Uh oh.

I've got a short one for you today. I just finished reading an article called "What to Do When You Come in Second" It really got me thinking: this whole time I've been focused on getting the job on your first try, but not everyone will get a job on their first try. So today, I just wanted to share an idea from the aforementioned article that could help you out in case you don't score a job offer the first time.

Mark Jaffe applied a little bit of his search firm's experience to your job search experience, in the form of a follow-up. Keep in mind that the reason you didn't get the job isn't always because they didn't want you. Sometimes it's because they wanted someone else more. But like Mr. Jaffe says, that decision is based almost entirely on interview performance, and the employer may be sweating the decision afterward.

So what happens if you don't get the job? Well, I've suggested before that you send a thank you note shortly after getting the news. The purpose of the note is to thank your interviewers, and maybe squeeze some information out of them on how you can improve your next interview performance.

The next thing you can do, as Mr. Jaffe suggests, is do another follow-up a couple of months in the future to see how things are going. The idea may seem a bit... well, snobby, but you may be able to get your foot back in the door by doing it.

Let's think about this: If the new guy isn't working out, they may express a willingness to reevaluate you and/or others for a position, and likely you'll be the first candidate to know about it. If the new guy is working out, and you were crafty about how you asked, it shows the employer that you're interested in their success, and still quite interested in the job. Maybe they'll consider hanging on to your resume and interviewing documents for future reference.

Keep this in mind in case you run into this situation!