A reader writes:
I recently interviewed for a job, and didn’t get it. A few weeks later, though, the person I interviewed with contacted me out of the blue to ask me if I’d like to interview for a similar position, which was unposted. I went to the interview, met with four different people, toured the office–it took a whole afternoon! I sent off my thank-you notes, and one of my interviewers even responded by saying that she thought I should hear something soon. I felt like it was a lock.
Then, nothing. At first I thought, it’s the holidays, people are gone, it’s understandable that I haven’t heard anything. Then, a couple days after New Year’s, the job is posted as being open on their website. I responded by emailing the hiring manager, politely reiterating my interest in the position: nothing.
So, shall I give up? All I want at this point is closure. There’s this small part of me hanging on, thinking, “They’re just posting the job to cover their bases, and I haven’t heard from them because they’re putting an offer together. But I know it’s far more likely that they’ve simply moved on, don’t want me for the position, and won’t get back to me because they’re too busy.
Could you please tell me what you think is going on? If I’m out of the running, that’s fine. I just want to move on with my life!
Well, they certainly wouldn’t be the first employer to never bother to get back to candidates after interviewing them. It’s incredibly rude and inconsiderate, but it does happen all the time.
However, I don’t think we have enough reason to conclude that’s happening here, at least not yet. Hiring often takes longer than candidates think it will. And when you emailed the hiring manager, you didn’t actually ask for an update on timeline; you just reiterated your interest. To get real information, you need to directly ask about their timeline. Say something like this: “I hoped to get an update from you on your timeline for next steps and/or a hiring decision. I understand hiring takes time, of course, but can you give me a sense of when I’m likely to hear back from you?”
Ideally, you’d always ask this question at the end of an interview, so that you’re armed with information rather than sitting around wondering. Plus, then, if the timeline passes without word from them, you have a logical reason to check back in.
The fact that the job was posted after your interview may or may not mean anything. They might have reasonably concluded, “This guy seems good, but we’d be silly not to open up the candidate pool to make sure he really is the best person for the job.”
As a side note, I think you probably did yourself a disservice by feeling “it was a lock” after your interview. It’s never a lock, not until you have an official offer in hand. They may have thought you were a strong candidate but someone else ended up being stronger, or the job description may have changed in some way, or they may have hit any of a number of snags. Don’t assume it’s a lock, no matter how positive things seem.
Anyway, contact them, ask about their timeline, and see what happens. Good luck!
{ 75 comments… read them below or add one }
I interviewed for a position in 2009. I still haven’t received a reply. Yes, I was told that I should hear something within a specified period of time, and yes, I did send a thank you that afternoon. I guess it’s safe to say I didn’t get the job.
But, on the converse to the comment above, I’ve read tons of stories (many of them comments on entries in this blog!) where people get a call months after they’ve given up. It happens!
I’ve had to do that – we started the search for someone and then for reasons beyond my control it was tabled for quite a while.
Months later I was asked to contact one of the candidates for a final interview and she had just accepted a position not two weeks prior.
It isn’t right, and it sucks, but it does happen. That’s why Allison’s advice about following up appropriately but then putting it out of your mind and getting on with your search is so dead on. There can be a million reasons you didn’t hear back, and some of them may have nothing to do with you. No company calls a candidate to tell them they are sorry, but their process is disorganized and they will call when they get their ducks in a row.
Although, how awesome would it be if some company did just that?
I applied for a civilian job with a local police department. I had to take a test, pass a panel interview, interview with the chief of police, go through a polygraph examination, and a background investigation. Everything went well, and feeling confident, especially after my would-be boss showed me my office and even discussed projects for me to do after all the hoops had been jumped through, I resigned my position at a Silicon Valley startup (the civilian job paid a lot more money).
Nearly a week goes by, and nothing about a start date. I called my would-be boss, and she sounded very embarrassed, and told me to contact the police chief. He sounded equally embarrassed when he told me that the city manager had said no to hiring me because they didn’t have the money. No one had checked to see if they even could afford me. I felt like a Kafka character, like I had been told something was of value, and I was given it, only to find out it was made of pot metal. I still can’t laugh about it except sardonically.
