5 Do’s and Don’ts for Contacting a Recruiter
The first impressions seemed to go great on both sides, and you felt like this is a good thing that could be going somewhere. But what do you do next? Do you call? Wait? Send a text? Would that come across as desperate? How soon is too soon? Did you agree to follow up again?
We’ve all been in the uncomfortable place of waiting after an initial review with a recruiter. So to ease your worry, here are a few rules to live by for a successful follow-up.
DO
Be patient.
This point can’t be emphasized enough! You’re one person out of dozens that they talk to each week. That doesn’t mean you aren’t impressive, it just means that recruiters are busy people. As hard as it may be to wait, give them a few days to reach back out after your initial contact.
Send a thank you email.
Email is almost always the best way to reach back out to your recruiter. It’s not intrusive on their busy schedule, like a phone call, and it allows them the time to send a satisfactory response. Be sure to be timely with your email, sending it within 1-2 days after your initial review. Use your email to remind them of your interest in the job and what makes you the right OTR truck driver for their company.
Ask about next steps.
Your thank you email is a great place to do this. It gives your driver recruiter a reason to answer you in a timely manner and consider your place in the company before they do. The recruiter’s answer is going to help settle your nerves by giving you an outline of what to expect.
DON’T
Don’t be overly persistent.
This goes back to the “be patient” rule. While you want to show your enthusiasm, you don’t want to become annoying. Ask recruiters up front when you should follow up or if they’re comfortable with you reaching back out to ask about your application status. Following the timeline they give you is the most respectful way you can continue your relationship with a recruiter until they give you further notice.
Don’t invade personal space.
Or put another way, no cyberstalking. If a recruiter reaches out to you on Facebook, it’s fine to follow up there or even better, follow up by email. But we don’t recommend looking a recruiter up on Twitter or Facebook and sending them a direct message or sending them a friend request out of the blue. Play it safe and keep it professional. Failure to respect personal boundaries could send red flags about your personal judgment when it comes to interacting with others (coworkers and customers). You certainly don’t want to present yourself as a liability for the company and hurt your job search prospects.
If you are an experienced driver looking to join a great company and would like to try these rules out on a Dynamic Transit recruiter, give our team a call or use the Contact page to begin the process.