Whether actively applying to positions online or passively browsing the market, learning how to follow up with a recruiter after your initial exchange is essential.
Perhaps you have been communicating with a recruiter for weeks as you progress through a company’s interview process. Or you may have received a LinkedIn inquiry from a recruiter looking to fill a role that aligns with your background. In both cases, knowing how to follow up with a recruiter professionally and respectfully can help make a good impression and advance your job search.
Recruiters spend a lot of time sending emails, texts, and LinkedIn messages; they greatly appreciate a well-structured, straightforward message from a candidate regarding a job status or opening.
While you may not be interested in a particular role or be the best fit for the role you applied to, a professional follow-up message can lead to future opportunities. A recruiter specializing in your field may present you with confidential opportunities matching your long-term career aspirations. You may also gain other valuable market insights, such as salary and hiring trends.
When to Follow Up With a Recruiter
Most job applicants prefer to communicate consistently with recruiters. They appreciate updates regarding their application status and the interview process.
The internal struggle many candidates encounter isn’t a debate about whether or not they should send a follow-up message to a recruiter. Most candidates simply want to know when to follow up with a recruiter during the interview process. The hesitancy is understandable.
Perfecting the timing of your follow-up message varies depending on your job search intent and where you stand in the process.
If you are actively looking for a new position and are interested in a particular role, sending a follow-up email to a recruiter after applying on LinkedIn is a great strategic move. You can ask for more information about the role or feedback on your application status.
If a recruiter contacts you and hosts a pre-screening call, you should send a follow-up message via email or LinkedIn a few days after the call. In most cases, recruiters wait to hear back from their clients after sending batches of resumes from the initial screening period. The same is likely true for candidates who are already in the interviewing process with the hiring manager and members of the company. It’s perfectly acceptable to send a follow-up with a recruiter at this point as well.
How Should You Follow Up With a Recruiter?
Knowing which channel to use when sending a follow-up message is just as important as knowing how to follow up with a recruiter.
Recruiters spend a lot of time sending and receiving messages via email, text, and LinkedIn. They also make and receive many phone calls from candidates. Using any of these channels for follow-up purposes is an accepted practice.
You may want to ask recruiters about their preferences when speaking to them over the phone or exchanging messages with them online. Some may prefer to exchange communications strictly through email, while others may encourage discourse via text as they can be more responsive through their mobile devices.
You should not reach out to recruiters through channels they did not provide directly. Only contact recruiters through their cell phone numbers or email addresses if the recruiter gives you explicit permission. Contacting recruiters through other means, such as social media, is also not advisable.
Scripts for Following Up With Recruiters by Phone
If you are wondering how to follow up with a recruiter over the phone, consider these recommendations.
First, make sure you are calling at an appropriate time during business hours. Whether you get the chance to speak to the recruiter or leave a voicemail, it’s better to respect their time and place calls during the day.
If the recruiter is not available to take your call, be prepared to leave a voicemail. Have your thoughts collected, and be ready to make a clear and concise request in your message.
Crafting a script can help you sound confident, assertive, and professional. Unlike email or other text-based scripts, which tend to be more proper, a phone call or voicemail script can be conversational:
Hi {Recruiter Name},
It’s {Your Name} following up on our call from last week when we discussed the {role} for {Company}.
I enjoyed learning about {Company’s} ongoing projects, and I was hoping to get an update about the status of my application.
I can be reached at {phone number} or {email address}. Any insights would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
Recruiter Follow-Up Email Examples
When sending a recruiter a follow-up email or LinkedIn message, the messaging is a bit more formal. You want your message and requests to be clear and straight to the point.
The following message is a great example of how to follow up with a recruiter via email:
Hi {Recruiter Name},
I hope this finds you well. I’m reaching out to inquire about the next steps in the interview process. Would you be able to provide insight as to what those next steps might entail and an approximate timeframe?
Thank you in advance for your assistance.
Best,
{SIGNATURE}
This script works because the requests are entirely valid: The candidate wants to know the next steps in the process and get an idea of the interview timeline. The candidate concisely and professionally requests the information while simultaneously demonstrating interest in the role.
Some clients prefer to wait until they have had the chance to review all resumes or candidates in a given stage before proceeding to the next round, which is why you may not hear from them or a recruiter for a few days or weeks. Before following up with a recruiter, check your spam inbox to ensure that messages haven’t been improperly flagged and hidden from your inbox.
Thanking Recruiters
Another great time to follow up with a recruiter is immediately after an initial screening call.
The objective of this follow-up message is not to request any information or learn about the next steps. Instead, this message serves to thank the recruiter for the time spent on the call. This gesture can help candidates build long-lasting relationships with recruiters in various scenarios.
You may think that the screening call went well, or maybe you don’t think you are the best fit for the role. Either way, sending a follow-up thanking the recruiter for the call can leave a positive impression. Recruiters like to build rapport with candidates for future opportunities. Even if you don’t land the role you interviewed for today, you may receive an email with a better role in the future from a recruiter who shared a positive exchange with you over the phone or through email.
Something simple, like the email script below, serves as a great example of how to follow up with a recruiter after an interview:
Hi {Recruiter Name},
Thank you for taking the time to speak with me {date/day of initial meeting}.
I enjoyed learning about {Company’s} ongoing projects and the {role title}.
Please let me know if you have additional questions I can answer or items you need from my end.
Thank you again!
Best,
{SIGNATURE}
Additional Follow-Up Tips
Knowing how to follow up with a recruiter who hasn’t responded is important.
It’s a common misconception that candidates should never send more than one follow-up to a recruiter. In reality, it’s perfectly fine to send multiple inquiries to a recruiter if they haven’t responded, as long as you send them properly.
Recruiters will often go silent on email threads or LinkedIn exchanges when they can’t provide additional details. Most of the time, they are still waiting on feedback from their client. Other times, the role you are seeking isn’t one that the firm typically recruits, and the recruiter is hesitant to offer additional insights regarding the next steps in the interview process due to uncertainty around industry standards or other factors. That said, it never hurts to gently request a status update after a few days.
Read More: How to Negotiate Salary Once You Have an Offer
Daley And Associates
At Daley And Associates, we understand the value of building long-lasting relationships. We work with our candidates to leave positive impressions on recruiters and employers and support their long-term career success.
By working with our team of experts, our candidates are presented with career options from companies where we have developed credible relationships over years of continued partnership. We assist with every step of the recruiting and interviewing process. If you need resume revisions, want to learn how to follow up with a recruiter after applying, or are interested in the benefits of sending a recruiter a follow-up email, our team has the services and answers you need to achieve long-term success.
To learn more about partnering with Daley And Associates to accelerate your career advancement strategy, click here to connect with a team member today.
