Success comes from taking the initiative and following up… persisting… eloquently expressing the depth of your love. What simple action could you take today to produce a new momentum toward success in your life? Tony Robbins
The success of following up truly begins by doing it. To believe it is not enough. Often follow up is the only way to access the low hanging fruit that has grown as a result of your previous efforts to generate success in some area of your job search. Follow up is that added and often critical piece to increase value to your initial action and to protect the investment of time and effort you have already made. Often job seekers do not participate in follow up activities and realize much lower results and are left wondering why.
The way to create your successful follow up plan is by determining:
Actions? (What did they do for you?) – Creating your own follow up plan begins with considering the people that have been involved with your job search activities. These people typically are your network contacts, information interviewee, receptionist, employer, and your references (referees).
How? (What method will you use?) – The next step is to consider what each one of these people has done for your and/or could potential do for you. Did they provide you with a network lead, advice, interview, coffee meeting, support or service of some kind? If so, an investment has been made and you can leverage this for further success through follow up. Being professional and creative are both assets moving forward.
What? (What will you say?) – What is the next action that you could take to get the best possible result from the interaction with this person? Saying thanks is a good start but really is the open door to increase the value of this action with other things. Is there a way to let them know you took their advice? Is there a referral that you connected with that you can tell them about? Is there a future date that you can inquire about? If there another phase of an interview process that you can potentially be involved in? Is there a way for you to simply engage them again and keep your network fresh? And there is much more…
When? (What is the best time frame for your follow up?) – The timing of follow up is always “sooner than later” or “ASAP” unless there is a certain date, event or an agreed upon time to reconnect. In most cases following up within 24 hours is needed to get the desired response. In the case of interviews, immediate follow up can make you stand out and be remembered as a person of interest.
Truly consider follow up as a value-added addition to your current job search activities. It will help you build a momentum that can lead to more job search success than you thought possible and have likely enjoyed before.
If you need to discuss your specific follow up plan, or want an online appointment for this purpose, just send me an email and I will be happy to assist you.
Russell Garrett