Ouch. Never, ever, ever resign your job until you have a firm offer (that you plan to accept), preferable in writing!
I once had to wait well over two months to hear that I got the job. And that was NOTHING compared to my husband who got a job after five (yes five!!) months. They said their original timeframe was “a couple weeks” which was clearly an underestimate!
Obviously, the hiring team is waiting for a candidate stronger than your husband, but the right guy never shows up, so, they come back to Mr.No2. I have to say, some hiring teams have no timelines, they just waiting, not so eager to hiring someone.
I also recently had a job interview and have not received any response from the company. A rejection letter, or send an email, let me know something – no, we’ve gone with someone else. Even if they haven’t chosen anyone, still send me an update.
That’s what emailyourinterviewer.com is for :D
Like you, nearly two months have passed since I had my second interview, and the employer did not reply within the two weeks they originally promised. Also, I had been in situation where the employer went silent and I received an offer when their top candidate dropped off. By that time I already had two other (better) job offers. Moral of the story, move on and you might be on the way to something bigger and better.
I had two rounds with a company, the second was to meet the president of the division because the first round went really well with the hiring mgr (VP) and his manager, the SVP. The SVP was asking me when I could start, how my commute would be, etc. The VP asked me for my references, never called them, and then never returned my emails or call. And I was pretty sure that I hit it off with the president.
This is a fortune 100 company and should know not to treat candidates this way as the word gets out. All they had to do was respond over email and say that they went with someone else or cut the job or whatever. Very unprofessional.
I went on a interview the beginning of this week, I followed up with a thank you note and called yesterday, only to be told no decision as been made should I assume I didn’t get it or sould I wait
See the column above — applies to your situation too.
Thanks for this. I had a phone interview, was invited to a 3 hour interview, which included meeting the COO and being interviewed by him (he spoke very well of my qualifications), demonstrating what I knew about the job, lunch with the team, and being invited to meet the CEO, who asked me to provide my references to the person who initially contacted me. Nearly 2 weeks and nothing. After stewing about it for most of this week, I found your site, and felt brave enough to send a short email asking the status of my candidacy. At the very least, I feel better having taken some action, and my wife thanks you, as I was behaving like a caged tiger, making her crazy. Regardless of what happens, having sent the email gives me back a little control and some of my sanity.
Good! And I know it seems long when you’re waiting to hear, but 2 weeks isn’t actually terribly long on the hiring side! Check in every week or two to reiterate your interest, ask for the occasional update on their timeline, and good luck!
Thanks. If there is no communication from the potential employer, at what point should I consider that I’m not in the running anymore, and should (finish) moving on?
I have to comment that the company with which I interviewed is run by people roughly half my age, and it isn’t the first time I’ve interviewed with a company where the staff is much younger than myself. In the past instance, I didn’t receive any kind of communication regarding that I wouldn’t go any farther in the hiring process. I mention the age factor because having been a young person myself (and did silly things), having to contact someone about not being hired, an unpleasant task, I’m sure, and then not doing it, seems akin to hiding an onerous piece of homework or bad report card from parents, and hoping it will never be found or that there won’t be repercussions. Is this a trend, sadly, that’s developing in business, as the workforce is younger and not experienced in some of the “old-fashioned” business courtesies of the past?
I’m middle-aged, and don’t consider myself typical of some one in that group, but I am aware that there are still somethings that should be done, e.g., send “thank you” notes (now emails) to the interviewers after the interview.
I don’t think it’s due to the place being run by younger people; this has sadly become typical at companies of all types.
As for when to move on, move on now. Not because you’re definitely out of the running (maybe you are and maybe you aren’t), but because it does you no good NOT to move on. If at some point they contact you with an offer, you can evaluate it then. Moving on in your head won’t prevent them from eventually coming to you with an offer if that’s in the cards. But it will prevent you from agonizing.
Thanks. I’ll let you know what happens, one way or another.
Alison,
I did hear back today. They’re “changing how they look at fraud [my area of expertise] in their system and therefore decided to change what they are looking for in the position at this time”, and the usual stuff, “keep in touch”, “sure we’ll be hiring for similar positions in the future”, etc.
