After the interview

Greg Wyatt • June 19, 2024

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:

Thank you notes
Additional interviews
Appropriate follow-ups
Keeping in touch long-term

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:

Follow-up email to confirm details of the conversation and next step. Thank you for your time
Follow up at the appropriate time frame to check progress
If it’s ‘no right now’ follow up over time to build a relationship until they are ready to buy
If it’s ‘no answer’ finding appropriate reasons to follow up, ending in a breakup email

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.

Thank you notes

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.

Additional interviews

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.

Appropriate follow-ups

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:

You get a reply confirming they have appointed
You get no reply and can move on
You get a reply with more information

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.

Keeping in touch long-term

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

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Jump the shark. A Recruitment AiDE, pt 13

By Greg Wyatt • January 29, 2026

May 2023 You’ve heard the phrase, I take it – “jump the shark”? It’s the moment when one surprising or absurd experience can indicate a rapid descent into rubbishness and obscurity. When it’s time to get off the bus. Typically in media. Jumping the Shark comes from an episode of Happy Days in which the Fonz does a water ski jump over a shark. 👈 Aaaaay. 👉 A sign creators have run out of ideas, or can’t be bothered to come up with fresh ones. In movies, sequelitis is a good example of this – an unnecessary sequel done to make some cash, in the hope the audience doesn’t care about its quality. Sometimes they become dead horses to flog, such as the missteps that are any Terminator film after 2. It’s an issue that can lead to consumers abandoning what they were doing, with such a precipitous drop in engagement that the thing itself is then cancelled. Partly because of breaking trust in what was expected to happen next. And because it’s a sign that the disbelief that was temporarily suspended has come crashing down. If you don’t believe that your current poor experience will lead to further, better experiences, why would you bother? Once you’ve had your fingers burnt, how hard is it to find that trust in similar experiences? It doesn’t have to be a single vein of experience for all to be affected. Watch one dodgy superhero movie and how does it whet your appetite for the next? You didn’t see The Eternals? Lucky you. Or how about that time we had really bad service at Café Rouge, a sign of new management that didn’t care, and we never went again? Just me? Did they sauter par-dessus le requin? Here’s the rub – it matters less that these experiences have jumped the shark. It matters more what the experience means for expectation. So it is in candidate experience. It’s not just the experience you provide that tempers expectations – it’s the cumulated experience of other processes that creates an assumption of what might be expected of yours. If you’re starting from a low trust point, what will it take for your process to ‘jump the shark’ and lose, not just an engaged audience, but those brilliant candidates that might only have considered talking to you if their experience hadn’t been off-putting? Not fair, is it, that the experience provided by other poor recruitment processes might affect what people expect of yours? Their experiences aren’t in your control, the experience you provide is. Of my 700 or so calls with exec job seekers, since The Pandemic: Lockdown Pt 1, many described the candidate experience touchpoints that led to them deciding not to proceed with an application. These were calls that were purely about job search strategy, and not people I could place. However, one benefit for me is that they are the Gemba , and I get to hear their direct experiences outside of my recruitment processes. Experiences such as - ‘£Competitive salary’ in an advert or DM, which they know full well means a lowball offer every time, because it happened to them once or twice, or perhaps it was just a LinkedIn post they read. Maybe it isn’t your problem at all, maybe your £competitive is upper 1% - how does their experience inform their assumptions? Or when adverts lend ambiguity to generic words, what meaning do they find, no matter how far from the truth? How the arrogance of a one-sided interview process affects their interest. The apparent narcissism in many outreaches in recruitment (unamazing, isn’t it, that bad outreach can close doors, rather than open them). Those ATS ‘duplicate your CV’ data entry beasts? Fool me once… Instances that are the catalysts for them withdrawing. I’d find myself telling them to look past these experiences, because a poor process can hide a good job. It’s a common theme in my jobseeker posts, such as a recent one offering a counterpoint to the virality that is “COVER LETTERS DON’T M4TT£R agree?” Experiences that may not be meant by the employer, or even thought of as necessarily bad, yet are drivers for decisions and behaviour. I can only appeal to these job seekers through my posts and calls. What about those other jobseekers who I’m not aware of, who’ve only experienced nonsense advice? What about those people who aren’t jobseekers? What about those people who think they love their roles? What about all those great candidates who won’t put up with bad experiences? The more sceptical they are, and the further they are from the need for a new role, the less bullshit they’ll put up with. What happens when an otherwise acceptable process presents something unpalatable? Might this jumping the shark mean they go no further? Every time the experience you provide doesn’t put their needs front and centre or if it’s correlated to their bad experiences…. these can prevent otherwise willing candidates from progressing with your process, whether that’s an advert they don’t apply to, a job they don’t start, or everything in between. Decisions that may stem from false assumptions of what a bad experience will mean. Instead, look to these ‘bad experience’ touchpoints as opportunities to do better: instead of £competitive, either state a salary or a legitimate reason why you can’t disclose salary (e.g. “see below” if limited by a job board field and “we negotiate a fair salary based on the contribution of the successful candidate, and don’t want to limit compensation by a band”) instead of a 1-way interrogation… an interview instead of radio silence when there’s no news - an update to say there’s no update, and ‘How are things with you by the way?’ instead of Apply Now via our Applicant Torture Sadistificator, ‘drop me a line if you have any questions’ or ‘don’t worry if you don’t have an updated CV - we’ll sort that later’. Opportunity from adversity. And why you can look at bad experiences other processes provide as a chance to do better. With the benefit that, if you eliminate poor experience, you'll lose fewer candidates unnecessarily, including those ideal ones you never knew about. Bad experiences are the yin to good experience’s yang and both are key parts of the E that is Experience in the AIDE framework. The good is for next time. Thanks for reading. Regards, Greg

