Nurse Becoming Ep. 076: The Interview Waiting Game: 3 Things To Do While You Wait to Hear Back
3:41PM Oct 26, +0000
Speakers:
Amanda Guarniere
Keywords:
job
practice
note
visualization
interview
offer
plan
habit
check
wrote
opportunity
general
position
fact
daily
decision
timeline
email
process
uncomfortable
I have a question for you. Have you ever been stuck in the dreaded waiting period after an interview? You know that time when your mind is racing about how you did and you check your email 47 times a day to see if you got a job offer? Yes, we have all been there. And it can be a really unsettling place to be, especially if you really want this particular job. So in this episode, I'm going to give you the three things that you can do in that uncomfortable waiting period. Welcome back to the Nurse Becoming Podcast. I'm your host, Amanda Guarniere, and I'm so excited that you are here today. And this is going to be really great episode. So let's dive right on in. Let's talk about the three things that you can do in this uncomfortable waiting period between having an interview and hopefully getting an offer. So the first thing is, you can send thank you notes, and plan your next check in. Now, in my opinion, a thank you note or thank you email can go a long way with a potential employer. And I recommend that you always always send one.
I recently interviewed and hired my first official employee of the resume RX business. And as I was narrowing down candidates, the fact that my top choice sent me a thank you email that reconfirmed her interest. And the role really gave me the confidence to move forward with the offer, it really helped her stand out for the from the others, because she took that extra time to let me know that she really was interested in the position. It also helped me keep her top of mind. And in fact, the two candidates that I was deciding between and the end both sent me thank you notes. And that definitely influenced how I felt about them moving forward in the process. Now the second half to this first thing that you can do, aside from sending a thank you note is to plan your next check in and what do I really mean by that. So if you've been given a timeline by the interviewer as to when you should expect to hear back about a decision, make note of that on your calendar, and plan to reach out around that time or shortly after. Now, this doesn't happen all the time. So if you haven't been given a time, a timeline, and you didn't ask at the end of your interview, plan to follow up via email in about a week or two. Not only will your persistence and your following up be viewed positively most likely. But it can also help move the process along. If they're kind of dragging their feet, I'm making a decision. And it can potentially bump you up to the top of their list as they are reminded or re reminded that you are someone with strong interest in the position. So that's the first thing you can do, send your thank you note and plan your next check in for follow up.
Number two is to keep applying to other positions. Now I feel pretty strongly that without a detailed verbal offer in your interview, you really should not be putting all your eggs in that one basket until you have a written offer. Now I know that you may get a great feeling about this one interview and feel like it's definitely the job that you're going to get. And it very may well be. And I hope that for you, of course. But knowing the timeline of the job search process in general, I want you to have other options in case this opportunity doesn't work out, I want you to have other things that are in the works, so to speak. Let's say it takes you a couple weeks to hear back. And unfortunately you're not chosen for the position, I don't want you to feel like you have lost out on that time. Because you were so kind of convinced that that was the one job that you were going to move forward with. And on the flip side that it may not be a decision of you not getting the job. It may be you know they the offer isn't consistent with what you want, or you're not able to reach an appropriate negotiation. For whatever reason, this job may not work out. And if that's the case, I want you to have other things in the works. Now, if you don't have a sense of urgency in your job search, for example, maybe you're already employed and you're not planning to leave your current position. Regardless, maybe you're just kind of looking, keeping your options open and exploring other opportunities. And you can probably disregard this step right. This is only for people who are unemployed or have a planned pivot or relocation or who are actively looking for another job regardless.
The third thing that you can do in this uncomfortable waiting period is to practice a daily sense Turning habit. And what do I mean by centering habit? I mean something like daily journaling, a daily gratitude practice, meditation, visualization, something like that. Okay, so this step is in part distraction, but part inner mindset work that is just good for you in general, but especially helpful during times of uncertainty. And I don't want you to think that this is all a fluffy step. Right. Journaling is a great habit that will help you gain clarity about the decisions that you're making in life and work. daily gratitude, which is choosing one thing, or a few things every day that you are grateful for, and either speaking them out loud or writing them down. This is a practice that has been shown to help people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity and build strong relationships. Meditation is a practice that can help you deal with any stress or anxiety that comes with the anticipation of whether you're receiving a job offer. And visualization of yourself achieving your goals is actually something that can help you do it.
I don't know if you've heard this story before. But there's this kind of popular story about how Jim Carrey the actor wrote himself a check a fake check for $10,000 Every night when he wasn't yet famous. And sorry, I mean, $10 million. He wrote himself a check for $10 million every night when he wasn't yet famous. And then three years later, he got the role in Dumb and Dumber and got a check for exactly that amount. This is pretty cool. Right? visualization has been used in surgical training and law enforcement training, and is a free tool that you can use to help yourself reach your goals. And you can head to the show notes for this episode. If you're interested in reading more about the science and the evidence, and the citations that I have for this for this part, because sometimes I think that we're so rooted in very scientific processes, that very concrete processes that sometimes we can be a bit skeptical of things that are more in the complementary and alternative type of setting things like journaling, gratitude, meditation visualization, I think that, you know, our profession in general, especially the medical profession can be, just, like I said, skeptical or not sure that these things really work. So when I present them, I think that it's important to not just present anecdotes, but to also show you that many of these things have had legitimate scientific studies to back them. And to show that they show that they work. We're all about evidence based practice around here, we, and the show notes, you can tap into your podcast player, and there's a link in there or you can go to the https://www.theresumerx.com/076
Now I know that this can be stressful and overwhelming as you wait to find out if your dream job is turning into a reality. But I want you to remember that the fact this job exists is proof that there are others out there like it. That's really the premise of having an abundance mindset, rather than a fixed mindset. You could think, Gosh, this is the only job out there like it. And if I don't get it, I've completely lost my opportunity here. That is one way to think. And that's a very fixed mindset. But you can choose to think differently, you can choose to think that, wow, the fact that this opportunity exists means that it can't only be the only great one that exists, right? This is proof that there are other opportunities like this.
I recently told us to a family member when they didn't win the bid on the house that they wanted. And rather than thinking I just lost my dream house. Shifting the thinking that the fact that there's proof that there are more houses out there, brought them to eventually and actually not eventually, just a few days later, find and get another amazing house a few a few days later that was honestly just as nice if not even better than that first one that they lost. So the next time you're going through this uncomfortable wait Remember that regardless of the outcome, it means that a great employer wanted to interview you. Right you you got that interview and you will get more. More will want to interview you, even if this particular one doesn't work out this particular position. And as you wait, you can focus on these three activities. You can write your thank you notes and plan your follow up. You can continue to apply to other positions. And you can start to practice or continue to practice a daily centering habit that will help you combat those tough emotions, and also help you attract what it is that you want. And bonus points, this daily centering habit, if you can practice it regularly, and take it with you into your next job.
Whether you are a new grad transitioning to being an NP for the first time, or switching to a different specialty, any type of transition is hard. And having this type of habit is something you can take with you through any difficult situation and can really make that transition easier. Whatever that transition looks like. So I hope that this helps. This is a short and sweet episode. I'd love to see you practicing. Maybe just one of these and if you do, tag me on Instagram, share it out so that I can cheer you on. I'm @TheResumeRx on Instagram. I hope to see you practicing these things. And I'll catch you next week my friends.