Tanisha's Tips: Calling All Hiring Managers, Follow-Up with Candidates ASAP!

So here’s a topic that absolutely rubs me the wrong way. Many of my job-hunting friends and social followers have mentioned that these days interviewing for a new position can require not one, not two, but sometimes three interviews for a candidate to seriously be considered. I guess I can understand that, especially since companies have no wiggle room to go with a candidate who is not deemed “perfect” for the position. That said, sometimes you’re not the perfect one and after doing the telephone interview, filling out the online application, meeting with the day-to-day boss, taking a company tour, presenting a PowerPoint presentation, having a drinky drink with the muckety-mucks (yes, it’s happened… not to me, but I’m just sayin’) and answering questions from the company’s board of directors, you don’t get the job. Okay, life sucks.
 
But what’s worse is jumping through all of these hoops for weeks, sometimes, months on end, only to get to hear CRICKETS from the hiring manager. Whether you’re a hiring manager, an HR specialist, an executive recruiter or the CEO himself, if YOU are the last point of contact between the candidate and the company then you need to FOLLOW-UP, immediately! If you are reading this and you’re a little pissed off by something I’ve said, then GUILTY AS CHARGED. You gain nothing when you don’t let the candidate know of the outcome of a potential job opportunity (stop hedging, if she’s not the one for the job, she won’t be the one when you hire her). And if the answer is a NO, then tell them immediately. It’s really interviewing 101, right? As a career expert, I’m constantly reminding job seekers to follow-up, follow-through and be courteous and gracious.  The all-important thank you note is a tool for job seekers everywhere. Is it too much to ask employees to do the same?
 
I think as hiring managers we can sometimes be forgettable of the fear and sheer terror that job-seekers endure (“I am good enough?” “Did they like me?” “Did I say the right things?”) when they are told that they are in the running only for the emails to stop coming and the phone to go silent. I personally wouldn’t wish that on anyone. If they don’t have the job, tell them and move on.