Your Complete Post-Interview Checklist - Career Advice Blog for Millennials

Your Complete Post-Interview Checklist - Career Advice Blog for Millennials You wore your favorite interview outfit, answered their questions with humor and grace and shined the whole way through the process. You step out the doors of your future employer with a big smile and nearly leap for joy at how well you aced the whole thing, but the receptionist is still watching you. So, you save the excitement for the ride home and the drinks after with friends to celebrate. You know you havent got the job yet, but it feels like it. Use that feeling to motivate you as you complete this 12-point post-interview checklist. 1. Scream Heck Yes! in the Car Go ahead and let it out. You deserve it. Job well done! Now, put on your seatbelt. 2. Eat Your Favorite Meal The day was a whirlwind. Did you eat anything? Take time to reward yourself with nourishment, and eat your favorite meal. Cook yourself a dinner or call up friends to celebrate at your favorite restaurant. At least get a snack or stop for a slice of cheesecake. Splurge on your favorite artisan cheese and crackers. 3. Make Notes of the Interview How did the flow of the day go? Did you or the interviewer make a reference or recommendation you should write down? Did you find any mutual interests or goals? Aside from the interview itself, makes notes about the work culture, resources, coffee supplies, office layout and other items of your interest. You still need to weigh the pros and cons and let the whole day sink in, so the notes will help. The details you write down will also help you write your thank you notes and make follow-ups. 4. Reflect on Why Youre Excited While you still have your pen, write about why youre excited about this opportunity. What are you thinking? Does this role give you a chance to grow your career or travel? Do you get to help people on the front lines instead of hiding away in a basement? Do you feel like youll actually be valued instead of seen as a cog in a machine? Find your reason, and use that to guide the tone of your thank you notes. 5. Send Your Thank You Notes You released all that extra energy and wrote down details about your interview experience, reflecting on why youre excited. Your thank you notes will keep you on the radar and make you stand out. Only 20 percent of interviewers mail a thank you card, but if you do, you will get their attention. Send an email and a thank you card to quickly reach the decisionmakers if the turnaround time is swift. Write out a draft or two without putting in the full details of the recipients before you hit send or seal the envelope. Mention the name of the position. Thank them for the interview in the first paragraph, noting anything special. In the second paragraph, get specific and highlight your favorite and best moments. If you connected on a topic, address that. Keep your note short, sweet and specific. 6. Follow Up Do you want to spend the next few weeks waiting and waiting and waiting some more? If a weeks passed, take a more proactive approach and follow up. If you send your card after a week, wait another week to check in. Many companies reasonably decide within two weeks or so after interviews. Interviewers know the follow-up is a part of the process. Did they give you an estimated decision timeframe? Use this as your guide, and send your follow-up near this time but not right after your interview. Do it in the form of a check-in as a phone call or email to your contact: Hi Anne, I hope everything is well on your end. You mentioned the decision for the junior marketing position would be made by the end of the week. Im excited to hear more once you have an update. Let me know if I may provide anything to assist in the decision-making process. Forgot to ask a question during the interview? Use this as your opening to initiate the follow-up, but keep the questions specific and succinct. Hold off on salary and benefits questions until you get approached by the company with the details of the decision. 7. Add New Contacts to Your Network In your follow-up, you may also add an area where you ask if you may connect on Twitter or LinkedIn. In many cases, its perfectly acceptable to click those Follow buttons a few days after the interview. Add your LinkedIn and other professional social media to your email signature. Make sure your profiles are clean of personal information first. Think of the person and not the role when you add another professional to your network. Genuine connections beget a more rewarding network and professional relationship, so engage with their updates online and offer help where possible. You likely gathered several business cards during the interview and company tour. Connect with those individuals around the time you follow up or at any point afterward. Make your emails personal to your connection at the time and follow a similar structure to the thank you note email suggestions for structure. 8. Arrange a Coffee Meeting With a Mentor You may feel out of sorts about what this prospective move will do for your career, how to follow up or deal with the process of waiting. Arrange a coffee meeting with your mentor to share your concerns, reconnect and come away with tips for keeping your head clear and in the job search game. Treat your mentor to a coffee and scone for all their help and encouragement. Ask how you can assist them in return. 9. Follow Through on Interviewer Recommendations During the interview, you may connect with others on a particular topic and get recommendations to check out a book, podcast or speaker. Now is the time to make good on that. Head to the bookstore to pick up the book. Listen to the podcast while you work out. This gives you more information to connect at a later date and builds your resources for your career. 10. Listen to TED Talks to Stay Motivated Feeling like you dont have what it takes on paper? Listen to Regina Hartley talk about how the perfect candidate may not have the perfect resume or Stefan Sagmeister discuss the importance of time off for happiness and productivity. You need a reminder that you bring unique talent to the table and the importance of nurturing that and yourself. 11. Maintain Personal Routines and Self-Care Waiting for the decision may affect your normal routines that maintain your health and happiness. If out of a job, your savings may look low. If you feel stuck in your career, you may wonder when it will take off, if ever. Maintaining your routines keeps you focused on the day to day, and the waiting wont feel so long. Fill your plate with leafy greens and less stress. Go to bed early for your eight hours of sleep and shut off your phone. Meet a friend for dinner, and practice small acts of self-care. 12. Keep the Search Going Yes, you had a great interview â€" but the decision isnt final yet. So many opportunities exist in the world. Keep yourself open to them. Reflect on your resume and interview tactics. Go to other interviews. Network and attend conferences. Keep the search going until you find what youre looking for. The wait for a decision may feel like it takes forever, but you can use your postinterview time wisely to build your network, reconnect with a mentor, and reflect on your job search strategies and progress. Remember to take time for yourself. Subscribe to Punched Clocks for more on getting ahead in your career and life. Keep the conversation going by commenting and sharing. Get everything you need to build a career you love by signing up for the newsletter.

