What should I do
I just had an interview last Thursday for a position that I'm really interested in. The recruiter said that there may or may not be a second interview involved depending on whether or not the CIO wanted to be involved in the hiring process for this particular position. Before she took me to interview with three other members of the IT department she said that she would call within a few days to give me feedback. I thought the interview went pretty good; nothing bad happened that was a huge cause for concern and I felt comfortable with the majority of my answers. The last interviewer also stated that the recruiter would get back to me as he walked me out.
Here it is a week later and still no call from the recruiter. I'm kind of in a worry mode at this point because I am really interested in this job and I'm starting to feel like I didn't get it. Is it too early to think this way?
This is the first interview I've been on since I graduated from college in December and I have no other prospects at this point. The recruiter (internal btw) said they were interested in hiring recent grads which was great because most IT jobs want experience that I don't have at this point. There was actually two openings for this particular position and I thought that helped my chances of getting hired. Now I just keep thinking that I said something wrong that turned them off. Do you think I would've recieved a call by now if they were interested? Any suggestions or opinions would be appreciated.
Welcome to the new, ever changing world of job seeking!!!
I can tell you are a job seeker novice. Take it from one of the "old kids on the block": One of the first things you will learn is that recruiters/interviewers tend not to do what they tell you they will. It seems like they operate on a different calendar/in a different time zone than the candidates are in. If they say they will call, they don' t: if they do, it may be days or weeks after they originally told you. What you think should take days can actually take weeks, or in some cases, even a month or more.
So, try to take a deep breath, and don' t get your worry genes in an uproar. Chances are 50/50 that they could still be interested in you, and you could still be in the running. They could just be having rough week, or had an additional candidate or two they needed to interview. I would wait until tomorrow (Friday) and either call or send an email and just ask what the status currently is on the position.
I know the waiting game is horrible, but you will learn to adapt to that, too, with time. I always say that you need to develop a rather thick skin when going through the job hunting process. Meanwhile, never stop your search, even if you think you "aced" the interview, and have the job "in the bag." Because, in reality, while that is what all of us hope for when we interview, that isn' t always the case.
I think that everybody has a different perspective on this subject but here is mine:
Do not follow up with a thank you letter/e-mail the next day or the day after that, but no more than three days after the actual interview you should send a little thank you for the interviewer's time and attention and reiterating your strengths and what you believe makes the proper candidate for the position. Take care not to re-hash the entire interview. Hopefully, the interviewer will aknowledge the follow-up with a quick "we are still in the process" (unfortunately, I would not hold my breath for that. human resource people are notoriously unprofessional and ignorant of the interviewee's feelings or needs) (My opinion, people so don't attack) If they do, great, at least you know that you are still in the running. If they don't all you can do is wait. But DON'T put off or refuse another interview just because you are waiting for them.
I would continue to look, whenever a door is closed another one will open. Their loss is going to be another company' s gain. Since they have not taken the time to call you or to inform you of the status, as small as it may be, this tells me that their HR dept. is either overworked, underpaid, or they simply don' t follow through on procedures. (and that' s not good)
I am a Recruiter, and have been for 20 year' s. Follow-up is key with any applicant that comes into an HR dept. anything less than that, I wouldn' t want to work for that company.
Please do not let this experience stop you, stay on line, send your resume out to as many companies as you can that are looking for individuals with your background experience. Don' t quit until you get to the job that YOU WANT.
This isn' t so complicated. Just call the recruiter (on the phone) and ask the status. If they haven' t decided yet, ask when you should check back again.
In the meantime keep looking but it isn' t at all uncommon for things like this to take longer than a week.
I actually did what you suggested. The interview was last thursday and I sent the thank you letter on tuesday. However, I didn' t receive a reply from the recruiter.
Do most companies notify you even if you didn' t get the job or does that vary quite a bit?
Obviously I' m new to job hunting. I' ve worked for family most of my life and I' ve never really had to go through all this. So I' m not sure what' s normal and what isn' t at this point. I didn' t think that finding a job was gonna be this tough and I' m trying not to get discouraged in the process. I appreciate everyone' s comments and would love to hear any other opinions on the matter.
I have interviews that I never got a response from either way and then I have had others that got back to me pretty quickly. I would not get frustrated and I know that is difficult believe me I am going through it myself at this point and I am getting frustrated but then I just take a few deep breaths and try to calm myself down and keep looking. You will find that dream job you' re looking for, I promise. Just keep calm and patient.
They all vary. I have been in the job market and actively looking since the beginning of August of 2006. I have sent a grand total of 280 resumes to advertisement through the Sunday paper. I have applied to a grand total of 840 jobs through Monster, 20 through Craigslist (they are mostly work at home scams so I don't go there often) and about 90 - 95 jobs through Careerbuilders. The only reason I haven't applied to more is that Careerbuilders and Monster.com generally have the same advertisements posted and I will only apply to the same job through two different entities if I am that depressed by my situation or if the job really sounds like what I want. With all that, I have been to 2 interviews a week on average. I send a follow-up email with every one. I have received exactly 7 letters and emails from people I intervewed with with the outcome. Oh and one phone call with the message left on my answering machine. I received one job offer from someone that I didn't even want to work for, but I figured what the heck.
So, unfortunately, I am very very biased which is why I am of the belief that human resource people and/or interviewers are unprofessional and ignorant of others feelings and time.
But, please don't let my prejudice sway you. Stay the course and apply wherever you feel you are best qualified or interested. Think the best of every interview you go to. Keeping positive will get you through this time. (I think I just identified my own stinkin' problem)
By the way, I am just a little ticked off because the job interview that I was supposed to go on today was cancelled because the person leaving the position changed her mind and decided not to leave. JERK!!!!!