By | Sara McCord | www.themuse.com
Having managed a fellowship program, I know what it’s like to meet an applicant and think she’s awesome—but not quite as qualified as someone else. Often, I would go out of my way to help these candidates—pointing them toward other resources or, if they really impressed me, introducing them to the manager of another program or someone at Career Services.
Turns out, this can happen in the real world, as well.
Many would say that, when you interview for a job and find out you don’t get it, that’s the end of the story. But think about it: If you’ve made it to the final rounds of an interview process, you’ve clearly impressed the hiring manager. And, having spent several hours discussing your work experience, skills, and goals, you’ve built a professional (albeit new) relationship. So, why not use this person as a tool in your ongoing job hunt?
Recently, I did just that. After a great (but not so great that it landed me the job) interview process, I networked with my interviewer and asked him to connect me to other positions. And it worked.
Read on for my story and the steps to take if you want to try this approach for yourself.
Step 1: Rock the Interview Process
Every stage of the hiring process is an opportunity to make your best impression. For starters, I stepped out of my comfort zone and wrote a more creative cover letter than I ever had before. (I referred to this article while I wrote it!) I wanted to get noticed—and I did.
My application skipped past the job I was applying for and was sent to the CEO. He said he’d like to talk to me about a different position—designing and running the program I’d applied to write for.
