Effective follow-up after a job interview is often a key reason why someone gets a job, even though there are other equally qualified candidates. Many candidates treat follow up as an optional add-on to their job search. That's just not the case.

There are several reasons why you should follow up.

Sometimes, out of sight is really out of mind. Your phone call or letter can help the interviewer remember you over other candidates.

We like to believe that hiring decisions are made logically and not influenced by extraneous considerations like whether you follow-up. In practice, that's rarely the case, as most executives involved in recruitment will tell you.

Following up will ensure top-of-mind recall. That is sometime enough to give you an edge over the competition.

Also consider that while getting a job may be a top priority for you, hiring a new hand might be a very urgent need for the employer. Even if it is a priority for the organization, it might get lost in all the day-to-day fires the decision maker has to deal with. A phone call from you might be what it takes to give the decision higher priority.

Apart from that, your phone calls and letters are an opportunity to reaffirm your strengths and even assuage some of the interviewer's concerns.

You are likely to be in a position to do this well, because at the interview, you learnt something of what they're looking for. You have the information to make your follow up more effective.

Some employers want to see who follows. This is often true of jobs in sales. If you don't follow-up, what does it say of your aggression and persistence? Why should they give you the job?

Finally, you get a much greater sense of control if you follow-up rather than wait passively for a phone call. A feeling of control is just what you need to help you deal with the stress of hunting for a job. And this is true irrespective of whether you get the job nor not.

Post-interview follow up is a great way to get better results from your job search. Make sure that effective follow up is part of your job hunt arsenal.

Mary Brent is an expert on job interviews and careers. Her numerous articles offer valuable tips for interviews, answers to interview questions, ways to write effective thank you notes and more.