Best Practices for Resume Follow-up
Dear Deb:
I have a general question on the cover letter...What is the best way to follow up after sending out my cover letter/resume? Email? Call them? Request that they call me? What if it's for a "cold call"...i.e. there is no position/job opening and I am just trying to generate something with the DoR or CIO...how should I follow up/approach situations like these?
Thanks,
Lars
Dear Lars:
Approximately seven to ten days after you submit your resume and cover letter, send a follow-up email. Keep the message short because this is just a ping to be sure they received it and bring your resume to the forefront of the recruiter’s mind. Try to include a piece of additional information to grab the reader’s attention. That can be effective if this is a cold-call (no advertised vacancy).
Follow-up calls are very effective too. This should be very brief, such as: “Hello Ms. Campbell. My name is Lars ___ and I just wanted to be sure that you received the resume that I sent you on July 19th.” “Yes, Lars, I did receive it and we’ll be in touch soon if we would like to schedule an interview.” “Thank you for considering me, Ms. Campbell.” Don’t make multiple calls. If you leave a voicemail, that counts as a call.
If you are involved in an active job search, you might have many balls in the air. Create a chart to track the resumes you have submitted, the date submitted, the contact person’s name, and dates of subsequent outreach or contact.
Good luck in your search!
Deb