Choosing Good Resume Writing & Linkedin Seo Get Recruiters to Pursue You

Choosing Good Resume Writing & Linkedin Seo Get Recruiters to Pursue You Ideas, Formulas and Shortcuts for Resume Writing & Linkedin Seo Get Recruiters to Pursue You LinkedIn allows 2000 characters in every single profile section, but that doesn't indicate you should use all them! LinkedIn makes it simple to attach with people that you know by importing your contact lists from websites such as Gmail. LinkedIn makes it simple to locate and follow companies. Luckily LinkedIn permits you to have many unique sections inside your profile and therefore you may spread them out over your profile. So once you finish your profile, be certain you include things like the industry buzzwords utilized in your field, and sprinkle them throughout. Also, recruiters are essentially cattle herders. Follow businesses in your industry, especially the ones that you're applying to. You wish to stick out from competing job seekers. You will learn how to create high excellent profile and l ocate the new job you desire. Great if you're trying to find a new job or only need a career upgrade. If you're actively looking for a new job, it is not the worst idea. Do an Advanced Search to determine professional groups in your region and get involved. Therefore, if you discover another LinkedIn user whose Experience section appears tailor-made for you, you are going to want to use caution in borrowing it, as doing so can result in a plagiarism case. Finding jobs as an SEO Associate and the remainder of the nation may be a hard and long practice. When used strategically, LinkedIn can be an effective tool to assist you advance your career. A properly executed social media profile on LinkedIn is a significant job-search tool which increases your visibility, but it doesn't guarantee that you'll be observed, or seen by the folks with the authority and the urge to employ a professional like you. To assist you in finding the best ways to learn LinkedIn marketing online, we have located the Best Courses about the topic. Technology has changed every part of recruitment. The Honest to Goodness Truth on Resume Writing & Linkedin Seo Get Recruiters to Pursue You Before you commence writing or updating your profile, you should prepare a list of words which are related to your career. It's crucial to have a whole Headline that clearly defines your specialties and the types of problems you solve. Doing a search for your college or university is an excellent way to contact alumni who went to the identical school as you. Just read his reviews and you'll observe that enrolling in Lance's courses are the very best usage of your time.

How My ADD Actually Helped My Career - Work It Daily

How My ADD Actually Helped My Career - Work It Daily Today, I’m home with the flu, which I haven’t had for some 20 years. I suppose most of us know the feeling when life gets in the way and messes with our plans. Well, this has caused me to reflect a bit about how I came to be where I am today, and why I feel so passionate about Career ADD and speaking out for those of us who are suffering with these afflictions. There is a wonderful site that I often refer to, www.adderworld.com. I want to encourage you to check it out. It may help give you a voice and/or become aware of tools available for diagnosed or undiagnosed ADD/ADHD. So, the part of my story I want to share with you is a very dark time in my life after leaving KidzArt, the company I founded, which continues as an international art franchise today in 11 countries and 29 states. At the time, I left, I was longing to return to career counseling. This is the work I have always loved and I don’t foresee that changing any time soon. I was then locked into a semi-corporate structure â€" one that never suited me and, because it was my “baby,” I felt compelled to make a go of it for myself. The truth is, I was seriously burning out. I was unhappy â€" miserable in fact. I did not wake up looking forward to the days’ challenges as I had in the beginning. When the company was formed, we really had no clue how to successfully form a franchise system. It was a combination of luck and tenacity that kept us going, but at the expense of leaving a negative mark on the folks I worked with due to my ADD. At the time, I was undiagnosed. I had no clue why I felt different (as I had my entire life) and why others didn’t get what I was trying to accomplish. After all, I was the one who brought pretty much everyone into the company and had taken steps to develop the concept. Had it not been for ADD, I doubt that KidzArt would exist today. It’s called “hyper-focus” â€" something we do when we are truly engaged. Of course, that is the good news. Deep down, I felt that how I envisioned the “big picture” (an ADD characteristic) was what needed to be done to make us successful. Sometimes, it almost felt like having “psychic” abilities, but trying to fit in with “normal” folks can be a challenge, to say the least. I don’t know how things would have changed had I known or been diagnosed, but frankly my leaving was the best thing that could happened. Perhaps I would have left sooner. It was not on good terms. I lost friendships, trust, and confidence. Not pretty. Our administrative assistant was a very organized and almost “anal” personality, and as you can imagine, we clashed on almost every level. Details? What details? Organized? Not! A few months before leaving KidzArt, I got divorced and became a newly single mom. In addition, the company took a nosedive due to the recession. Our salaries were cut in half â€" not good in my situation. I became fearful and negative, and dreaded our Wednesday afternoon staff meetings. Each month, I was going deeper and deeper in the red with no back up. I wanted out of the torture that I spent so many years creating. Life happened. So financially, emotionally, and physically, I had bottomed out. Once I was diagnosed, I began to check myself with other people. While it’s not perfect, I am living a much less stressful life and doing more of what I enjoy. With my skills and background in career counseling, coupled with my knowledge of how ADD can take a tremendous toll on our lives, I have set out to bring Career ADD to the forefront. Not only can I relate to it personally, but it brings out the best in me. For me it’s about: Having a purpose that helps me stay on track. Continuously seeking tools to manage my ADD. Having the support I need and understanding to move forward and succeed by doing the things I love to do in my work. Telling my story. Sharing my insights. Keeping my eye on my Big Goal and taking small actions to reach it. What's your story? Photo Credit: Shutterstock Have you joined our career growth club?Join Us Today!