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:

  1. Thank you notes

  2. Additional interviews

  3. Appropriate follow-ups

  4. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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

Tone deaf - No problem, pt 6

By Greg Wyatt • November 5, 2026
It's interesting revisiting this article from 3 years ago, especially now AI products are more embedded in market. If anything my view on AI is more polarised, bringing many new opportunites, brand new problems, as well as the existential angst many are talking about. For me, codifying my experience with AI tools means I can help more people, while freeing up my time to do more human work. It's certainly helped with job seeker support, and increasingly so in my recruitment work. Mainly it's giving me more time to talk to people, and when homogenous AI applications at scale are one new problem, as well as the increasing threat of deep fake interviews, in person conversations might be a necessary exnovation (just googled that - what a great word that I will now abuse at scale). While the article below has dated somewhat, I think the threat it assesses has never been more pertinent. I've said for some time that AI might be the death of knowledge and judgement, even so far as 'meaning', something that this recent research also indicates . Importantly the research doesn't say the recommendations were wrong, just how they were followed. Read that article and think about how AI recommendations on applications relate. I've certainly found them more problematic, so far, than the old school ATS style ranking and filtering - because of the false confidence they convey, especially when dealing with non-traditional applications. Things may improve, or so is promised. And while words might be the first facility of LLM, they are still the core facility, given all it does is determine the most probable answer in its outputs (I know I'm being reductive, some of the developments from AI are amazing). Whereas words should be the consequence of thoughts, lead to the development of thought, and distil ideas in a way you can act on. Much like job adverts should be the consequence of effective job analysis, rather than a polished word that lacks meaning. The greatest risk for me in recruitment isn't so much the answers AI offers, but that we become so reliant we forget to ask better questions. I've edited down the previous article, but if you're curious, you can see it here . September 2023 I’d commented about my hearing on a social media post on deafness. ‘Have you looked into these hearing aids - they’re designed to overcome head shadow’, came the impromptu reply from a hearing aid specialist. Head shadow? Not a phrase I’d heard before, despite having no hearing on one side, which effectively creates a sound-free shadow to my right. See, when I had mumps at 18 months it killed the vestibulocochlear nerve in my right ear and damaged the one on the left. But it was my balance that showed the nursery assistants that something was wrong - I kept falling over for no reason. I expect they thought my slow response was normal naughty-boyness. Balance, intermittently poor audio processing, energy required to maintain attention in noisy environments and that bloody tinnitus - all these issues are far more annoying than not being able to hear in one ear. That and not being able to tell where sounds come from. “Over here, Greg!” is the most useless call on a football pitch. And the head shadow thing? Well, it’s never been an issue - I just turn my head when in conversation. It might look like I’m turning to kiss you, but it’s just a conversation I want honest. Sure I miss out on certain audio cues, but it’s rarely an issue. Anyway, curious as I am I looked into the £4,000 hearing aid that solves head shadow by placing a microphone on the deaf ear and projecting it into the the good ear. Quite the brute force tech solution and one I’m sure some benefit from. But the key issue is one of reverb. While the product is good, it would impact the quality of sound in my good ear, which seems a pointless trade-off for me, when my process of life is more effective than shiny tech. It’s ironic that I consider myself highly excitable when it comes to technology developments, yet I’m never an early adopter. Because I always ask myself, other than giddiness, what problems does this solve and how will it enhance my life. And so it is for AI in recruitment, and the shininess of tech in general. They are positioned as solving problems, and indeed they do, but in many cases, it’s the wrong problem that detracts us from the real opportunities for better processes. Simpler administration, speed and scale are clear benefits. And some of these AI-branded automations are excellent. The Star Trek-style auto-translator makes me giddy. As does the sales bot conversation-as-a-human sales video that’s doing the rounds. But AI for writing? What problem does that solve? For me, it depends on what you consider sales to be. Is sales pitching a generic message and hoping someone will bite? Or is sales laying out the facts so that the right person can reach an objective decision? A decision which might mean getting in touch, or changing their view on what needs recruiting. For the former AI writing seems to solve a problem. The words are certainly better, but the message is even worse. Yes: prompting. But if you can prompt the right message, why aren’t you just writing it, so that you embed that knowledge for use across other mediums - conversations, meetings and so on? While AI writing does not meet the requirements for the second type of sales. You can only do this by establishing the right facts from a briefing, consultation or interview. Then interpret this with meaning to the right people so that it creates the right impact. Sales as data visualisation, if you will. And if AI doesn’t work for sales in this way, why would it work for content or marketing? I think the answer depends on whether you value contextual insight or not. Until AI is better at asking questions that create meaningful conversation, it’s a non-starter for me. I say until because this hesitation will be moot in the next year or so. Because it isn’t what AI is now that’s the opportunity - it’s what’s coming soon. I can’t wait to see what’s next. Until then, AI, for writing, is a question of in one ear and out of the other. Which, if you’re deaf in the one, is quite the problem. Go learn copywriting instead, and listen to how it transforms your approach to recruitment. Then layer tech on top, when it’s ready. Thanks for reading. Regards, Greg p.s. If you like good recruitment and you need help with it in the UK, drop me a line. DM on LinkedIn, email greg.wyatt@bwrecruitment.co.uk , whichever you prefer.

