You find a promising job listing online. Excited, you send a well-crafted cover letter and CV and wait for a response. Six weeks later, you’re still waiting, your enthusiasm has waned, and you’ve concluded your CV has fallen into a black hole.

A proactive approach to your job search can improve your chances of landing interviews. These six tips will help maximise your success.

Make contact before sending CV

Unless you’re responding to an ad that requests “no phone calls”, try to contact the hiring manager before you send your CV. Even if you don’t know the name of the person handling the search, you can do a bit of investigation to locate the correct person, if you know the employer.

Once you get the person on the phone, be brief. The purpose of your call is to express enthusiasm about the opportunity, and that you can positively contribute to the team. Be prepared with a short pitch about your qualifications and the ways you could benefit the employer. Keep the focus on the employer, not you.

Promise of action

Conclude your letter with something like, “I will follow up with you in a few days to discuss the possibility of an interview. In the meantime, please feel free to contact me at ______.” If you say you will follow up, be sure you do.

Follow up quickly

Follow up within three to five business days. You can follow up by phone or by email.

When following up by phone, try saying something like, “Hi, my name is ______ and I submitted my CV for your ______ opening. I’m extremely interested in this opportunity, and I just wanted to touch base with you...”

If you are following up by email, your message should be brief. Here’s an example:

Dear Name (or “Hiring Manager” if name is unknown):

I recently applied for your ______ opening, and I just wanted to follow up to make sure my CV was received. My strong background in ______, ______ and ______ appears to be an excellent match to the qualifications you are seeking, and I am interested in your opportunity. I realise you may not yet be at the interview stage, but I am more than happy to answer any preliminary questions you may have, and I can be reached at ______. Thank you for your time and kind consideration.

Sincerely,

_______

Be purposeful

If several weeks pass after your initial follow-up without word from the employer, initiate another call or email. As always, be polite, professional and respectful.

Keep a contact log

Your follow-up attempts will be much easier if you keep a contact log of all positions to which you apply.

Don’t be a pest

Repeated follow-ups are tricky. Unless you are confident that you can walk the fine line between being persistent and becoming a pest, exercise restraint after your third or fourth follow-up contact. Also, don’t give up hope if your follow-up efforts don’t yield immediate results.