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Job Interview - Follow Up?

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shihtzulover

shihtzulover

Brilliant_Rock
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Jun 30, 2010
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Hi Everyone,

I interviewed last Tuesday for a job that I want. I followed up with a thank you e-mail a few hours later, but so far, I have heard nothing regarding their hiring decision. The position is also still posted on their website, although I know that they might not update it immediately. They also have the same position open in another area, but they had mentioned that they had a few candidates for that already - and it hasn't disappeared off their job board, either.

It's been over a week now, so I'm pretty convinced that I didn't get the job. I have only had a few jobs in the past, and I heard about all of those within a few days. I am trying to convince myself that this position is a little bit different, because they were needing someone quickly for two of my last positions, and the third involved several openings, so it's not like they were interviewing to fill only one spot.

Anyway, my interviewer gave me her phone number in case I have any questions, and I also have her e-mail address. Should I follow up again now? I'm not really sure what to say, and I don't want to be annoying.

Thanks for the help! :)
 
Hi Shihtzulover!

I wouldn't be discouraged yet, and I'd wait a little longer before contacting the employer/interviewer. It can take a while for them to interview candidates and then decide who they want to have back for another round (or make them an initial offer). This has been my husband's experience at times, anyway. Did they give you any sort of timeline during your interview?
 
I would follow up. Maybe not right now - wait until Monday perhaps? Sometimes managers have to interview a certain number of candidates before they can make a decision, so it might take them a while.
 
Thanks for the replies. I was not given a specific timeline, and I didn't want to seem pushy by asking for one. They did say that they would be in touch, but I know that might not mean anything.

They opened the position four days before I applied, and they called a week after I sent in my application. I actually interviewed just two business days after that (I think she might have made it later, because she originally was looking at the month of March in her calendar, but she was going to be in my town for the day and thought it would be easier than me driving to her office), and it's been just over a week since then.

I thought that the interview went pretty well (but I'm not really sure), except for the fact that they would prefer someone with experience in this type of setting. That being said, they did like that I am very interested in working in this type of setting, and my interviewer (who would be my future boss if I were to get this job) mentioned that as long as I have an interest, it will probably be okay, since she just trained someone without previous experience in this type of work environment, and she is doing really well.

She also said that she really liked my resume, and made a comment that I must be applying all over town with it. Before I left, she was asking me about whether or not there are a lot of job opportunities right now. I'm not really sure how to take that.
 
Zoe|1299073623|2862810 said:
Hi Shihtzulover!

I wouldn't be discouraged yet, and I'd wait a little longer before contacting the employer/interviewer. It can take a while for them to interview candidates and then decide who they want to have back for another round (or make them an initial offer). This has been my husband's experience at times, anyway. Did they give you any sort of timeline during your interview?
Click to expand...

Agreed. Depending on the level of position and candidates it could take quite a while. My job took three weeks, one in person interview and two phone interviews. My husbands position took over a month and three in person interviews. The other reason DH's took so long is that the company had a required amount of time that the job must stay posted. It may just be something like that.
 
I wouldn't freak out yet - it doesn't seem like it's been a ridiculously long time. If you are dying for info or if you have another offer on the table I think you'd be ok emailing at the one week mark and asking when they anticipate making a decision.

I recently interviewed for a new job. I was scheduled to interview on 1/27 and was snowed out, rescheduled to 2/2, and offered the job on 2/9. Other candidates interviewed on 1/25 and 1/26, so they didn't hear anything until after I accepted on 2/10 (or possibly later after I had completed my background check, etc). I'm not sure how representative my experience is but I wanted to give you an idea of what a time line can look like.

FWIW I don't think you would come off as pushy if you asked at the end of the interview when they anticipate making a decision - I did and it didn't hurt my chances :) Oh, and the position I've accepted and am starting next week is still listed on my company's website. So don't read too much into that either.

Best of luck to you!
 
SL,

My take? Email her. Thank her for her time. Express to her that you are extremely interested in this position because blah, blah, blah. Feel free to tell her, "I'm definitely interested and I just wanted to know what happens next/what are the next steps." There's NOTHING wrong with asking, and at the very least, it'll seem that you're INTERESTED in this job.

Then wait a week, week and a half.

Disclaimer: I'm not a HR person or a hiring manager, but I'm an "experienced job hunter."
 
I would wait a few more days, I think the suggestion of Monday is good. If she was originally going to schedule your interview for March, she is probably just now getting to the other candidates' interviews. When I interviewed for my current job, it took over three weeks to hear from my employer, so I wouldn't say a week is a long time at all! A follow-up is a good idea, but in your situation I think I'd wait until around the time the interviewer was originally looking at her calendar to do it -- that way, you can be fresh in her mind again once she has started meeting other candidates.

I should also add the disclaimer that I'm not an expert, though!
 
I don't think a week or more is too long to wait for a response, either way. It took a month between my interview and the final decision for my current position. I was an internal candidate, but still, I knew I had to be patient. I don't think a short thank-you e-mail would hurt, just expressing that you're definitely interested in the job, but also realize that managers are very busy and have HR hoops to jump through. You might want to check out the Ask a Manager blog, www.askamanager.org -- she writes for U.S. News and World Report and offers tons of helpful tips job hunting and dealing with managers. Good luck!!
 
