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3 Post-Interview Mistakes No Job Seeker Should Make

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There are a few post-interview mistakes no job seeker should ever make. However, because people are more apt to discuss what candidates should do during job interviews than after them, job seekers remain unaware of the damaging mistakes they make post-interview.

3 Post-Interview Mistakes No Job Seeker Should Make

We’ve all been told to how to dress, speak, and sit during a job interview. But what about after it’s all said and done? The actions candidates take after interviews heavily influence whether or not a job offer is made. Any job candidate wanting to have an edge in the interview process should avoid these 3 post-interview mistakes:

1) Not staying mentally engaged – So, you just completed an interview and sent a thank you email. You’re done, right? Not exactly. If you really want to get the job, prepare yourself for future interactions with the company. CNN’s Beth Braccio Hering wrote, “Be prepared for additional interviews or follow-up phone calls by continuing to research the organization and the field. Gain new information about a topic brought up in conversation. Think of additional questions you’d like answered.” These steps will help you stay on your game should a hiring manager contact you after an initial interview.

2) Not following up with hiring managers – From start to finish, the process of finding a job is an active one. Don’t become passive after you’ve attended an interview. Instead, keep pursuing your goal of getting hired by sending a personalized thank you email to interviewers. If you don’t hear back from them after a few days, consider sending a follow-up email. Read up on these tips for creating perfect post-interview emails.

3) Not communicating clearly with references – When you asked the references listed on your resume to be your references, how did the conversations go? Did you simply ask each person, “Would you mind if I use you as a job reference?” If so, you made a critical mistake. Biron Clark, writer for Recruiter.com, said, “From now on, don’t just ask people if they will be a reference. Ask them, ‘Are you comfortable giving a positive reference based on what you saw of my work?’ This will eliminate people who would give a bad reference, as well as people who don’t know your work well enough to feel comfortable speaking about it. (This happens a lot, too. The reference will say, ‘Well, he seemed nice enough, but we really didn’t work closely together, and I’m not sure what his job involved.’)” Don’t fear being this frank with potential references. They will respect you for your candidness and may even give you a more favorable report because of it.

There are thousands of pre- and mid-interview tips available on the Web, but many less post-interview tips. Start a conversation about this topic by sharing this article or leaving a comment in the section below.

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