Guys today starts my seven day challenge. That’s seven days of recording YouTube videos and uploading them. So wish me luck, here it goes. If this is your first time to my channel, Hey girl, Hey, my name is Jackie O and I am an OG original Black Digital Nomad and a globetrot mama. I slow travel full time with my toddler daughter, Ruth and this channel here is devoted to inspiring, educating and informing black women who are interested in either moving abroad and, or traveling full time.

So this week’s video is dedicated to the followup because I know there are tons of you guys out there who are like “Jackie, I really want to find a remote position, I don’t want to leave the US” and so two things, COVID is over and I found a way to make money. And for some people that is finding a job. So my last week’s video was dedicated to how to score that dream interview, et cetera, et cetera. But now I’m going to go into a little bit more detail of the followup, how to follow up, some technologies that you can use because you know, I’m a technologist. I worked in technology jeez, for over 10 years. I still do a lot of public policy consulting in technology. So let’s get into it guys.

Guys, I’m sitting here waiting for my chai tea latte to be finished and I just remembered that the toughest thing about applying for a job is the waiting. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. So in this video guys, I am going to teach you the keys to mastering the followup because the followup is so crucial when you have sent your resume, your application out into the universe and you’re like, “am I going to get a response, when it’s coming?”

Okay. So we’re going to talk about how to master the followup and this is a video to add onto my video of how to land the remote position of your dreams. Hunter.io, if you guys are not using this, you should be and let me tell you why. Because a lot of you guys have sent me messages in my DM saying, “Jackie, one of the tips you provided was to reach out directly to the hiring manager and or people in the department that you’re interested in applying to”. And that is so true but some of you guys don’t have Instagram, not Instagram, sorry guys. Some of you guys don’t have a LinkedIn premium membership and so you don’t have the InMail functionality and that’s okay guys because technology is a beautiful thing. 

And there is a site called Hunter.io and all you need guys is to have the name of someone in that department or the HR manager and the name of the company and you enter that into hunter.io and guess what? Magically their email address will appear, right. And what do you need for a follow-up? You need an email address, right? So there you have it guys, you have their email address. Put them all on paper, write them down, think about them, do this exercise for at least an hour guys. If you can’t think for an hour on the reasons why you’re amazing then we’re going to have to make another video about why you’re amazing and we figure that out. So you’re going to do that guys. 

And then once you’ve finished that exercise then you’re going to take all of that and you’re going to summarize it in an email and you are going to follow up and just introduce yourself. And if you’ve done all the other steps and ask for an informational interview, et cetera, et cetera, say that hasn’t worked or say, you’re like, Jackie, this is my first video with you, I don’t even know what you’re talking about when you say informational video or any of that other stuff. That’s okay guys cause I’m going to put a link to that last video so you can learn. You’ve typed up a blurb and just put that blurb in and send it off. But don’t just send it off to the HR manager, send it off to other people in that team, other people that you could be working with. 

Explain to them that you’ve applied to that position, let them know you know they’re not the hiring manager, but you’d love to chat with them, you’d love to reach out to them, you’d love 15 minutes of their time just to find out about their experiences at the company and ask if you can set up a zoom call. Or better yet, I mean, I like zoom but if you just need to do a phone call, a phone call is fine too guys. But just get it done because you want your name on the radar [with] as many people in the company as possible. Guys, there’s this gem called Streak Chrome Extension. If you do not have it downloaded to your Gmail account, go ahead and do that right now. I’ll wait. But seriously guys download that bad boy because it is going to be your partner in crime in the follow-up. And let me tell you why, because you can stalk the hell, not stalk guys cause stalking ain’t cute. Don’t actually stalk anybody, but you can follow up the hell out of that HR manager. Or that person in the company that you are trying to get in contact with. Why? Because this extension. This Google extension lets you know each time someone opens your email and why do you need to know that? Because you need to know if they’re ignoring you or they haven’t had a chance to respond to your email.

And I always say, you should follow up with someone at least three times before you move on and say, “I guess they just ignore me”. Right. But three times in a non stalker-ish way, even though you are checking to see if they’ve checked your email. Right. And I always say, give it at least a week and during that week use that extension to see if they have looked at the email. If they’ve looked at it a couple times, maybe they’re contemplating it and they’re thinking it over and after a week if they haven’t looked at it at all, definitely, definitely follow up. Right. And then I would say wait another week after that. So, it’s a three-week process in total, right. If they’re looking at your email and it’s been about a week, say it’s been four or five days but you see they just opened your email again, go ahead and follow up. Follow up and just say, “Hey, I just wanted to make sure you got this”. And even if there’s something interesting, an interesting article you think they might be interested in, just ways to sell yourself and establish that you are a leader in whatever area you are applying for. 

If it is an HR role then send them an interesting article about HR and add to it how you incorporate this in how you do your job duties. I mean just think of something guys. Be out of the box, be dynamic, and be original. Okay. So remember that extension, it works wonders. But, this is just kind of an off the record, I want to get as many questions about the company answered as I possibly can. And I say guys, if you land one of these or even if you land an actual interview do your research. An interview is as much about you interviewing them as it is about them interviewing you. 

And you do not want to waste your time and you do not want to waste somebody else’s time. You heard me. So what I need you to do. And if you follow the last video is do as much research as possible about the company. Know everything you can, right. Know as much as you can about that person as well. Look through their LinkedIn profile. Find out where they work before, find out how long they’ve worked at a company. I realized X, Y, and Z. Whatever you can do to connect to that person on a human to human level. Because again guys, relationships matter. Even in this era of technology or especially in this era of technology. Relationships are so critical and so fundamental to scoring that dream job.

Because by the time you got to an actual interview, they may be fairly confident in your skillset. There may be some things you have to solidify. But now they just want to see, are you a cool ass person? Are you a dynamic go-getter? Or are you boring? When one door closes, another door opens so do not give up, be persistent and you got this. So if you liked this video. Please like, and subscribe and let me know in the comments other videos that you would like me to make. Cause guys remember you’re magical, your life should be to, take care. 

Hey, black girl, Hey. You good cause I’m fabulous. I’m a digital nomad and my lifestyle allows my daughter and I to experience new places, cultures, foods, and people. Living abroad and or traveling full time is amazing. It is freedom. Work from anywhere. I want more black women to experience this same sort of freedom. I help black women manifest their dreams of a life abroad or a full time travel. Are you ready for a life beyond your wildest dreams? Hopefully learn from this How to Find a Remote Job.