Hey, at least I got closure, and can move on completely. Thanks.
I applied for a job at a hospital about 6 weeks ago. The interview went well,and after the interview the manager asked for my references and even asked me to sign a waiver. I thought I was a potential candidate. To only find out I did not get the offer. What happened?
You know that none of that is an iron-clad sign that you’re going to get an offer, right? Even “we’re strongly considering making you an offer” doesn’t mean you’re going to get an offer. There are lots of qualified candidates, and usually only one of them gets hired.
I feel like this needs to become its own post because I hear this a lot.
Last week I had an interview with my dream company and I got two different time frames of when I would hear back for second rounds. This past week (Monday) I emailed one of the interviewers to clear up the time frame discrepancy. I was emailed later that day and she told me she had copied the director and that the director could clear it up with me. I believe she may have bcc’d the director because I didn’t actually see her on the email. Now today (Thur) I have yet to hear anything from the director and I also noticed that they closed the job posting this afternoon when I went on their corporate website. Is this a bad sign? Should I follow up with the director myself and if so when?
on-site interviews, 3rd phone screen calls (HR, hiring manager, hiring manager and team) and nothing. zero. no response. “you’ll hear from so and so by next week”. yeah. i end my follow up with “am I still being considered xyz – 123?” so that it takes 4 steps to get a response and still nothing:
1. reply button
2. keystroke “n”
3. keystroke “o”
4. send button
i don’t care about punctuation or complete sentences in a reply. i would be grateful for two or three letters on the keyboard but too much to ask for.
rejection in a job hunt is a given. applications to jobs online almost always get zero response. again, a given. spending half a day at the company interviewing then not even a “no”? or being told “we’ll get back to you” after your third or fourth phone interview then nothing? that’s the bad part about job hunting. it’s downright insulting. I know i know, just move on, no harm no foul. if any job applicant is just as inconsiderate and rude as these employers are, will they just shrug it off as no harm no foul? riiiiiight. Fs.
I interviewed for a position a a boutique consulting firm exactly one month ago today. After the interivew, I thought tht I did an ok job. I was not too excited until they asked me for 2 writing samples. I sent them in, and I got no response. I thought it was rude that no one got back to me.
Then, out of the blue…a few minutes ago, I got an email stating that they would like to set up a second interview with me over lunch.
I am a little insulted that they never contacted me after the writing sample. I have had two other interviews this week from other companies.
What should I do? I hate feeling insulted :(!!!
Then don’t feel insulted. This kind of thing is par for the course.
About 3 weeks ago I interviewed with 9 individuals (all consultants that are high up in the chain) and the main hiring person did not give me a date by which to hear by. I do remember one of them mentioning that they had several candidates they were interviewing (which made me think on the spot that “okay fine so they’re nicely telling me I wasn’t what they were looking for). At this point, I would really appreciate them just letting me know if I am not in the running so I sent an email reiterating my interest but also asking them to notify me if I did not make the cut. It’s been 4 days and no reply email. Should I assume that I’m cut and that this means in 3 months I’ll receive a rejection letter? Why can’t they just hit reply and say that I’m still on the radar or I’m far off it?
They should, but they may not. And it’s possible you may even get a job offer from them at some point. But the best thing you can do now is to put it out of your head — stop trying to get a response from them, move on, and let it be a nice surprise if they do contact you.
I applied for a job online and was immediately contacted by someone for a brief conversation– a couple of days later, I was contacted for a phone interview with the hiring manager. I was contacted about a week later for an in-person interview. They flew me in for a few days and put me through a series of interviews with people at many levels of the organization. I didn’t interview with HR at all. I ended the day with a series of tours of buildings–tour led by some staff members (not hiring manager)– so I wasn’t able to ask for a timeline. It was a bit unclear when the day started who I would be ending with. I did have dinner with the hiring manager the evening before the interviews, though.
When I had my interview (not the dinner) with the hiring manager, the CEO stopped in to meet me and the hiring manager was “selling me” saying “this one is special–check out the test scores, etc”
I know they were interviewing some internal and external applicants. I sent a thank you email to the HR person and a staff member (did the tour) right afterwards. It has been 1.5 weeks and I haven’t heard anything.
