How to follow up a job application

If you’ve followed our previous advice on making a career move, hopefully you’ve had plenty of responses from potential employers. But sometimes companies take a little longer to get back to you after you’ve applied. If you think a reasonable amount of time has passed, here are some tips for following up a job application from FlexJobs.

Use your connections
Do you know anybody who works at the company, or do your friends know somebody? Find any contacts that might be able to put in a good word for you so your CV doesn’t get lost in the ether.

Use social media
A lot of companies utilise social media when looking for candidates, so be sure to accompany your job application with a “like” on Facebook, and follow their Twitter feed. If there’s any way for you to respond to their posts or get involved with the community, be sure to do so to show your enthusiasm for the brand.

Call
FlexJobs recommends waiting two weeks to make a phone call to follow up a job application. If you’re not sure who to call, ask for the HR department or a hiring manager. Simply say that you submitted your CV and you want to make sure they received it. No luck on the phone? Try to find an appropriate email address and send a quick message, but follow it up with another call a few days later.

Stretch the truth
Don’t be afraid to lie a little about your prospects. Send the company an email saying you’ve been offered another job but you’d prefer to work with them. Give them a date in the near future that you must respond to the other company. If they’re really interested but haven’t got around to contacting you, hopefully this added pressure will spur them into action.

Keep applying
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Just because you’ve applied for your dream job and your following up on your job application doesn’t mean you can stop applying for other roles. Keep sending your CV while you’re waiting so you haven’t wasted any time if they don’t get back to you.

Read the original article at bit.ly/2bRxf3m