At a large corporation such as JPMorgan or Google, the hiring process is broken down into specific steps with a system of checks and balances in place. Human Resources departments begin the resume screening process and will arrange a first meeting or interview, sometimes via telephone. Once they've selected candidates, the applicant will usually have a series of in-person interviews with the specific department to which they are applying and a decision will be made. These processes are usually long and tiresome and can seem impersonal at times. Over the past weeks I've had two interviews with Google for an Events Internship. The first was with an HR recruiter over the phone to ask logistics of my schedule, get a sense of my
background and character, and decide whether or not I'd move on to the next round. The second was an on site sit-down with the head of the Events Department and was a much more in-depth conversation about my personal experiences, skill set, and overall career goals. After the interview, I tried to send a 'thank you' email and realized that I was never given contact information for the department head. This was a purposeful tactic on the part of the company - the follow-up email in this case is seen as somewhat of a nuisance to the creative worker. I could only send a thank you note through the HR recruiter.
The idea of the follow up can mean many things - the thank you note after an interview is one example. However, there is also the case of trying to get that interview in the first place, whether it is informational or for a specific position. When I returned from the holiday break, I reached out to several independent marketing companies - Gas, ThinkJam, Firebelly - armed only with my knowledge of the company and numbers and emails garnered from their websites. I was able to track down a contact at ThinkJam and send my resume to her. I didn't hear back and sent a follow up the next week. I didn't hear back again, and sent another follow-up email. These emails were requesting to meet for informational interviews, as I had no indication that the company was seeking interns. What is the point at which you stop sending a follow-up? I believe its a very fine line, especially with the nature of creative work these days. Small start-up companies are constantly struggling to find and secure business, most of their employees working from project-to-project with extremely long hours and little pay. 'Respond to MA student seeking internship' is most likely the last thing on their ever-growing To-Do list each day. I know from prior experience that while I was working in music it often took several times for me to respond to such requests, as I was dealing with the 800 other emails that I received on a daily basis (literally). Therefore, I believe that while pestering with phone calls and incessant emails is never the answer, a follow-up email once a week to remind an employer you are still interested cannot hurt. After my fourth email to ThinkJam, I received a reply, and have an interview set up for the end of next week.
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