Never sound passive or disinterested when following up. Don't say, "I'm calling to see if you have made a decision" Project a proactive stance by asking something like "I'd like to let you know I'm very interested in position. Is there anything I can do to help you with your decision?"

After a while, step back and see if follow up is going on to point of absurdity. If you've followed up for months with no results, it may be time to cut loose and move on to other opportunities.

Consider sending a polite but firm fax saying that you'll need to have an answer either way so that you can pursue other opportunities. And that you'd appreciate an email or phone call to let you know where it stands.

If you have been rejected, make a conscious attempt to not take it personally. Hiring someone for a job involves many variables and you can't control all of them. Instead, consider doing this.

If you've developed a good rapport with an interviewer, call and ask if he or she would be willing to share reasons why you were not selected.

They won't always tell you. But sometimes, they are willing to give you real reasons. And that can be valuable feedback for you in your job search. Learn from them and move on.

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

You are likely to be in a position to do this well, because at interview, you learnt something of what they're looking for. You have 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 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 stress of hunting for a job. And this is true irrespective of whether you get 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.