I'd wait a few weeks. May seem a bit long, but you already sent a follow-up email and that sets the understanding that you're interested in the position. With my DH's employer, it took a few weeks before they sent up the interview and then at least two more weeks before they contacted him telling him he was hired.
 
Thanks for the advice, everyone! It seems like this could go either way. I really would like to know where they are in the hiring process, but like I said, I don't want to come across as pushy or annoying. I also wouldn't know exactly what to say, since I already sent a 'thank you' e-mail. I guess I could ask her something about the position, since she specifically gave me her phone number in case I had any questions.

Also, I'm not sure whether or not she would have interviewed the other candidates on the same day as me. She originally said "let's see...March" when looking at her calendar, but then she realized that it would probably be easier to interview when she was at the facility in my town. Since the position is here, there's a good chance that the other candidates live here, too, and would probably interview on the same day. Of course, that might not be the case. I might just be thinking about it too much!
 
I just went through this. I, too, have been used to getting offers very quickly after an interview. My latest position however is with a large institution - it took about a month to get an offer. I followed up weekly though, I see nothing wrong with that. Worked for me. Nothing wrong with asking them what their expected timeline is for evaluating candidates and hiring.
 
I went through a bunch of interviews with different companies. During my research, I read that the first thank you note should be handwritten so that you can follow up later with an email. Based on that, I would think a second+ follow up is to be expected when a candidate is interested in the position.

For my first job, it took them 2 months to bring me in for an interview. I contacted the HR recruiter once every 2 weeks or so just to stay in her mind.
 
For my current job, I didn't even get called for the second interview until a month after the first, and then the offer came three weeks after that! Things just move slowly at some workplaces. I wouldn't fret yet :)
 
Thanks for the replies! I am thinking about sending a follow-up email tomorrow morning. Maybe something like this?:

Good Morning _____ :

I just want to send a quick follow-up email regarding the vacant ______ position. As you suggested, I have been reviewing the ______ website, and it has proven to be very helpful in assisting me with gaining insight and knowledge about the different regulations in the _______ setting.

I hope that we have the opportunity to speak again soon. Please let me know if you need anything else from me.

Thank you, and have a wonderful weekend.

Sincerely,
shihtzulover



Does that sound okay, or should I edit it a bit? I would like to ask about the hiring timeline and of course whether or not I am still even being considered, but I'm not sure how to approach it.

Any thoughts?
 
That's not a bad email, but like almost everyone else who has responded, I'd wait before contacting her again. Speaking as a hiring manager... your email is not going to make her speed up her process - whatever it may be - and it might be seen as being pushy or insecure. In other words, you have little to gain and a lot to lose here, so it's worth your while to be more patient.

The only caveat is if you have indeed been studying a particular area in response to her request - and that was the aspect of your interview or experience about which she had expressed concern. In that situation it would be worthwhile to send the note, after a few more days have passed. (And of course you'll be ready to answer a few questions about that research in your second interview :wink2: )
 
Thanks for the advice. I guess it's just a little bit confusing to me, because I have been speaking with my previous supervisor about this position, and she suggested that I send a follow-up email. It seems risky to send the email (because I might come off as pushy), but I'm also worried about not sending one (because I might be seen as uninterested).

I'm not sure how many rounds of interviews they are planning to do for this position, and they already asked for my references list. My previous jobs all involved just one in-person interview, but this company might be a bit different.

Should I just wait until Monday morning to send it? Or should I wait longer than that?

The interviewer also gave me her phone number in case I have any questions, but I'm not really sure what to ask, since I already asked several questions during the interview.
 
I know it's hard but wait until Monday. For DH to get his current position, he waited 5 months to get an answer and went through 16 interviews for this ONE position during that time. Granted, he's in a different field than you, but I still wouldn't contact her until Monday at the earliest.
 
I know it's hard to wait, but as VR pointed out, contacting this person right now won't make her speed up her process. She knows you're interested and she most likely has very good reason for not contacting you yet. As we've said, it can take a while for a hiring manager to contact someone after the initial interview. There's nothing inappropriate in the e-mail you'd like to send, but I think it's too soon. As hard as it is, be patient.
 
Thanks, ladies! I'll hold out for now. :)
 
Since I hadn't heard anything, I went ahead and sent an e-mail to my interviewer (and would-be supervisor) last Monday, but never received a response. I figured that they weren't interested in me, but still checked their website to see if the position had been taken down.

I just checked again, and I noticed that the position is still open, BUT it looks like my interviewer's position is up there now, too! She was the ____ Director, and the position titled 'Area ____ Director' is open, and it is in the same facility where she is (was?) working.

Now I don't know what to do again! Is it possible that something happened, and that now I'm no longer being considered because she left suddenly? The internal application deadline for her positon was today, so the external just opened - and I have no idea if it's definitely her position (although it seems likely), and what happened with the decision process.

What should I do? It's one thing if I don't get this job because someone that they feel is more qualified applies, but it's another thing if it's because my interviewer leaves the company!
 
Do you have other contacts in the company that you could follow up with?
 
Unfortunately, she is really the only one - she called me, and she interviewed me. I did originally send my resume and cover letter to the human resources person, though, although I never had any contact with her.

Should I call human resources and ask?
 
Definitely call HR. It's their job to let you know how you did regardless of whether the interviewer has vacated the position.
 
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