What to do when you’re waiting for a response after an interview

The Job Studio - Birmingham Careers Advice and Coaching
By Sarah Blunt
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woman in a white sweater holding a phone

Whether you’ve just had an interview or have been waiting for news for over a week, here's some advice on what to do while waiting for a response after an interview.

How to deal with post-interview silence

We’ve all been there, waiting by the phone and checking emails to see if anything has come through. Waiting for a response after an interview can be nerve-wracking but there are things you can do to help get through this stage of the job-hunting process.

Put things into perspective: silence doesn’t always mean you didn’t get the job

If you’ve been waiting a while for contact from the company you interviewed with it’s easy to think the worst: you didn’t get the job. However, don’t assume the result is negative. Silence doesn’t always mean you didn’t get the job. There may be other reasons why the company hasn’t got back to you. The most common is that they are interviewing other candidates or just haven’t had time to call you yet. Waiting for news about the outcome of the interview is likely to be dominating your thoughts. This makes sense: it’s about you! There will probably be lots of other things going on for your interviewers though. Stay patient and keep positive. 

Send a thank you email

Hopefully you’ll have done this by now, but it’s courtesy to send a thank-you email to your interviewer(s) after you’ve had your interview. There’s not much you can do while waiting for a response after an interview but sending a thank you note is a positive action which you can use to reinforce your interest in the role.

Continue applying

Even if you’re waiting to hear if you got your dream role there’s not much more you can do when the interview is over so move on and start applying for other positions. This will keep your mind focused on things you can control: future applications. Instead of worrying, you can use your time to influence things that might actually help in your job search.

Waiting for a response after an interview is always going to be difficult, especially if it’s a job you really want. There’s nothing worse than fixating on that all important phone call, so get positive and get active. You’ll find this helps the time pass quicker, and if the worst happens you’ll already be building momentum for your next opportunity.

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