On job offers

By Greg Wyatt • November 4, 2026
If you ever thought 'outcome-led' was a pretentious headline for a recruiter, it's also how you should think about your job search. Welcome to the 50th edition of Jobseeker Basics. As well as sharing advice that - hopefully - helps you navigate our mercurial jobs market more easily, there's always been a separate utility to these newsletters. I use them to update chapters in A Career Breakdown Kit , so that I can ensure it is always as current as possible. People who've bought the Kindle edition will get an automatic update when the 2027 edition is released in January/February. Paperback owners are invited to contact me for a free digital update. For this newsletter, I've tightened some of the language around accepting job offers - pretty boring update, but maybe necessary for fringe cases. I often talk about outcome-led recruitment. While it might sound pretentious there's a simple reason, which underpins everything I do. Begin with the ending, work back and find the right path. In recruitment this means flashing forward 12 months. What did a successful hire look like? What problems did they solve? What separated excellent from good from adequate from inadequate? What were the outcomes you needed for it to have been a successful hire? Nail these points down and you work backwards. What good actually looks like in viable candidate profiles. What needs to be communicated to them to encourage them to take a step forwards. How we find them - whether in a headhunt, an advert, networking or other. I also talk a lot about why a job search should be the inverse of how that vacancy might be filled. And so it is that the outcome you want in your job search should inform your strategy to find that job. Ironically, On Job Offers is Chapter 31 in A Career Breakdown Kit, slap bang in the middle of the book on page 162. With good reason, given you may find yourself needing to look for work again in future, sometimes by choice and sometimes by the other. All the more reason to have a strategy you can replicate and improve on, time and time again: 31 - On job offers At some point you’re going to get a job offer. It’s helpful to be clear on what this should look like at the start of your job search. Because, if you don’t know your destination, how can you be sure which path to take? Here are the main points to consider. Identity At the start of any job search, remind yourself of your career identity. This may be at the point of an unexpected redundancy, when you’ve decided your current job is no longer right, or if a recruiter contacts you out of the blue with a compelling proposition. Try this once a year, even when gainfully employed, because it’s easy for the path of employment to diverge from where you want your career to go. What is your current context, personally, with family, in life? What do you need and how does work reflect this? What are your core values? The ones that underpin who you are and who you want to see in the mirror. How does work reflect this? What are the things you enjoy, are neutral about, or dislike in your career? What does this look like in your current job? How has your employer changed in the past year? How has the world changed? How does this reflect you as a person? Who do you want to be as a person, family member, friend and peer? What impact do you want to make? How much do you need to earn and by when? These answers aren’t fixed and can change quickly with a change in circumstance, as you change over time, or for reasons out of your control. Clarify what you want and what you need, and therefore what this looks like in your next job. This identity informs your job search strategy, part of which is the roles you go for, part of which is the approach you take, and part of which is what an acceptable job offer is. Total compensation & opportunity cost It's common to see salary as the most important factor in a job offer negotiation. It's better to look at negotiating total compensation and opportunity cost. Total compensation is the overall financial value of a role. It includes: Salary Pension contribution Bonus Commission Car allowance RSUs Some benefits are salary sacrificed or tax efficient - their value goes beyond what they appear on paper. A great pension scheme will save you 20% or 40% on tax payments in the UK across the salary invested. It might even, at a higher salary level, improve access to child benefits. On the other hand, opportunity cost is the consequence of taking an offer, compared to what you might have if you stayed. For example: Moving to a three-day hybrid, compared to full remote. What's the cost of mileage or time commuting? What's the cost of heating your home when fully remote? Or - a role that offers more money now, with no progression in future. Compared to a role that pays less now, and will leapfrog in future, while giving you skills that support career growth. Are these contractual and likely to happen, or are they empty promises? Look for evidence such as a track record with other employees. It's entirely possible to accept an offer with a higher salary and find yourself worse off with take home pay. Establish all the financial implications of an offer. Impact Impact goes both