Interview Follow-up

Asking how you went is very presumptuous, and the majority of the time you’ll be met with a dismissive statement. A much better way to phrase this is some hint close to “From all I can see, I’d really like to work here, and I believe I can be a great addition to your team. What’s the next step in the selection process?”

It is highly advisable to never speak of salary with the prospective employers. The recruitment agent negotiates salary packages on a daily basis and is going to be much better informed about what potential salary packages may be on offer. A statement along the lines “I’m really here to speak more of my experience and what I can bring to the organisation. If we’re both interested in continuing to the next stage I believe the guys at [Recruitment Company] are aware of my requirements and I’m more than happy for them to deal with this side of things.” is a very good way of making sure you secure the best possible salary package. If you applied directly; “I can send through the full breakdown of my salary requirements if you need them.”

The next step is to contact the recruitment consultant with whom you’ve been dealing and give them an honest appraisal of the interview. Be as detailed in your re-telling as possible, as this can provide the recruitment consultant with information that may be useful to negotiate your formal offer or securing the next interview for you. Make sure you give an accurate description of interest in the position. The consultant may have an alternative in mind if this job’s not for you, or if you are set on landing the position, they may have enough input into the process to push you through to the next round of interviews or even land a formal offer for you.

For executive roles, though it’s becoming more pervasive, it can be a good idea to email your feedback through to the recruitment consultant on your interview with the prospective employer. This can then be forwarded to the prospective employer if pertinent to their decision making process. We should note here too, that it is never advisable to contact the company directly unless specifically asked too, and even then you should always let the recruitment consultant know the nature of the request. Complications can occur if communications break-down or an email is misunderstood. A good recruiter is there as a broker to make sure that everything is clear and without ambiguity – use this service.