Once you've submitted your CV, you need to think about certain things you can and should still do instead of sitting around and waiting.

Sending out your CV is a scary thing. You work on it for hours on end just to make it perfect, but once you hit “send”, there’s nothing else you can do about the possible mistakes you made. You no longer have any control over what happens, so you might as well sit back and relax, right?

Wrong!

Yes, there are a lot of things you cannot change anymore, like the spelling of the hiring manager’s name, or the extra info you added and can’t delete anymore. But you do need to think about certain things you can and should still do instead of sitting around and waiting.

You are completely in the wrong when:

You’re ignoring the follow-up instructions

Most job vacancies have instructions about the follow-up in the post itself. When you’re applying for a job, this should be one of the first things you’re looking for. You need to be aware of what the company does and doesn’t want you to do. As we all learned in primary school: read the directions before starting the assignment. 

Thus, start by reviewing the specific instructions before filling out the job application. You don’t want your CV to get thrown into the trash before they’ve even looked at your qualifications and experience.

Next, don’t ignore the follow-up instructions. If the company clearly asks not to call, don’t call! You might end up hurting your chances of hearing back. And if you really can’t wait to know what’s happening, rather send a follow-up email.

You’re forgetting to check if you have a connection at the company

Ideally you would have already checked this out before you sent out your application, but let’s be honest, most of us usually skip that step.

However, don’t ever feel like it’s too late to reach out, even though you feel like a new reference might be off the table, it often isn’t. Go to the company’s site, your social media friend lists and connections, and ask around with friends and family if they might know someone who works there. As it turns out, a lot of companies prefer it if you can provide them with a reference of someone already working there, and you will up your chances of getting through to the next round.

So don’t be afraid to start digging around and reaching out after the fact, as it might help your case.

You’re not looking for other jobs

And finally, the biggest mistake you could possibly make is stopping your search for other jobs. Don’t sit around and wait for this one phone call that, truth be told, might never happen. You may think this job is the perfect fit for you, but you can never be sure if the hiring manager is thinking the same thing.

Even though rewriting your CV and cover letters takes a lot of time and effort, and is quite possibly not your favourite pass time, this is exactly what you need to do until you sign an employee contract. Because in life, not everything always works out the way you want it to.

And who knows, you might run into an even better opportunity while browsing our amazing jobsite! 

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