Chad’s blog 8 – The final stages

Welcome to Part 8 of my recruitment blog!

In Part 7 we dealt with the finer points of the interview itself and what type of questions you are likely to be asked. So now you have finished the interview and left your prospective employers premises, what do you do now? Do you just sit back and wait for the phone call? How long do you wait?

As important as the interview is, the next steps directly after an interview are equally important. You should always follow up for feedback after an interview and a time frame of up to 2 to 3 days is fair for an apprenticeship or traineeship. You may certainly ask for any feedback in writing but there is no reason why you cannot phone as well.

Feedback for yourself is important. You need to know if you could have done better in some areas and you also need to know what you did well. Most recruiters and interviewers should be able to give you this feedback. Be prepared though to digest some constructive criticism. Unfortunately some people just cannot handle being told they need to improve in certain areas and get very emotional about this. Don’t fall into this trap as it will harm your chances of getting a job.

When you make that call or send that email to an employer for feedback, make sure you ask what time frame they envisage it will take for a decision to be made. In this way you can set another time to make a follow up call. Don’t call more than once a day to follow up though as it can sound like you are desperate to get a job and this will be viewed as a concern by the employer.

Something you should always do when looking for work is not to rely on just one company to find the work for you. You should always be applying for other jobs and going for other interviews. Recruiters understand this and will try and work faster for you if they know this. They do not want you to take another job if you are a good candidate.

It is always common courtesy to let a recruiter or employer know if you have other interviews or offers on the table. You do not need to let them know the specifics of those jobs, like company names etc, but keep the lines of communication open. If an offer does come to you from another source, let your recruiter know immediately. 

Having multiple job offers is a very nice problem to have but you really have to think hard and carefully about each one as you need to ensure you are taking the right role. Is the salary comfortable for you to live on? Are the working conditions good? Will you be able to progress within the company? Are you going to have good people to learn from? These are just some of the questions you need to ask yourself when making a decision. 

In regards to salary, usually these are set in stone with an apprenticeship or traineeship and cannot be changed. If you are a 2nd, 3rd or 4th Year apprentice and you have been lucky enough to be paid an above award wage with a previous employer, be prepared to drop down to the award wage if your new employer cannot afford to pay the higher wages.

Once you have accepted an offer of employment make sure you keep to your word. Accepting a job offer then pulling out on the day or the day before is not a good look at all. You will almost certainly not be given another chance should the job you have left for fall through.

Congratulations! You have now been successful in finding employment and ready to embark on your career. The road ahead is an exciting one and in no time at all you will have completed a qualification and have some real skills to draw on.

Remember, the key to your success is you! You are the person who can succeed or fail depending on the effort you put in.

Do not be discouraged by any failures along the way. The great inventor Thomas Edison once said, “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is to try just one more time.”

Now get out there and have fun!