How To Network For A Job - Jobseeker Basics XIV

By Greg Wyatt • January 26, 2026

The following is Chapter 42 in A Career Breakdown Kit (2026) . In a sense it's a microcosm of how any commercial activity can see a better return - which is to put the needs of the person you are appealing to above your own. It feels counterintuitive, especially when you have a burning need, but you can see the problem of NOT doing this simply by looking at 99% of job adverts: We are. We need. We want. What you'll do for us. What you might get in return. Capped off by the classic "don't call us, we'll call you." If you didn't need a job, how would you respond to that kind of advert? In the same vein, if you want networking to pay off, how will your contact's life improve by your contact? What's in it for them? 42 - How to network for a job Who are the two types of people you remember at networking events? For me two types stand out. One will be the instant pitch networker. This might work if you happen to be in need right now of what they have to offer or if mutual selling is your goal. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this but it’s a selling activity pretending to be networking. If you want to sell, go and overtly sell rather than disguise it with subterfuge. Lest we mark your face and avoid you where possible in future. The second is the one who gets to know you, shows interest and tries to add to your experience. You share ideas, and there’s no push to buy something. They believe that through building the relationship when you have a problem they can solve, you’ll think to go to them. It’s a relationship built on reciprocity. One where if you always build something together there is reason to keep in touch. And where the outcome is what you need if the right elements come together: right person, right time, right message, right place, right offering, right price. Job search networking is no different. The purpose of networking in a job search is to build a network where you are seen as a go-to solution should a suitable problem come up. In this case the problem you solve is a vacancy. Either because your active network is recruiting, or because they advocate for you when someone they know is recruiting. It is always a two-way conversation you both benefit from. Knowledge sharing, sounding board, see how you’re doing - because of what the relationship brings to you both. It is not contacting someone only to ask for a job or a recommendation. A one-way conversation that relies on lucky timing. That second approach can be effective as a type of direct sales rather than networking. If you get it wrong it may even work against you. How would you feel if someone asked to network with you, when it became clear they want you to do something for them? You might get lucky and network with someone who is recruiting now - more likely is that you nurture that relationship over time. If your goal is only to ask for help each networking opportunity will have a low chance of success. While if your goal is to nurture a relationship that may produce a lead, you’ll only have constructive outcomes. This makes it sensible to start by building a network with people that already know you: Former direct colleagues and company colleagues Industry leaders and peers Recruiters you have employed or applied through Don’t forget the friends you aren’t in regular touch with - there is no shame in being out of work and it would be a shame if they didn’t think of you when aware of a suitable opening. These people are a priority because they know you, your capability and your approach and trust has already been built. Whereas networking with people you don't know requires helping them come to know and trust you. Networking with people you know is the most overlooked tactic by the exec job seekers I talk to (followed by personal branding). These are the same people who see the hidden jobs market as where their next role is, yet overlook what’s in front of them. If you are looking for a new role on the quiet - networking is a go-to approach that invites proactive contact to you. Networking with people who know people you know, then people in a similar domain, then people outside of this domain - these are in decreasing order of priority. Let's not forget the other type of networking. Talking to fellow job seekers is a great way to share your pain, take a load off your shoulders, bounce ideas off each other, and hold each other accountable. LinkedIn is the perfect platform to find the right people if you haven't kept in touch directly. Whatever you think of LinkedIn, you shouldn’t overlook its nature as a conduit to conversation. It isn’t the conversation itself. Speaking in real life is where networking shines because while you might build a facsimile of a relationship in text, it's no replacement for a fluid conversation. Whether by phone and video calls, real life meetups, business events, seminars, conferences, expos, or in my case - on dog walks and waiting outside of the school gates. Both these last two have led to friends and business for me though the latter hasn’t been available since 2021. Networking isn’t 'What can I get out of it?' Instead, ‘What’s in it for them?’ The difference is the same as those ransom list job adverts compared to the rare one that speaks to you personally. How can you build on this relationship by keeping in touch? Networking is systematic, periodic and iterative: Map out your real life career network. Revisit anyone you’ve ever worked with and where Find them on LinkedIn Get in touch ‘I was thinking about our time at xxx. Perhaps we could reconnect - would be great to catch up’ If they don’t reply, because life can be busy, diarise a follow up What could be of interest to them? A LinkedIn post might be a reason to catch up When you look up your contact’s profile look at the companies they’ve worked at. They worked there for a reason, which may be because of a common capability to you Research these companies. Are there people in relevant roles worth introducing yourself to? Maybe the company looks a fit with your aspirations - worth getting in touch with someone who may be a hiring manager or relevant recruiter? Maybe they aren’t recruiting now. Someone to keep in touch with because of mutual interests. Click on Job on their company page, then "I'm interested" - this helps for many reasons, including flagging your interest as a potential employee Keep iterating your network and find new companies as you look at new contacts. This is one way we map the market in recruitment to headhunt candidates - you can mirror this with your networking The more proactive networking you build into your job search, the luckier you might get. While you might need to nurture a sizeable network and there are no guarantees, think about the other virtues of networking - how does that compare to endless unreplied applications? I often hear from job seekers who found their next role through networking. This includes those who got the job because of their network even though hundreds of applicants were vying for it. While this may be unfair on the applicants sometimes you can make unfair work for you. It can be effective at any level.