A reader writes:
Thanks in advance for your help. I have been applying online for jobs with no success. I never hear back although I am sure to be qualified for the positions I am applying for.
My question is: Is it poor etiquette to call the local company and speak to a manager regarding the position or should I wait for a recruiter to call me? I don’t want to jeopardize my chances of an interview by being presumptuous.
It’s fine to call — once. What you don’t want to do is harass them, but one phone call a few days or a week after you submit your application is fine. It might sound something like this: “I submitted my application for your __ position last week, and I just wanted to make sure my materials were received. I also want to reiterate my interest in the position; I think it might be a great match, and I’d love to talk with you about it when you’re ready to begin scheduling interviews.”
Something like that — short and sweet — is fine. What’s not fine is something that some job-hunting guides advise: saying that you’re calling “to schedule an interview.” You don’t get to decide to schedule the interview; they do, and it’s presumptuous, not “good salesmanship” or whatever those books claim, to pretend otherwise. Someone out there is also advising people to say things like that in their cover letter, which is leading to lots of closing lines like, “I will call you in a week to schedule a time to talk.” Ick.
{ 45 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks AAM. I now have to reconsider every cover letter I’ve ever written ever. That is just hilariously depressing.
Oh no! This is no way for me to spread holiday cheer. It’s probably worth remembering that I analyze this stuff neurotically and form opinions on every little aspect of it, whereas most people reviewing resumes probably have something better to do with their time than parse every last word like that.
Oh don’t trip on it. No worries. =)
I just continue to find it amusing that your wonderful, amazing blog continues to tell me about how a lot of the folks giving advice out there are giving not so great advice, at best.
In all honesty, I’m not surprised. ANd I’m just procrastinating on winter break homework so take anything I say with a grain of panic and barrel of salt.
So many students with whom I work are hesitant about following up because they don’t want to sound pushy, but I like your suggestion for how to follow up appropriately.
I would also suggest that if you say you’re going to follow up in your cover letter, do what you said you would do. I’ve heard a few complaints from our recruiters that applicants say they will call within a week, and only about 2% actually do.
Happy holidays!!
I HATE when they say they’re calling to schedule an interview. Then sometimes they follow it up with “I’m available to come in today if you want.” Nope, no thanks.
I can honestly say that I have never interviewed a candidate simply because they called to “follow up”. I interview those candidates who get screened into our recruitment process because their application/resume meets the qualifications posted.
And from the perspective of an extremely busy HR lady…we receive at least 50-100 resumes per day. I would say that at least 10% or more of these people call to “follow up”. Add that up and that makes a minimum of 25-35 calls per week taking anywhere from 5-30 minutes each, that’s a lot of time for a 1-person HR dept.
We have an automatic response set up in our system so candidates know that we have received their resume, and the automatic response “nicely says” that we don’t respond to general calls.
Wouldn’t that be a different situation though? I mean your office politely informs job seekers that they do not to to call to follow up and that you have received there materials. In that instance, doesn’t calling basically violate the instructions they have been given by the prospective employer?
I must agree with another HR lady. I have never interviewed someone who called to “follow up.” Not because they called to follow up, but because they were screened out for some reason – hence why they never heard back regarding an interview. Let me reiterate what I tell my friends who become frustrated with job searches – my job is to fill a position with the best candidate. Why wouldn’t I want to succeed? If you’re not hearing back, perhaps there’s a reason…a typo in your cover letter? A plagurized cover letter? No cover letter at all? These are the top three mistakes I see job seekers make. If you must insist on calling to follow up, you should call the person you submitted the resume to – HR, and not the hiring manager.
Anonymous, don’t you think it’s rude that you just flat out ignore a person instead of nicely rejecting them? A simple “Thanks, but no thanks” would do, don’t you think?
Hi LabRat…our automatic response set-up was our solution to try and cut down on the general calls. But yes, those who call now after hearing/seeing that message are pushing their luck. I also quite enjoy the people who ask if I received their resume when they already received a message that we got their resume. And bonus points to the people that leave a message asking what jobs are available when they have already been directed to check our website for available jobs. Fun! :-)
I was actually told that the reason I got my last interview (and current job) was because I had called them. They were hiring for several openings, and when the HR woman went to call for interviews, she had my name written on a piece of paper from a message I had left. Boom… I went to the top of the stack.
