Once you’ve completed a job interview, your work does not stop there. Even if you prepared thoroughly, gave eloquent answers to questions, and felt like the interview went superbly, there are still several tasks ahead of you. These are the ten things you need to do within the minutes, hours, and days after your interview to ensure your position as a top candidate.

Minutes After the Interview

Shake Everyone’s Hands

Before leaving the interview, shake the hands of every person you met with during the day. You want to make sure you’ve thanked each individual that had a part in meeting with you, from the receptionist who first welcomed you to the hiring manager who finished the interview.

Express Your Interest Again

It’s important to display enthusiasm about wanting to work for that particular organization, so be sure to say it again before leaving. Also, don’t forget to ask about the timeline of their hiring process, including when you can expect to hear back from them, so you can get a better sense about next steps.

Gather Contact Information

Lastly, you want to make sure that you’ve collected any business cards or contact information of each person that you’ve met with during the interview. You will need this information to be able to craft your thank you notes and for any necessary follow up.

A Few Hours After the Interview

Reflect on the Interview

Take some time to reflect on how the interview went. What do you think went well during the interview? What could you improve upon? What did you like about the company culture? What were the conversations you had with each interviewer? The answers to these questions will be useful in learning about your interview skills, as well as assist with preparation for a potential second interview.

Send Your Thank-You Note(s)

Sending thank-you notes is an essential aspect of interview follow-up. You need to craft a thank-you note for each person who interviewed you and mention specific content you discussed with that individual during your time with them. This will be your most time-consuming part of the post-interview process, but it’s completely necessary. Your thank-you notes will again display your enthusiasm for the role itself and give you another chance to make a lasting impression with the employer.

The Day After the Interview

Connect on LinkedIn

Now that you’ve met one or more employees at that particular organization, you’ll want to find ways to connect with them. The easiest way to do this is to connect with them through LinkedIn. You’ll want to tailor your connection request message, which will add another personal touch. Even if you don’t end up getting the job at this employer, you’ll at least have these contacts in your network.

Contact Your References

There is a good chance that the hiring manager will want to get in touch with your references either after your interview or further along in the hiring process. It’s better to give those individuals who are your references a heads up that they could be getting contacted by your potential employer. This way your references won’t be caught off guard and can confidently speak to your abilities.

Days After the Interview

Prepare for Next Steps

If you’ve heard back from the hiring manager, it’s time to start getting ready for the next steps of the hiring process. They may want to bring you in for a second interview, so there are a number of ways that you’ll need to be prepared for that next meeting. It’s here that you’ll want to do even more research, review your resume again, and formulate different questions to ask your interviewer.

Ask for Updates

If you haven’t heard back from the employer, you need to reach out to your main point of contact and ask for any updates. It’s perfectly fine to send a quick email to see where you stand. Just be sure you’re reaching out in the expected amount of time you were supposed to hear back from them.

Continue Your Proactive Job Search

Regardless if you’ve heard back from the employer or not, it’s important to keep moving forward in your own job search. Continue making networking connections, carry on with searching and applying to new jobs, and maintain your business leads. Just because you’re waiting to hear back from one employer, doesn’t mean you can’t keep your own search going.

As much as you were equipped to handle the initial interview, you’re post-interview to-do-list is also crucial. Add these simple steps to your interview follow-up so you can be fully prepared for any next steps in the hiring process.

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