Question Following up an interview beyond the thank-you email

Question for the room:

Say I had interviews at a Japanese company, during which I was encouraged to ask questions about the role or the company in general by email while I wait for further contact from the company. Now, I have plenty of questions but I don't want to be presumptuous or annoying, and it's quite uncommon in my professional experience that such an email would even take place while waiting for the company to complete interviews with other candidates. However, I do also see the merit in doing so: it shows enthusiasm, initiative, and inquisitiveness, which could set me apart from the other candidates. Further, given that they've potentially hinted that I should send a follow-up email, I don't want to be left out in the cold by missing these hints.

What's the best way to approach this situation? I've researched the role and have plenty of good and not-overly-intrusive-or-presumptuous questions in hand, but I'm not sure a.) whether to send a follow up email or just wait for them to contact me or b.) if I'm sending such an email, when to send it? After a week? Two?

Any input from folks who have worked in Japan, especially being hired for a new job, would be super helpful.

How would you handle this situation if it were a company in your country? If they encouraged you to follow up and ask to your heart's content, then this is precisely what you should do.

I agree. No need to be hesitant to ask follow-up questions via email. Send as soon as possible.

"After our meeting of last week, I have some follow-up questions about the position/company, and I was hoping you could answer them".

Don't overthink or "over-worry" about it. The company should be happy to answer. Or, if they have already found a better candidate than you, it may provide them with an opportunity to say, "thank you for your interest, but unfortunately we are filling the position with another person". Either way, its progress.

Majestic said:

I agree. No need to be hesitant to ask follow-up questions via email. Send as soon as possible.

"After our meeting of last week, I have some follow-up questions about the position/company, and I was hoping you could answer them".

Don't overthink or "over-worry" about it. The company should be happy to answer. Or, if they have already found a better candidate than you, it may provide them with an opportunity to say, "thank you for your interest, but unfortunately we are filling the position with another person". Either way, its progress.

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I think this is a good way to look at it. My main hesitation is just that my questions don't really matter if I don't get the job, and I'm trying avoid being しつこい / 迷惑. So I was curious to see if anyone knew if there's some Japanese hiring etiquette I had never heard of before.

thomas said:

How would you handle this situation if it were a company in your country? If they encouraged you to follow up and ask to your heart's content, then this is precisely what you should do.

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Well, the reason I'm in such a pickle is precisely because I absolutely would not send an email like this in my country of origin (for fear of being annoying or seeming desperate). So it's just a matter of etiquette, and I'm curious about an aspect of Japanese hiring/interviewing culture that I haven't been exposed to yet.

I agree with thomas except I would be selective in the questions you ask. I would show some appreciation and ask a question or two. Nothing too challenging. I don't know about Japan but as a hiring manager but I would be concerned if a candidate asked a bunch of questions indicating they couldn't do any research themselves ("what products does your company offer") or showed a lack of common sense ("What's the best place to live") or showed misplaced priorities/greed ("Does the company reimburse for cell phone use").

mdchachi said:

I agree with thomas except I would be selective in the questions you ask. I would show some appreciation and ask a question or two. Nothing too challenging. I don't know about Japan but as a hiring manager but I would be concerned if a candidate asked a bunch of questions indicating they couldn't do any research themselves ("what products does your company offer") or showed a lack of common sense ("What's the best place to live") or showed misplaced priorities/greed ("Does the company reimburse for cell phone use").

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If you are moving from afar, I think a modified version of "What's the best place to live?" may be appropriate. You can look at a map and transit schedules but you may not know about local traffic "flow" or daily issues.

I would agree that sending an email as soon as possible is a good idea, but don't make the questions throw away. Ask good questions that would not be possible to answer without asking someone at that company. Ask about the work culture, the benefits, the dress code, specifics about the job duties, and other things like that.

Asking some of those questions after the interview is one of the reasons I ended up getting hired (I found out later).

@mdchachi @Petaris Thanks for the answers. These are really helpful perspectives. I think I'll go ahead with a short one asking about dress code (great idea btw), since this is something that's already on my mind and can differ greatly from company to company, especially depending on location.

Excellent suggestions yall

Petaris said:

If you are moving from afar, I think a modified version of "What's the best place to live?" may be appropriate. You can look at a map and transit schedules but you may not know about local traffic "flow" or daily issues.

I would agree that sending an email as soon as possible is a good idea, but don't make the questions throw away. Ask good questions that would not be possible to answer without asking someone at that company. Ask about the work culture, the benefits, the dress code, specifics about the job duties, and other things like that.

Asking some of those questions after the interview is one of the reasons I ended up getting hired (I found out later).

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I think it would be premature to ask for housing advice before determining if they are serious (ie second round of interviews). It's a waste of everybody's time. Of course you should find out what kind of housing/moving assistance they will offer. But if it didn't come up at the first interview I would wait until the second or after.
As a hiring manager I'd be more impressed by questions that imply you have interest and want to do a good job rather than "what's in it for me"? On the other hand if it's HR that you're interacting with then by all means ask them some of the practical questions about housing allowances etc. For some of those items even if you don't get the job it will be a good reference that you can compare against other offers.

mdchachi said:

I think it would be premature to ask for housing advice before determining if they are serious (ie second round of interviews). It's a waste of everybody's time. Of course you should find out what kind of housing/moving assistance they will offer. But if it didn't come up at the first interview I would wait until the second or after.
As a hiring manager I'd be more impressed by questions that imply you have interest and want to do a good job rather than "what's in it for me"? On the other hand if it's HR that you're interacting with then by all means ask them some of the practical questions about housing allowances etc. For some of those items even if you don't get the job it will be a good reference that you can compare against other offers.

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Actually, I've already made it through the second round, so if I get a third it's likely to just be a formality to show my face around the office and make sure I'm not a total dud. That's why I thought the dress code question was so smart, because I've already more or less had all my questions answered that aren't salary etc., and I think it's best to hold off on that until that 3rd interview.

Do you have any other suggestions, given the extra context? I've been wracking my brain for questions that are relevant but not pushy or presumptuous.

jobHunter9000 said:

Actually, I've already made it through the second round, so if I get a third it's likely to just be a formality to show my face around the office and make sure I'm not a total dud. That's why I thought the dress code question was so smart, because I've already more or less had all my questions answered that aren't salary etc., and I think it's best to hold off on that until that 3rd interview.

Do you have any other suggestions, given the extra context? I've been wracking my brain for questions that are relevant but not pushy or presumptuous.

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Oh. If so, you can ask anything that affects the offer as well as job responsibilities. Did they already go over the benefits? Commuting reimbursement. Housing reimbursement (if applicable). Temporary housing allowance until you find a permanent place. Moving allowance. Tax handling (do they file your taxes for you). Insurance. etc.