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The Always Up-to-Date Guide to Streaming Blocked Content Overseas This Graphic Is a Rough Guide to Bad (Or Badly Reported) Science CheapShark Helps Finds You Great Deals on Video Games Go the F**k Home Clean Your Keurig Coffee Maker With a Paper Clip, Straw, and Vinegar S How to Follow Up Without Being Annoying 843g21 Elliot Bell Filed to: PRODUCTIVITY EMAIL WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION REPUBLISHED 17 minutes ago EShare to Kinja jShare to Facebook iShare to Twitter rGo to permalink How to Follow Up Without Being Annoying SEXPAND No one wants to be annoying or bothersome to a professional contact, especially when you want a job, meeting, sales dollars, or something else very important fr om that person. But the average person can get a few hundred emails a day, and s ome of your messages might go unanswered. How do you know when it's okay to send a follow up message without being annoying? P This post originally appeared on The Muse.P I had a conversation with a friend the other day about his job search that went something like this:P Friend: I wrote to him last week and still haven't heard back. It's so frustrati ng.P Me: Why not follow up and check in?P Friend: I don't want to be annoying.P So, to the question: Should you follow up? Absolutely. In fact, it's your job. A nd how often should you do so? My philosophy is: As many times as it takes. The important thing is to do it the right way. Or, as I call it, to be "pleasantly p ersistent."P Here are a few tips on how to (nicely) follow up with that hiring manager, sales lead, or VIP and get the answer you're looking for.P Rule 1: Be Overly Polite and HumbleP RELATED How Being Humble, Kind, and Calm Will Make Your Life Easier

You've heard it all your life: Being humble, kind, and calm is the "right thing to do." But if that isn't enough to convince you, Read That seems obvious enough, but a lot of people take it personally when they don' t hear back from someone right away. Resist the urge to get upset or mad, and ne ver take your feelings out in an email, saying something like, "You haven't resp onded yet," or "You ignored my first email." Just maintain an extremely polite t one throughout the entire email thread. Showing that you're friendly and that yo u understand how busy your contact is is a good way to keep him or her intereste d (and not mad).P Rule 2: Persistent Doesn't Mean Every DayP Sending a follow-up email every day doesn't show you have gumption or passion, i t shows you don't respect a person's time. The general rule of thumb is to give at least a week before following up. Any sooner, and it might come off as pushy; let too much time pass, and you risk the other person not having any clue who y ou are. I typically start off with an email every week, and then switch to every couple of weeks.P Rule 3: Directly Ask if You Should Stop Reaching OutP If you've followed up a few times and still haven't heard back, it's worth direc tly asking if you should stop following up. After all, you don't want to waste y our time, either. I'll sometimes say, "I know how busy you are and completely un derstand if you just haven't had the time to reach back out. But I don't want to bombard you with emails if you're not interested. Just let me know if you'd pre fer I stop following up." Most people respect honesty and don't want to waste so meone's time, and they'll at least let you know one way or another.P Rule 4: Stand Out in a Good WayP RELATED Stand Out by Building Your Strengths, Rather Than Fixing Every Flaw When it comes to self-improvement, there's a tendency to focus on things you don 't do well. That's a never-ending battle, though. Read I once had someone trying to sell me something that I was remotely interested in but that was nowhere near the top of my priority list. Every week, he'd send me a new email quickly re-explaining what he sold as well as a suggestion for good p izza to try around the city. Why? He had seen a blog post where I mentioned I'd eat pizza 24/7 if I could, and cleverly worked that into his follow-up. It made him stand out in a good way, and as a result, we eventually had a call.P The lesson: If done well, a little creativity in your follow up can go a long wa y. If you're following up about a job, try Alexandra Franzen's tips for giving t he hiring manager something he or she can't resist.P Rule 5: Change it UpP If you're not connecting with someone, try changing it up. In other words, don't send the exact same email at the same time of day on the same day of week. Gett ing people to respond can sometimes just come down to catching them at the right time. If you always follow up in the morning, maybe try later in the day a few times.P Remember: If someone does ask you to stop following up, stop following up. But u ntil you hear that, it's your responsibility to keep trying.P Pleasantly Persistent: 5 Rules for Effectively Following Up | The MuseP

Elliott Bell is The Muse's Director of Marketing. He is a graduate of the French Culinary Institute, but opted for start-ups over 16-hour days as a line cook (f or the better hours, of course). Previously, Elliott spent 6 years making Seamle ss.com into a nationally known brand, and 1 month as a culinary assistant on Iro n Chef America. When he isn't Musing, he can be found playing tennis, making chi cken stock, or understanding the meaning of rap lyrics on rapgenius.com.P Photo by Thierry H.P Want to see your work on Lifehacker? Email Andy.P 21Reply AboutHelpTerms of UsePrivacyAdvertisingPermissionsContent GuidelinesRSSJobs