
What is the status of the hiring process?
When asking the question, show you were paying attention and have appropriate business etiquette by asking the question in the right context. Start by thanking the interviewer again. Then make it clear you remember what she said, "I am very interested in the analyst position we discussed last Tuesday. During the interview you mentioned you'd be narrowing down the candidates this week as part of the hiring process. I was hoping I'd made the cut and wanted to answer any questions you might have about my skills or abilities."
Or, if you have real information, "I was hoping to share some thoughts I'd had about cutting back on the expenses you mentioned in our recent discussion." This is not a time to bluff, however.
What can I expect next?
If you are able to get the interviewer on the phone, you can then follow up a positive response to the first question with a second, "That's great! I was hoping to have another opportunity to speak with you - what should I expect next in the interviewing process?" It can be a bit touchier to include this question in a letter or email as you're not certain you actually made the first cut, but you can alluding to the question in your first inquiry by asking for a follow up interview.
When can I expect information?
If you don't receive a response, don't assume you're out of the game. Simply send a short note to the interviewer or human resources with a generic request for information. "I was excited to discuss my abilities with Mr. Smith (you) in relation to the available analyst position. When will information be available regarding the status of my application?" Politely phrased, it will be hard for the interviewer or HR representative to not at least respond with a one sentence response.
