It is rare, especially in current times, that you will be the sole applicant to a job posting. Thus, competition among potential candidates creates the need for any action that causes special distinction. A great way to provide such distinction is to follow up appropriately during each stage of the hiring process.  Let’s take a look at these stages as well as some guidance on how to best move through them realistically with distinction.
After you submit your application: At this point, you are mostly learning to be patient. Your potential employer will move at whatever pace they feel is necessary to fill this position. It is not advised to aggressively and repeatedly call to check up on your application, as this may come across extremely annoying to employers. It is reasonable, however, to follow up once in a less aggressive manner to highlight your interests in the position. Simply, inform the person you are speaking to that you have applied and wanted to check if it was received, as well as restating your interest in the position along with the curiosity to speak with someone further (an interview).
After an interview: At this point, both you and the employer have invested relatively more time in each other. You have passed the initial screening process and deserve to hear back within a reasonable amount of time. If you have had experience with interviews, you will realize the importance of asking your interviewer for a reasonable timeline as to when you should expect to hear back from them. Naturally, if this time passes, you have a reason to politely follow up. When following up after an interview, ask specifically about what timeline they can expect to follow rather than asking for an update on your job status. This is more likely to generate a speedy response as there are a number of reason the hiring decision could be held up.
If you have another offer: In this case, you should act slightly differently than what has been mentioned previously in this article. Specifically, if you have another offer from a company but you would prefer to work with the company that you are waiting to hear back from. When facing this dilemma, it is important to contact the company you are waiting to hear from immediately, inform them of your situation, and ask if the hiring process can be expedited. This can help you better gauge the companies interest in you, as their actions following with tell you if they really want to hire you or if you should probably consider taking the other offer on the table.
To read more in detail guidelines for interview follow ups, visit usnews.com’s article, “How to Follow Up On Your Job Application.”