What to Do After an Interview to Better Your Odds

You know it’s important to nail the interview with a potential employer, but it’s what you do after the interview that might really influence your chances of getting the job.

Once the initial conversation with the hiring manager is over, applicants can and should continue to market themselves as a professional and viable candidate for the position.

The time after the interview is also a chance for applicants to elevate their names and stay fresh in the interviewer’s mind. If a company is trying to decide between just a few applicants, showing that you are eager and excited about the potential to work there might just be the deciding factor between you and another candidate.

Plus, careers in the biopharma sector generally require at least two or three interviews for any position. This gives candidates a chance to meet and make an impression on multiple members of the team and allows several team members to weigh in on the decision process. This is just another reason why it’s so important to stay on your A-game in between and after those conversations.

Here’s a few simple ways to continue putting your best foot forward during that time between the interview and job offer.

Before you hang up during that initial phone screen, ask what the next steps are for moving forward with the interview process. The more specific you are with this question, the better off you’ll be.

Making your questions as pointed as possible will help you get closer to a follow-up conversation. For example, instead of just asking “so, what comes next?”, you could ask, “How many days do you think you will need to make a decision?” or “How should I expect to be notified if I’m selected for a second interview?”

Generally, interviewers will need a few days before moving the application along to the next step, no matter how successful the interview was. Still, inquiring and seeming eager about continuing the conversation will leave a good impression on hiring managers.

This step might not help you get this job, but it could help with future job-searching procedures.

Take a few moments after every interview to jot down some notes about your interview. This could include future questions to ask in the next round of interviews or notes about what you did and did not like about your side of the conversation.

Assessing your own performance is crucial to making you a better interviewer. Since there are many interviews involved with any biopharma position, the better you are at interviewing, the more likely you are to get the job you want in this industry.

Thank-you notes not only leave a positive lasting impression on the person who interviewed you, but it also might help you stand out as a candidate.

Only a quarter of interviewees send a thank-you note, according to FlexJobs, but 80% of hiring managers view thank-you notes as useful in helping them evaluate candidates.

Thank-you notes should be sent within two days of the interview. This way, your name is fresh in the hiring manager’s mind, even if they are speaking with other candidates.

The thank-you note should be short and sweet while still hitting all the high notes. You should start the email by thanking the interviewer for their time. Then, you can briefly reinforce why you are interested in the job and what qualifications you have that make you stand out as a good fit for the role.

If there are any supporting documents you mentioned during the interview, you should also take the chance to include them with a brief explanation of what they are.

Personalizing the email will also help the interviewers know that you’re not just copying a script. If you are interviewed by multiple people, you should take the time to send multiple emails.

The thank-you note after an interview is an often overlooked tool that can make a huge difference in the way interviewers view you as a candidate. It shows you are taking the opportunity seriously, and it might excite the company to see that someone is genuinely interested in filling the role.

If you’re not already connected with the company and hiring manager on LinkedIn, you should take time after the interview to send a connect request.

Being connected will give you the opportunity to see what the company and/or hiring manager are posting and you can engage with their content. Simply ‘liking’ or leaving a comment on one of their LinkedIn posts might help hiring managers remember your name and keep you in mind for the position.

Many professionals on LinkedIn say it’s crucial to remain active, no matter your job status, so you appear as a vital candidate if you are in the job market again. Especially considering the uptick in layoffs right now, it’s necessary to grow your network and make sure your profile is up to date.

Plus, even if you do not land the job, you’ll have grown your network and will be able to stay in touch if future opportunities arise.

The rule of thumb regarding job follow-up emails is to wait one to two weeks after the conversation or thank-you note. Sometimes, if the hiring manager is still accepting applications, it might take longer.

Don’t be discouraged if there’s a delay in getting back to you - sometimes hiring managers just need time to pass on the information and move candidates to the next stage.

If your follow-up email goes unanswered, wait at least a few more days before sending another follow-up. Unfortunately, some jobs will ghost candidates and never respond, but that usually isn’t the case if you’ve been through at least one interview.

If you are applying to other jobs during the waiting period, that’s okay. Just be sure not to advertise those interviews anywhere that the companies might see them.

No matter how good of an interviewer you are, you should take note that the way you conduct yourself after the interview is just as important as what you said to the recruiter.

Companies will be paying attention to how candidates conduct themselves at all times, so maintaining your professionalism and reminding the company that you are eager, but not desperate, to work with them is crucial to your success in your job search.

Further information about interview preparation for all types of pharma companies can be found on our ‘Interview’ section.