I had an interview for a job...

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...and it seemed to go well. They told me that they would let me know 'within a few days' whether I had the job or not.

Now, 2 weeks later and I've heard nothing - should I contact them to see whats happening; or just assume they found someone else and couldn't be bothered letting me know?

I have the contact number of the person who held the interview, so I could ring them just to confirm; but maybe this would seem rude if they are still thinking about it?

― , Sunday, 21 August 2005 20:19 (twenty years ago)

don't contact them. they will get in touch w/you if they've interviewed you. they're probably interviewing more people or have gotten busy w/work.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Sunday, 21 August 2005 20:22 (twenty years ago)

Some say it's a good idea to follow-up a few days after an interview, just to let 'em know you're still interested. 2 weeks is probably late though.

― Hurting (Hurting), Sunday, 21 August 2005 20:23 (twenty years ago)

And anyway, it happens all the time that an interview "seems to go well" (and it probably actually did go well), but then you still don't get the job. It might mean they just liked someone else a little better.

― Hurting (Hurting), Sunday, 21 August 2005 20:24 (twenty years ago)

Two weeks = odds are poor that you are still in with a chance. Nonetheless, ringing them can gain you nothing that I can imagine.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Sunday, 21 August 2005 20:25 (twenty years ago)

I once went two months between interviews. I didn't get the job but I did get a second interview, so it's not necessarily impossible to get called back in.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Sunday, 21 August 2005 20:26 (twenty years ago)

Oh go ahead. If they're still considering, it doesn't hurt to check in (which lets them know you're still interested if this is in fact the case). If they're not, then they're the rude ones.

Just be sure to keep it brief and prof'l: "following up to check status, see if there's any more information I can provide" vs. "so wtf then?"

― rogermexico (rogermexico), Sunday, 21 August 2005 20:27 (twenty years ago)

Hurting OTM - I've just been through this on the hiring side. Our number two candidate was a great guy who I totally adored and would love to hang out with, and would need some time to grow into the role. Would have hired him without reservation, except that we got a resume from another guy who turned out to be a perfect fit for the job today. Been short-handed for a while, so this time around that mattered more.

fwiw, working on finding a place for the other guy within the larger organization...

― rogermexico (rogermexico), Sunday, 21 August 2005 20:31 (twenty years ago)

"a great guy who I totally adored and would love to hang out with"

Nice ass, too?

― Carol Emery, Sunday, 21 August 2005 20:42 (twenty years ago)

_|_

― rogermexico (rogermexico), Sunday, 21 August 2005 20:47 (twenty years ago)

i'd give a quick call back, and say that you just wanted to "check on the status and see if there was any more information i can provide" or somesuch.

― kingfish fucked up his login (kingfish 2.0), Sunday, 21 August 2005 21:21 (twenty years ago)

did you send a thank-you card after the interview?

― teeny (teeny), Sunday, 21 August 2005 21:34 (twenty years ago)

or a thank-you email, at least?

― kingfish fucked up his login (kingfish 2.0), Sunday, 21 August 2005 21:37 (twenty years ago)

Do you really need to send a card? I know everyone has their standards, but that always seemed excessive to me.

― Hurting (Hurting), Sunday, 21 August 2005 23:00 (twenty years ago)

I have sent a letter when it's a more corporate-type job, a card when it's a less formal job environment. I think it's pretty standard! My point in asking was to say that if the original poster hadn't sent a follow-up letter, they could, since it's probably not too late and it might remind the company that he/she is out there.

― teeny (teeny), Sunday, 21 August 2005 23:06 (twenty years ago)

Woohoo, I phoned and left an answerphone message and they rang back straight away saying I have a job; unfortunately an alternative one located about 15 miles further away from where I live but still its good news.

― , Monday, 22 August 2005 08:27 (twenty years ago)

I am stuck in exactly this situation.To email or not to email, that is the question.

― Anna (Anna), Monday, 22 August 2005 10:49 (twenty years ago)

Nonetheless, ringing them can gain you nothing that I can imagine.

Would it be: lose as opposed to gain? I don't know how these things really work, but I can't imagine your chances evaporating into thin air by calling'em back. You'll only discover if you still stand a chance, no?

― nathalie starts to cry each time we meet (stevie nixed), Monday, 22 August 2005 11:02 (twenty years ago)

they rang back straight away saying I have a job

Hurrah! Now Anna needs that phonecall as well and all be fine!

― nathalie starts to cry each time we meet (stevie nixed), Monday, 22 August 2005 11:02 (twenty years ago)

weird advice i think on this thread. i would always contact them! its only a phone call or email, and i dont see how it could be construed as rude, unless they specifically stated that they wouldnt be making a decision for X weeks.

employers are in my opinion pretty fucking abysmal at even being slightly couteous about this sort of thing, and it gets on my tits something chronic. a bleedin generic letter is pretty fucking easy to send out for employers, seeing as someone bothered to fill in the application form for you.

― ambrose (ambrose), Monday, 22 August 2005 11:04 (twenty years ago)

Sometimes they are waiting for a reference, worth a check.

(I have a new job too)

― Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Monday, 22 August 2005 11:06 (twenty years ago)

I actually got that the job I'm starting the week after next because I picked up the 'phone and asked what was happening.

It turned out that the MD of that Company (was completely snowed under? / is totally disorganised? I'll let you know in a few weeks time!) and I effectively ended up on a shortlist of 1 because I evidently had the (luck / initiative) to chase him at just the right time, and agreed to an informal meeting with him on a Saturday morning when I was in the area.