My advice is to skip HR altogether and get in touch with a hiring manager. Use LinkedIn or a Company Directory or a contact inside to get the name of the person to talk to.
HR will NOT help you. Go over their heads.
Thanks for all the comments above, it has helped me in spades.
Thank you for the advice on the simple followup. I tried it this morning, and the agency was really impressed that I had called to see if they had received my application and resume and whether or not they would be scheduling interviews soon. We'll see what happens, but so far so good!
We're trying to fill a sales position, and have received a lot of resumes. Only 10% were worth even calling for an interview. We've seen a lot of spelling errors, grammar mistakes, cut-and-paste, etc. The worst is those that are overly wordy for no reason, with lots of catch phrases.
We're a small company, with no HR department, so we are dealing with the process ourselves. Generally it's going very well, but we have one person who has called 5 times trying to get in for an interview, even telling me on one call that I'd be stupid to not interview him. We had no plans to call him for an interview, and DEFINITELY won't now! How on earth do we handle this guy?!?!
You should interview him.
lol, is it you Luke?
Anonymous, have you explicitly rejected him yet? If not, you need to do that.
We use to be able to walk into or onto a job site and pick up a job by actually asking the manager or any supervisor around the place?… This Human Resources “holier than thou (and besides my cousin is getting this job)” makes me sick.
No wonder so many people resort to robbing banks.
I am in HR and I can tell you that a well written cover letter doesn’t hurt, but it’s the resume that is looked at carefully. As a decision maker I accept the “set phrases” in a cover letter – realizing that creative writing is not something you want or it is necessary in a cover letter. A simple and cordial cover letter (gramatically correct, no spelling errors) can tell you that the person can string two sentences together. If it is well composed, well formatted, clean, neat (you would be surprised) and has essential details – I understand that the applicant understands business correspondence, and that’s important.
a am undergraduated of a none related course in the hotel industry in the philiphines i am only a skilled person experience stepped inn into a hotel and a restaurant as a helper cook into a 4star hotel once but, im seeking for a best into a same related job but i realized that i wish didn’t left my former job now im jobless so frustrating at home my application has been submitted awhile a week and the reciever told me that all the resume that be collected must reviews every friday but still i wait and wait until a month the question is my experience enough or fitted for a 5 star hotel or my education or culinary must to fill my head aches if i need to follow up my application
or not im afraid to fail and reject me, and what is the job awaits me if im rejected…
This was very helpful.
Thank you veru much.
Thanks exactly what I was looking for but I have something else to ask I want to call them for my status of the application, but also a quick fix on my phone number. The phone number I put down has turned unavailable. It was a sudden problem that came up and I don’t wish to miss a potential job interview. I do not want to sound like I am scheduling an interview but just to change my contact info. How should I tell them?
maggie… is that the only source you can be reached? what about email ?
i suggest you just give them a call and nicely tell them that you can be reached at this number [your new number]..after having a brief important talk with them..
I submitted an application last Wednesday and actually wrote a cover letter (I never did write one before). I was careful not to let them know about the whole scheduling, and I changed the wording around to say if they agree with my credentials they could reach me at ___ home and ___ cell…I don’t know if that was a good idea, but I also don’t know if I should call or email them to ask about the application.
How do you get your first job, everyone wants experience but how do you get experience if no one will hire you because you have no experience?? any HR people want to chime in here?
Not really on topic with this thread, but what the hell. Volunteer, temp, intern, put together your own projects….
I’ve tried that myself because I’m having that same problem, but most of the reps at my department of labor won’t even accept personal non work related exp. someone fresh out of highschool who can’t afford college really has no better chance than a drop out these days. looking back, that time getting a diploma seeems like a waste now for all the good it does.
I had been doing contract work at a company with the hopes of getting hired on by the company for a little less than a year. I was told that my position had been opened up and was “highly encouraged to apply”. I submitted my application about a week ago but was wondering about follow-up. I know who my direct report would be (and likely to have the most valuable input in getting the job) and the phone number but is it better to contact the HR manager, whose number I don’t have?