Should I reach out and call to ask my status? In normal terms, 1.5 weeks isn’t very long since I know they have other applicants to interview but since they had moved so quickly before I am beginning to wonder. I would also think they would let me know either way since they went to the trouble of bringing me cross-country.
Advice? Should I call them? Shouldn’t they let me know either way since they invested so much in my interview process?
What kind of sense of their timeline did they give you, for next steps?
They didn’t. I didn’t end with HR or the hiring manager so I didn’t ask at the end of the day.
In that case, you’ll find lots of advice on this in the “job search: follow up” category in the archives!
I have looked at archives but was hoping for some specific information– would appreciate it!
Same advice that you’ll find in the “job search: follow up” section — applies here too! (I get asked this question so many times that now I just refer people to the existing posts on it.)
I applied for a position with a local college. A few weeks later, the manager contacts me telling me about a different position I would be more qualified for. I applied that night and received a phone call the next morning to have a meeting. I met with her last Tuesday, but unfortunately, couldn’t meet with one of her coworkers because he was sick. I think I hit it off very well with the manager. I sent a thank you email that night and received a response the next morning to contact the coworker who was sick. I met with him on Friday and he led me to believe that they would be moving fast and wanted someone to start in March. I sent him a thank you note that night, no response (which I know is usual).
In the meantime, the manager called two of my references the Thursday in between my two interviews. She called my last reference Tuesday morning of this week. I have not heard from anyone since.
I know I should continue to wait and will follow-up tomorrow to see if they have an update. I just had my hopes up because of the reference checks. Any advice out of the normal, “wait and see?”
Nope. The ball is in their court now and you need to be patient and wait and see!
Thanks for the response! It’s a bummer to wait around.
This might help:
http://www.askamanager.org/2010/01/employer-time-vs-candidate-time-2-very.html
Just got a call and was offered the job :)
That’s great. Congratulations!
I work for a company as a contractor. Recently, the company posted for a new position at different department and I applied. After one week I got call in for an interview. During the interview one of the 3 persons that interview me read my resume and tell me that my background not fit much in technical field. After interview they didn’t say when they will contact me or give me a final decision. it’s almost two weeks and I haven’t heard anything from them. Is this mean that they think I’m not a qualify candidate so they not told me anything about the hiring process?
You can email them and ask their timeline for making a decision.
Hi, I’m a fresh graduate so finding a job is a new quest for me. I’ve been applied in several companies and it’s been roughly 2-3 weeks since then and no “responses” yet. Does it means that my resume went straight to “NO” folder, or should I wait or maybe send a follow up email?
thanks.
You should continue applying for other jobs. Their silence might be a rejection, or it just might mean that they’re not ready to begin contacting candidates yet; there’s really no way to know from the outside.
So this is very similar to the question that the first reader posted but I am really worried. I interviewed for a job at a hospital a little while back and received an actual job offer on 02/13/2012, and it is now 03/06/2012(almost a month!) I already did my drug test and got the results of my background check sent to me in the mail, the person that contacted me did not give me any of her info and the email she sent was a non-reply email so there is no one I can really talk to about finding out how the process is going. Is a month not enough time to wait or should I just move on and find something else?
A month is a very long time to wait, since you have an actual job offer (which I’m assuming you formally accepted). Call the person who would be your manager. If you don’t know who that is, call HR. Say you want to set your start date.
I had my first interview with hiring manager then I had a second one with quality manger and a third one with HR. It’s been 3 weeks and haven’t heard anything. When I asked to the HR how soon the position will be available, she told me 2 weeks. But the quality manager told me they have others candidates and that they will be conducting interview for a couple weeks. should I call and follow up or should I just give up? Please help. I am so depressed right now
You can follow up! Do it in an email, not a phone call. Read the “job search: following up” category in my archives for tons on how to do this. (You can find the archive categories in the middle sidebar.)
After two weeks I send an follow up email to the hiring manager for asking the update status. It’s been couple day and he has not reply back to my mail. Is this mean that he think I’m not a qualified candidate so he would not bother to contact me.thanks
Nope. I mean, it might mean that, but it also might just mean that he has nothing to report yet.