Otoh, when I've been recruiting staff myself, I have frequently delayed contacting my 2nd choice candidate to say "thanks but no thanks" until after I'm confident that my 1st choice has accepted and is actually going to turn up rather than being persuaded to stay by their existing employer - so by chasing too hard you could end up putting them in a difficult position which might not do you any favours.

Has the interviewer got a secretary / PA you could call for info. without actually putting the interviewer under direct pressure?

NB: You really should always follow up any formal interview with a written letter in any case.

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Monday, 22 August 2005 11:10 (twenty years ago)

As a hiring manager I strongly agree with the above. Always send a thank you, even if it a short message in a card. You want to keep your name in the hiring manager's mind as a potential candidate, and notes/e-mails/calls are very effective ways of keeping you top of mind. Writing and checking in shows enthusiasm for the opportunity and also provides positive evidence in how you will handle yourself if you are hired. Of course this assumes you have enthusiasm for the opportunity ...

― zaxxon25 (zaxxon25), Monday, 22 August 2005 11:17 (twenty years ago)

Is the thank you note an American thing? I've never heard of it in the UK.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Monday, 22 August 2005 11:28 (twenty years ago)

i think it might be, martin. i sent a thank you card after an interview here and they were 'just so touched' to receive it. ha!
i agree with the befriending a PA advice. secretaries are our friends! and usually have their finger on the pulse better than anyone! our editor's PA pretty much runs the place.
anna... definitely check in! i've been crossing my fingers for you since last week...

― dahlin (dahlin), Monday, 22 August 2005 11:39 (twenty years ago)

Nor me! It would strike me as bizarre, sending a thank you letter after an interview.

Calling/emailing to follow up if you haven't heard is never bad though - it shows you're not a timewaster, that you cared about the job. It's also a good opportunity (if you DIDN'T get the job) to ask for feedback on why; most employers are or should be happy to oblige and it's much better hearing 'there was someone a little more experienced' than forever wondering if they hated you.

― Archel (Archel), Monday, 22 August 2005 11:40 (twenty years ago)

I'd call, rather than email. You'll probably only gte an assistant rather than the hirer in question, but that's okay, they'll pass on the message and show your keenness without the potentially awkward deal of having to speak to the decision-maker.

Unless of course, it's like "you got a call from aaaaaa about the job vacancy, but I think he was, like, wasted"

― Markelby (Mark C), Monday, 22 August 2005 11:59 (twenty years ago)

ive got an intermediate sql test, and an entry level unix test on wednesday for a DBA job.
im gonna do some revision tonight, what should i expect?

― willdabeast, Monday, 22 August 2005 12:02 (twenty years ago)

i totally would have called them. you could even say 'i gather there was a better candidate for this position than me, but i was wondering if i could get some feedback on my interview'.

― gem (trisk), Monday, 22 August 2005 12:07 (twenty years ago)

I once got a second interview (which was a formality), purely as the original interviewer was so ratarsed, he couldn;t actually remember a thing about me...

(excerpt from orig int.)
He : "What will you be doing in five years time?"
Me : "Umm, I'm a contracter, so why do you want to know?"
He : "Good answer!"
He then went on to discuss David Coverdale's Whitesnake...

― mark grout (mark grout), Monday, 22 August 2005 12:14 (twenty years ago)

"Is the thank you note an American thing? I've never heard of it in the UK."

Neither had I until the most recent time I was job-hunting, when it appeared on several recruitment websites and was mentioned to me by several agencies as being "best practice" - so presumably it must have come into vogue at some point in the last 4 years.

An "American thing" originally no doubt but (like so many other American things before it) one that is rapidly being adopted by the UK too.

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Monday, 22 August 2005 12:19 (twenty years ago)

i wrote a thank you letter for my 'proper' job, which i got in 2001. i'm australian so presumably it isn't just some new american thing that has descended upon us five minutes ago.

― gem (trisk), Monday, 22 August 2005 12:20 (twenty years ago)

"the original interviewer was so ratarsed, he couldn;t actually remember a thing about me..."

Sounds like a good guy to work for....

"He then went on to discuss David Coverdale's Whitesnake..."

Oh dear.

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Monday, 22 August 2005 12:21 (twenty years ago)

Well, I may be damaging my job prospects but I am never ever going to write thank you notes to interviewers. Ew. It's creepy! And I don't like the implications about the power relationship - surely interviews are two-way processes with potential mutual benefits? The company needs a position filled and the applicant needs a job. So why should the applicant act like they've been done a favour?

― Archel (Archel), Monday, 22 August 2005 12:27 (twenty years ago)

i dunno, it was something i was advised to do by the careers counsellor at my old uni, i just assumed it was part of the process. i got the job anyway, and it was hugely competitive (i didn't know this while i was being interviewed as i am naive) so if that was what swung it, so be it.

― gem (trisk), Monday, 22 August 2005 12:34 (twenty years ago)

I've been told that thank-you notes are very important, and though it seems suck-uppy, it makes a lot of sense. Shows you're interested in the job while simultaneously keeping you in the prospective employer's mind while s/he considers who to hire. I've only done e-mails, tho, as that's how I've been contacted for previous jobs.

― David R. (popshots75`), Monday, 22 August 2005 12:37 (twenty years ago)

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