This is something I’ve done on two recent job searches that helped me to land a new job. Thought I’d share it here for anybody who might be stuck waiting to hear back from a company.
A while back, I interviewed for a mid-level management position and thought I did OK. I had a good rapport with the hiring manager, the person who would be my boss, and I felt really good about my chances. I sent out a follow up thank you email and hoped to hear back soon. I didn’t. After two weeks, I figured they had chosen somebody else and just didn’t notify me. But I decided to reach out one more time.
During the interview, we had discussed a particular speaker series they had recently launched. I had a couple of good ideas for potential speakers, so I sent an email to the hiring manager that said something along the lines of “hey, I saw an article the other day about so-and-so and I thought he might be a good choice for that speaker series we discussed.” I just kept it light and casual. Two days later, she reached out to schedule a time to talk and she offered me the position in that meeting.
After I joined, she shared with me that she and the HR manager couldn’t decide between me and the other candidate. My email demonstrated that I had good ideas and that I took initiative and that’s what put me over the top.
A few years later, I used the same tactic for the role I’m in now. In this case, the email didn’t get me the job; the hiring manager had already decided to hire me. But he needed to get the process going to issue me an offer. My email reminded him to get his ass in gear!
I hope someone out there finds this helpful and uses it to get a new job!