Harrin, Elizabeth. "You Can’t Be Serious? 6 Ways to Get Taken Seriously at Work." Web Log post. The Glass Hammer. 25 Mar. 2010.

Harrin, Elizabeth. "You Can’t Be Serious? 6 Ways to Get Taken Seriously at Work." Web Log post. The Glass Hammer. 25 Mar. 2010.

“A lot of young women just assume they’re being ignored if they don’t hear back from a boss, client, or coworker and they never follow up,” says Dr. Debra Condren, who interviewed 500 women for her book, Ambition Is Not A Dirty Word, and founder of ManhattanBusinessCoaching.com. “Never assume someone is ignoring you,” she says. “I see young women do this all the time—they imagine the worst. ‘He didn’t respond to my email or voicemail; it’s been five days. That can only be a bad sign.’ They stay silent, fail to follow up, then miss an opportunity; they find out after it’s too late that the person never received their earlier communication. People are crazy busy; sometimes a gentle prod can dislodge the answer you’re looking for. Don’t assume you’ve been rejected. Make it easy for people to get back to you. Always state your phone number twice and provide your e-mail address, even if you know they already have it.”

Condren recommends following up using multiple communication channels. Leave an email and a voicemail. Stop by their office to make sure that they got the information. Condren suggests taking this approach because it’s difficult to tell how someone processes information: they could prefer a different communication channel to you. However, it’s an approach you should use with care. “Be brief—bare bones,” she recommends. “People are busy; they won’t listen to a rambling voice message or scroll down through a paragraph in an email.”