Let’s say you applied for a position and the employer reached out to you via email to say thank you for your application, it’s under review and they will be getting back to you.
That is an auto response. Some companies have auto responses and some don’t. So, the thing is that you wait in question as to whether they’ve even received your resume/application. If you decide that you want to reach out to them, here’s how you do that.
So you get an automatic response from an employer and you decide to call back to find out if they have made a decision on which candidates have been selected for interviewing.
Firstly – Never, ever leave a voicemail. Not ever!
This is what you can say:
Hi my name is _______ and I applied for the ___________position. I did get an auto response that said my application was under review, BUT, I haven’t heard anything since then. I know sometimes an auto response will get sent out, but the resume/application didn’t transmit. Can you tell me if my resume/application was transmitted successfully? Can you look and see if you have received it?
If they tell you that they don’t have access to that information, let them know you will call back – then ask them who you should speak with who will know if your resume/application has been received.
It sounds like this:
Ok, I can call back tomorrow. Can you tell me who I would speak with that will know if my resume/application has been transmitted? If they tell you they don’t know (or something like that) then, say:
Can you give me your name? That way when I call back tomorrow, I’ll know if I’m speaking with the same person.
Most of the time, when it’s established that you will be calling back, they will look to see if your resume/application is there.
Then they tell you they see your resume/application and they have received it. Now ask:
Can you tell me if the candidates have been chosen for an interview?
If they say yes, then ask:
Can you tell me if I am one of the candidates selected?
If they say no, they haven’t made the choices yet. Then ask:
Do you know when they will be selecting the candidates?
If they say they don’t know. Say this:
Okay. Thank you so much for the information. I will call back tomorrow to see if you know when the candidates will be selected. Is there someone specifically that I should ask to speak with?
If they say no, then let them know you will speak with them tomorrow. If they give you a name, then tomorrow, ask for that person when you call back and then ask the same questions.
The goal is to know if you have been selected for an interview and when the interviews will be held. While some companies are great at getting back to you, others have a process that doesn’t allow them the courtesy of letting you know where you stand in the application process. It’s ok to call and ask the questions that help you to know if you should expect an interview or if you’ve not been selected. Either way, you just want to know.
Be friendly, be kind, and use your voice skills to present your questions in such a way that elicits the reciprocation of your kind and friendly telephone demeanor.
Love and light,
