Summary: Should You Follow Up With an Employer After You Apply for Their Job Opening?<br> Our 25th episode! We're all grown up.<br> <br> Let's handle a QA session question from John in upstate New York:<br> <br> Hey Brian, this is John from upstate New York, I’ve been applying for a bunch of jobs lately and I’m wondering if I should just wait and see what happens or if I should be more aggressive in following up, reaching out?<br> <br> I’m not a passive person, so it’s hard for me to sit here and wait!<br> <br> Hey John – another great question from our fan base – since we are reading your question on the air and digging into it, you’ll also be getting a free month on our site, so be on the lookout for that email.<br> <br> I believe strongly there is a right and a wrong way to follow up – so let’s discuss the difference.<br> <br> First off, I’d like to cite my interview a few weeks back with <a href="http://www.workinsports.com/blog/a-completely-different-approach-to-sports-business-that-really-works-work-in-sports-podcast-e15/">Jesse Cole owner of the Savannah Bananas</a>… when I asked him about his hiring process and what he looks for, he said:<br> <br> “If someone shows me persistence in trying to get a job with us, that shows me a lot. I don’t want people who give up at the first sign of adversity, I want people who push through.’<a href="https://www.workinsports.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/4JesseCole.jpg"></a><br> <br> He went on to say, he wants people that are passionate about working for his team, not just working in sports… so when someone shows a deep an continual interest in his organization he takes notice.<br> <br> So take that as one data point in your question…but lets go deeper.<br> <br> My overall take is that being persistent is great with small to mid-sized companies, and not as effective with larger scale companies. Minor league teams – heck yeah, they are looking for energetic, versatile, enthusiastic team members and they may be pulling from a smaller number of applicants. A small marketing firm? A sales job? A sports social media job?<br> <br> Yes yes and yes – for jobs like these your ability to communicate and persuade actually shows you off quite well!<br> <br> But that doesn’t mean for all jobs it suits you well to be overly communicative.<br> <br> Let’s handle the how to:<br> <br> So how do you follow up in a way that isn’t annoying? You don’t want this to hurt your chances, you want it to enhance them!<br> <br> Here’s how to do it right.<br> <br> 1: No cold calling. When you call a hiring managers direct line, or get routed to them, your call is interrupting their workflow. You are inserting yourself smack dab in the middle of their day and most don’t like that. I know when I was a news director at a regional sports network, if I got a call I expected it to be a team calling, or one of our reporters, or something I needed to handle right away… when it was someone calling in about the editors job we had advertised…I couldn’t get off the phone fast enough.<br> <br> Most cold calls will go direct to voicemail, since for many of us in the workforce, every minute is accounted for already.<br> <br> So what do you do?<a href="https://www.workinsports.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/qa_cover.png"></a><br> <br> Start with email.<br> <br> This allows the hiring manager to read and answer on their own time. But it’s equally important what you say, so take this part to heart.<br> <br> Do not just send an email announcing you have bestowed upon them the honor of your application. If you send an email that says “just wanted you to know that I applied!” that will do nothing.<br> <br> Think substance. What can you say that connects you to that job opening… make it quick, but make it powerful.<br> <br> Say you had applied for an entry level job as an social media coordin...
