Unable to follow upAt the beginning of April I interviewed for a position that I was really interested in and qualified for. I felt the interview went really well, I asked a lot of questions and felt I made a good impression. I also was sure to follow up with thank you notes to both of the interviewers. The HR advisor (one of the interviewers) mentioned to me in the interview that a decision wouldn't be made for another 2 weeks because the President (second interviewer) was going on vacation. She mentioned that he would be back by the 16th and they should have an answer by then. She also mentioned that despite the outcome all interviewee's would be notified. And she also stated that if I wanted to follow up or if I had any other job offers to give her a call and she would let me know what my standing was. I followed up with a phone call on the 17th. I didn't receive any answer so I left a message stating that I wished to follow up and left a number which she could get back to me. I didn't hear back the next day, so I called back a couple of times (didn't leave any messages, just called to see if I would be able to speak to her) but did not get a response.The next day I still didn't hear back, so I called once no answer. The day after, called once. No answer. It has been a week now and I haven't had my call returned and have been unable to reach her. Should I keep calling to try to reach her? Or should I write this off as a lost cause? Even if I am no longer in the running I would still like to speak to her just to get feedback from my interview. My impression during the interview was that they were very willing to follow up with candidates so I am surprised by this response. Any suggestions on what I should do? Sorry this happened. I think you should move on. If I had to guess what happened here, I'd say that the position had been withdrawn, and HR is too chagrined to take calls from any of the applicants.
My question is, why are the employers that we are seeking employment with so rude and do not return emails, phone calls, etc? Are they teaching a class now for these people on how to conduct interviews without any etiquette afterwards.?
Fear of litigation perhaps? I agree it is rude. And the worst offenders seem to be the big established companies that should know better. I've gotten multiple offer letters in the past, and it would never occur to me to accept one and leave the others in the lurch. But that's what these companies are doing. No, its actually worse since the people on the other side of the table aren't going to miss a meal or a mortgage payment waiting to hear back from the candidate of their dreams. To the HR people out there, is there really a good reason why you can't send a quick "I regret to inform you the position is closed" or "You are still under consideration, but the process will take another three weeks" email out to the person who is pestering you?
Do you think when you try to politely pester for a decision and you get the rejection that it because of that- pestering?
Call someone else. One of the other interviewers or the receptionist. Maybe the IHR clerk quit, was fired, or died.
I would think it is unlikely that a candidate would be rejected for a polite inquiry about his status. Unless he comes on like a stalker, I can't imagine that anyone'd think less of someone for wanting to follow up. Show them that you were paying attention. If they told you that it will take a week to decide, don't call them 5 times the next day. Once, maybe, if you really can't wait, but not 5 times. And don't push, just thank them, mention why you're a good fit, and that you look forward to hearing back in a week. If they called you in for one or more interviews and then they don't want to hear from you at all it means you weren't going to get it anyway. Or they don't have their act together. Either way, it probably wasn't meant to be. | |
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