Guide of Conduct for Professional Communication during the Interview Process

The interview process is already stressful for obvious reasons, but sometimes even the little things like sending an email to a potential employer can add to the anxiety. To help clear things up, we’ve put together a guide for the professional communications during the interview process.

Understand that companies function on a different schedule than college students
For students, it’s completely normal to have classes, group meetings, and late night study sessions well past 5:00pm. We expect our peers to be available much later than typical business hours, but companies in America typically operate from 9 to 5. This means that you should definitely only schedule any meetings or phone calls between those hours, and ideally, your email communications with any potential employers would happen within those hours too.

Provide a wide range of availability
If a company asks you to provide your availability for an interview, try to offer as many times as you can. For example if you’re a night owl, you might prefer an afternoon interview, but if you have the availability, it’s best to go ahead and include those morning hours. Of course you want to be at your best for any interview, so don’t schedule anything at a time that you know will throw you off your game, but if you provide several times to schedule an interview, you’ll show your employer that you are ready, willing, and excited to get to know their company and the position they’re offering. It’s also important to note that while it’s helpful and polite to provide a wide range of availability, you also shouldn’t tell them you’re available 24/7 (even if you actually are). If you provide a 100% open schedule, employers will assume you don’t have any projects to work on, classes to take, or volunteer opportunities to participate in, which is not necessarily a good look for a potential employee.
TLDR: provide as much availability as you can, as long as that’s not all day every day.

Respond faster than you usually would
In general, if your professor sends an email on Monday morning, it’s no biggie if you respond Tuesday night, but with the interview process it’s much more important to make sure you communicate as efficiently as possible. If you receive a communication from a company you’re interviewing with, ideally you’ll get a response back to them the same day (sooner the better!). Worst case scenario, don’t let any more than 24 hours go by. It’s essential that you show (not just tell) employers how excited you are to have the opportunity to work with them.

Don’t make any promises you can’t keep
You should always show excitement and enthusiasm for any position you’re interviewing for. Hopefully it’s genuine excitement, but even if it’s not, fake it ’til you make it. That being said however, it’s important to be careful with what language you use. Before you get an offer, say things like “I’d be excited to have the opportunity to work here” and “I hope I get the chance to work with you” but don’t make any definite promises that you’ll be taking the position if it’s offered unless they ask you that question specifically and you feel comfortable saying yes. If you receive an offer at the end of an interview, even if you feel sure you want it, say something like “Thank you so much for this opportunity! I’ll think it over and get back to you ASAP.” By using language like this and avoiding making definite promises, you allow yourself the time and mental space to make sure that an offer is everything you need it to be, while still showing enthusiastic interest in the position.

Don’t leave them waiting after you get an offer
While it’s true you should take the time you need to fully consider an offer, the maximum you should wait before giving a yes or no is 7 days. Even before that though, as soon as you receive the offer (ideally the same day), regardless of your decision, you should send an email saying how excited and grateful you are to have this opportunity and let them know that you’ll be getting back to them with a response soon. This way the company knows that you’re aware of the offer, that you’re considering it, and that you’re excited about it, but you still have time to consider your options and make the best decision for you.