But what if your dream interview opportunity lives with someone
in that 25 percent that has not responded?
Tough luck?
Settle with the 75 percent that
got back to you, and forget about the rest?
There are many reasons why your contacts might not have
gotten back to you, and only one of them is because they
don't want to. The chance of that being
the case is very slim. We'll show you a
strategy for following up with these contacts politely and
effectively so that you can leverage closer to 100 percent of
the job opportunities your network may have to offer.
The fact is that people are busy and
forgetful. A contact may have intended to
get to your email or call at a later time, only to get even
busier and eventually forget completely.
Their inbox may have never even seen the email - spam filters
may have nabbed it.
To truly maximize your job opportunities during a job search,
following up is a must. Take a step back
and figure out exactly who has and hasn't gotten back to
you. Construct a list, and prepare to
follow-up with the non-responders.
Now comes the tough part. Figuring out how
to follow-up and what to say can be
challenging. The number one rule is to
never come off as angry or annoyed in your
follow-up. Instead, be upbeat and
understanding. Here is an example of a
follow-up email and the response it received:
Hi Mr. Miller,
I am sure you are very busy, but I never heard back from you
- I
completely understand if you do not have the time, but if
you do I am
looking forward to hearing from you!
Thanks!
Christie
Hi Christie,
I am extremely sorry for having lost this message in my
inbox. I
would love to chat with you and discuss my experiences.
I am however,
traveling a lot these days and would be unable to lock down
a time.
If you don't mind, can you send me your phone number and I
will try to
reach you one evening this week.
Best,
Brian Miller
Note that Brian was completely willing to help, but
mistakenly forgot about the email.
Here is an example of a follow-up with a contact that you may
have already been in touch with:
Hey Paul!
I hope you're enjoying your time off with your family!
I didn't hear back from you and I just wanted to make sure my
email didn't find its way into your spam folder or
something. I hope to be in touch with you soon!
Christie
To master the art of the follow-up there are three important
points you will need to remember:
1) Your dream
opportunity may live amongst an initial
non-responder. Failing to follow-up
essentially means that you are not very passionate about
finding your dream job.
2)
The main reasons that contacts fail to respond are
forgetfulness, busy schedules, and spam filters -- not
because they do not want to help.
3)
Always be enthusiastic and polite in follow-ups -- never seem
angry or spiteful.
Now get out there and master the art of the
follow-up! Make sure to check back for
Part 3 of the Leveraging Contacts series, where we'll show
you how to use the contacts you have made to build a full
team of support within your target company.