ways. The impact you can have in your new role, and the impact your new role will have on you. A high paying job that takes you away from a young family might be a solution or a problem. A brilliant job that’s an unsustainable commute won’t work long term. Does that matter to you? A well paid job that gives you a good balance at home yet will only be a cog in a machine - a dream for some, unfulfilling for others. Impact also includes trajectory. Are you someone who wants to do the same job over time, in a structured way? Someone who wants regular advancement and career development? Both, and others are fine. Make sure you know what you are getting yourself into. Culture & People It’s at least partly true that people leave bosses, not jobs. While decent people can become bad bosses for various reasons, some of which relate to the environment they manage within. The problem is that people are on their best behaviour in interview processes, while culture as it’s pitched doesn’t always reflect the culture experienced. The interview process should be there for you to gather facts as much as possible. Do your research to get a sense of a company’s values, principles, how it treats its people, and all those other elements that will affect a career with them. This is research to be done at interview stage or before. Ikigai (with a little i) A wonderful Japanese concept. In its original form it means ‘what you get out of bed for’ or ‘those small moments we take pleasure in.’ Rather than the westernised Venn Purpose Diagram many are familiar with as Ikigai (with a big I). If you ask people in Japan what they think of Ikigai they may well say something along the lines of ‘huuunnhh?’ ikigai is a helpful principle when considering a job offer. It’s those qualities unique to you (often defined by your career identity) that you take pleasure in, while others around you may not get it. Sometimes this is gut instinct. Important to listen to, important to challenge. It’s at least part of your decision in a job offer. Even if everything else might be just alright, ikigai in your offered job might be good reason to take it. Or it might be the company’s purpose and what they are doing to improve the world. ikigai is unique to you and it makes everything better if you can find it. Those are the key points to look at if given a job offer. There’s no right or wrong, only right for you and the people you support. Negotiating salary There are a lot of moving parts in any salary negotiation, both at your end and with the employer. There are two main elements. The first is your place in the market - do what you can to find the range of fair pay available to you right now. The second is compensation philosophy - how do companies reach an offer? Both come down to asking questions and research. Assume nothing. I would err on the side of boldness in a salary negotiation. At final interview stage, I’d ask for the top end, based on what I’ve learnt - if they see me as the best candidate, why wouldn’t I? If they offer a little lower than I expect, I’d be positive about it and ask what else they can do to improve their offer. It’s unlikely you’ll lose out on an offer by being clear and respectful. If you want to drill deep into negotiations, I recommend reading Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss. His advice on deep listening, calibrated questions and price anchors are directly relevant to salary negotiation. Negotiating is highly contextual, so you should be careful if following opinion-led advice on what works for that individual. After the offer As with a salary negotiation, the post offer process and run up to employment is different from employer to employer. You can indicate that you're happy to proceed and ask the employer to issue the formal paperwork. Be aware that accepting an offer, even verbally, can create a legally binding contract. If you're not ready to commit, make that clear and reserve your formal acceptance until you've reviewed the written terms. In practice, the legal risk of withdrawing before starting is generally low. Most employers will have little commercial interest in pursuing someone who no longer wishes to join, particularly where they have suffered no demonstrable loss. However, contractual obligations and reputational consequences are worth considering. Treat the Offer Letter as a formal proof of your new employer’s offer of employment. If something isn’t right with the Letter, ask the employer for clarification. Once you've accepted the offer, signed and returned the letter, and any conditions have been satisfied, you can resign and agree a start date with your new employer. Aim to understand their onboarding process. Is there anything helpful you can do before your start date? Make sure you know when, where and any arrival instructions for your first day. As for your wider job search - you should withdraw from other applications when you formally accept an offer. It’s your choice whether you keep your cards close to your chest, accepting a suitable offer with the prospect of something better coming up. You can cross that bridge if you come to it. While this is not something I recommend, a tough job search is as good a time as any to look after number one.