How to Play the Post-Interview Waiting Game
So you had the job interview, things seemed to go well, and you left expecting that you would hear back soon. But now...silence. And you're left waiting around with no idea of when or if you'll hear from them.
It's not at all unusual for the hiring process to take longer than a candidate would like, for all sorts of reasons: Decision makers are out of town, scheduling conflicts are delaying a final interview, the bureaucracy necessary to finalize an offer takes weeks to work through (not necessarily a great sign about the work environment, but that's a different topic), and so forth.
But you're not entirely at the company's mercy, although it might feel that way.
First, if the company didn't give you a sense of when it expects to make a decision, follow up to reinforce your interest and politely inquire about its timeline. If the interviewers did give you a sense of their timeline and that time has now passed, follow up and explain you're very interested but understand that hiring can take time, and ask if they have an updated timeline. Companies know that candidates may be juggling other interviews and pending offers, and they won't see this request as unreasonable.
Next, if you have time constraints, say so. For instance, if you have another offer, tell the first company's interviewers that you're extremely interested in the position but that you have an offer from another company that you need to answer within a week (or whatever your timeline is). Tell them that they would be your first choice but that you're constricted by the other company's timeline. Employers who are very interested in you will do what they can to expedite things.
(Of course, be prepared for them to tell you that they can't move any faster. That's one reason why you shouldn't play games with this, such as implying that you have another offer when you really don't.)
And whatever you do, don't let up on your job search, no matter how confident you are that an offer is coming. Things change; other candidates come along; plans for the position evolve or even get canceled. Until you have a firm offer in hand, you have to proceed as if you don't, since ultimately you can control only your side of the process—so keep setting up those other interviews.
And if you never hear back from the company—not even with a rejection (as seems to be a growing and incredibly rude trend)? That's a company you don't want to work for anyway. Bullet dodged.
Alison Green is chief of staff for a medium-size nonprofit, where she oversees day-to-day management of the staff as well as hiring, firing, and staff development. She is working with the Management Center to coauthor a book on nonprofit management. Her writings have been published in the Washington Post, the New York Times, Maxim, and dozens of other publications. She blogs at Ask a Manager.
Tags: careers | interviews
Tools: 
Share
|
| Comments (6) | Print
Reader Comments
Final Interview
Does your explaination also apply to the final three candidates in the pool after the last round of interviews? I can understand if an applicant never hears back after the first or the second round. However, I do not know if the same can be said after the finale. Please let me know. Thanks.
Ask at the interview
Bring to the interview a list of questions you want to ask. Two of those quesitons should be:
1. May I call you if I have any quesitons? Hopefully this will give you permission to contact the manager if you don't hear from him or her.
2. When might I expect to hear about your hiring decision? This will tell you when to make the follow up call if he or she doesn't get back to you.
In the thank you note that you send immediately after the interview, mention that you're eager to hear from them in whatever time span they gave you. This will serve as a gentle reminder that you've marked it in your calendar.
Why I believe employers increasingly don't respond to job seekers
A serious mistake job seekers make is assuming the interviewer is competent or properly trained in how to conduct job interviews! I believe the sometimes-long post interview waiting game is due to elements of the following. In my experience as an employment mediator, ill-trained job interviewers are all too common. Companies routinely find themselves in legal hot water promoting individuals into management and then “turning them loose” in job interview settings.
My non-scientific research has shown that less than 10% of job applicants have an understanding that job interviews are a process not an event. The trend seems to be that career seekers "pick and choose" parts of the process to familiarize themselves with while ignoring other key parts. The interviewee learns about how to create an excellent resume but not how to interpret a job description.
The job seeker spends time reviewing interview questions the interviewer may ask, but not the questions they should ask the employer. For example, how is the company doing finacially? Is the company a target for corporate takeover? Is their any merger plans in the near future that could affect the position applied for? You accept a position only to find out 6 months later the business is sold and your job is targeted for elimination or layoff.
The one thing that has been consistent is the inconsistency of job interview questions. Job seekers should understand that the person doing the interview and making the final hiring decision might not be the sharpest knife in the drawer. He or she may not have the essential skills to be an effective interviewer. Job interviewers routinely ask illegal or improper questions either out of ignorance or deliberately with the intent to discriminate against certain groups. That makes learning to give good job interview answers and asking good job interview questions so important.
The article writer makes a very astute observation when she states, "And if you never hear back from the company—not even with a rejection (as seems to be a growing and incredibly rude trend)? That's a company you don't want to work for anyway. Bullet dodged." I have also noticed an increasing tendency by employers not responding to job applicants after the interview process is "over". I believe a contributing factor is the aforementioned lack of awareness of the interview process by the job seeker.
For example, the interviewer asks, How long have you lived in this area? The interviewee responds, "My husband and I moved here from Venezuela 2 years ago." The interviewee is more than qualified for the position and is eligible to work, yet never gets a response from the employer. Why? Because the employer may be motivated by political and or racial bias, especially given the political tension between the U.S. and Venezuela.
Employers and interviewers routinely discriminate against job seekers for various reasons up to and including race, religion, gender, national origin, political affiliation (If it can be determined through illegal questions), age even the professional sports teams the applicant likes or dislikes! My theory is the company will simply act as if you never existed, with the belief that will circumvent potential discrimination claims.
advertisement
