After the interview and keeping your job
The interview is over, but there are still several things you can – and should – do. The first of these is to send a thank you note.
A thank-you note helps you stand out, since most job hunters don’t make the effort. Besides thanking the hiring manager, it’s an opportunity to sell yourself again after the interview. It’s also a second chance at a question that you believe you didn’t answer very well.
There are debates among career experts on whether a hand-written or email thank you note is the way to go. It will probably make more of an impact to send a hand-written note via U.S. mail than by e-mail. Doing so, however, may take too long. in some cases the hiring manager might make a decision before the snail-mailed thank-you note arrives. In that case, be safe and send it both ways, with a different message in each one.
Send an e-mail the day of the interview or the next morning. Write down what you’re going to say in the thank-you note you will send by U.S. mail immediately after the interview, let it sit overnight, read it with fresh eyes, and then send it the next morning. To get a better idea of what to include in a thank-you note, search the Internet using “interview thank-you note template.” You can find some excellent examples in an article at The Muse website. But remember to not copy these examples but to incorporate your own words as they apply to the hiring manager who interviewed you.
Turned down after interview
If you don’t get the job, call the hiring manager. Say “I know you decided to hire someone else, but I just wanted to find out why I didn’t get the job. I’d appreciate knowing the reason, because your feedback will help me in my job search.” You may get feedback that could actually influence the employer to reconsider. And if not, you may receive some information that will help with future interviews. Being turned down happens to everyone at some point. In fact, if you’re not getting turndowns, you are likely not aiming high enough.
How to keep a job once you have it
More often than not the people who are let go are the ones who may be quite competent but are moody, annoying, disagreeable, high maintenance and just not very nice. In other words, if you make yourself likeable you greatly increase the likelihood of being kept on.
It’s “show time” when you go to work. In addition to working hard you need to make yourself likeable. Smile and be pleasant to your boss and co-workers. It will pay off in the end. Remember, being pleasant goes a long way.