Your situation is a bit different because you’re always working there. You should contact the hiring manager.
thanks for your post. Like TheLabRat, I’ve gotta rethink my cover letters because I followed the “I’ll call in a week to discuss scheduling an interview etc” advice. I did think that was a little pushy. thanks again
I have always been told that it is good to keep calling back because when you do, it shows that you are interested in the job, and the harder you work for your job, the more likely you are to to a better job than another applicant. I didn’t get hired one time because someone told me that I never followed up, and they were considering hiring me… Do you agree?
Also if you get an interview, be sure to follow up with a thank you note to that person. Way better than a phone call.. sounding so nagging..
This is soooo helpful. I’m a high schoo student trying to find a job, so I don’t have a lot of experience in applying. It makes sense though (to follow up after applying but not be so pushy)
Thanks. This was very helpful. TheLabRat, you have opened my eyes and I will no longer listen to the advice I received from my undergrad career adviser. Years ago, I actually tried that “when can I schedule an interview with you” line. My friend who worked for the company overheard and nearly spit out her coffee; I never heard back about an interview. I was young and doing as instructed, now looking back…. wow, that really does sound terrible.
Thanks, this was extremely helpful. I made my first follow-up call today – always wanted to, but was never quite sure what to say.
A note to some (in my opinion) overly harsh HR people posting: Please remember that these people are probably desperate for a job, and likely have applications out to thirty different companies. So, try to cut them a little slack when they’re trying their best. After all, you never know if/when your company will fold and you’ll be in their position.
Exactly!! ^^^
Agreed!
I hear from a lot of people who do hiring that they discard resumes for reasons that aren’t what I call fair:
People who have more qualifications than necessary; people who have certain ethnic names; too many females/males in the department already
There are a lot of reasons to follow up and differentiate yourself. In a lot of entry level jobs, most people have the skill set to DO thet job or at least learn how to; it comes down to making a good impression.
So I applied for a new job two days ago with a cover letter and resume that has been read over and critiqued by my boss (CFO of my current job). He has always been the one who said I need to continue my career in another company because my BA degree in International Business can not help me progress where I am at. I was wondering if I should do a follow up call later next week to the hiring manager – since I know the name – and see if all of my material has been recieved. I really want this new job, because of the greater opportunities I will have, I just don’t want to bug the crap out of them by calling a week after my application has been submitted. Any encouragement would be greatful!!
You shouldn’t call to follow up. Read the post here!
You’re wrong. It depends entirely on the preference of manager. They may appreciate the follow-up, or they may not. It also depends on the type of position. For instance, with sales-type positions, you are much more likely to find managers seeking aggressive job seekers. If you can’t aggressively sell yourself, how can you sell anything else?
For the job seeker, “Human Resources” (aka “Personnel”) should be avoided and circumvented whenever possible. They are not there to help you.
Everything in hiring depends on the preferences of the manager. Since a job seeker can’t know from the outside what that particular manager’s preferences are, it’s logical to go with what the majority of managers prefer and don’t find annoying.
The other question is do you have an in?
If you know the guy through your current boss, or if your boss knows him, I would say take the risk.
Enough can never be said about networking. If the hiring manager knows your boss and has a good opinion of him, he or she will more than likely give you the time of day so long as you are direct, polite and get to the point. Use the phone call only to emphasize interest and NOT to push your agenda.
Gage their responses carefully as well – you’ll figure out pretty quickly if you’re taing too much time.
Geez. I am not sure if this is helpful or not. I am so sick of the job application process I could puke. More and more it seems to be who you know and not what you know. Somebody please give some kids a chance! Resumes and cover letters do not necessarily reflect the type of employee you will be, helpful but not the end all.
I was working with a manager who was head of a pretty prestigious department (within the field) and I noticed he was reading applications and filing quite a bit into the “No” bin. I asked him why these aren’t meeting his needs. He basically said “Unless they have something impressive on their experience [like 5 years of related experience] and they aren’t ambitious enough to call to follow up on their application, I don’t want to interview them” and pointed out how the job descriptions describes wanting ambitious people.
That guy sucks at hiring.