I had my on-campus interview for the Software Intern position exactly 4 weeks ago. So I followed up with them about a week ago and a day later got an email saying “We have not made a decision yet.” Does anyone have any advice for me? Should I keep following up with them or should I just give up?
There’s a lot on this in the “job search: follow up” category of the archives.
I went for an interview 10 days ago, and I thought it went great. I heard last week through the grapevine they had been calling my ref’s. But today I saw they reposted the job. Just wish I had gotten a heads up I didn’t get it. Not a great way to find out you didn’t get a job.
I recently went on 2 interviews & thought they went well. Im guessing I didnt get the job because I had called yesterday for a follow up & she said she would call me back but hasnt yet? I just had my second interview on Tuesday.
It’s only been three days? That’s nothing. Hiring moves very, very slowly. Sit tight.
I recently went on 2 interviews & thought they went well. Im guessing I didnt get the job because I had called yesterday for a follow up & she said she would call me back because she was short staffed & swamped but hasnt yet? I just had my second interview on Tuesday.
Hi,
I went to an interview on the 09/02/2012 have been receiving communication from the HR department but not what i want to hear….they asked my notice period, asked if i have medical aid and so on….last week some time i sent an email direct to the person that interviewed me and within two hours got a call from HR asking if i have accepted any other offers ,i responded saying no and she said she will be in touch with me to make me an offer but till today i havent received anything.
Should i send another email or wait again, and what does this mean?
Thank you.
Send her an email and ask what their timeline is for making an offer.
Thank you , i will do so.
I went for an interview 3weeks ago and it was great! I really make a good impression and they were smiling and when they asked me questions i answered them with some good answers and just being me. I sent an email the next day to say thank you and it was a great privilege and then the one interviewee said it was our pleasure and then now its 3 weeks and still no answer so i sent an email to see if the position has been filled or not and that if its not that i still expressed my interest…..I just wanna know if they are considering me or not….what do you think?
See the post above :)
i went to last month on the 19/03/2012 and on Tuesday 10/03/2012 called HR Manager and she told me they haven’t appointed candidates for the post and she doesn’t know when will they call does this mean they might call or should i forget about the interview and look for other opportunities
I went to an interview, it seemed it go well. Immediately after they emailed and asked me to send through all my academic transcripts………its been two weeks now have not heard from them since. Can I assume I did not get the job:(
I’ve been going through the motions with a company now for over a month for a position. Two weeks passed after my first interview before I was called back for a second interview. In my second interview the hiring managers told me I should be hearing from them early next week to schedule the final panel interview. A week passed and I heard nothing so I emailed to follow up. I was told they “are at a crossroads with the candidates and the position” and would be in touch soon. Another week has passed and I have not heard anything. Should I send another follow up email? Or chalk this up to yet another waste of time with rude interviewers who don’t have the decency to inform you when you didn’t get the position?
This actually hasn’t been that long, in the world of hiring. I’d just sit tight and be patient. If you haven’t heard anything three weeks from the last contact, I’d follow up again then — but give it the full three weeks.
My husband has been getting several emails from a Hr…she sent him paper work to fill out,like application and a security screening. He sent all that in and was told she would let him know any updates ….he got a email back,saying you should be hearing from the hiring manager for a phone interview…it’s been a week now,and my husband has not received any phone calls.Does that mean they are not interested any longer,or they found someone else. Does it mean they might be busy or does it take longer to prepare for a phone interview. Hope to hear someone advice thanks Rhonda
I applied for a job and was contacted for a phone interview with the hiring manager. After the phone interview I was told I would hear about in person interviews the following week. I was contacted the next Friday, asking if I could make travel/hospitality arrangements to be there for my in person interview that following Monday (yes, 3 days later). I’m a recent college graduate and do not have extra money, but I scrambled and made plans to make the 6 hour drive and got hotel reservations for the night prior. I felt the interview went very well, took over an hour, got a tour of the facility, and also was shown the new office area, met the other 4 members of the team, and was also introduced to the AD of the college. After an hour and a half, I asked when they hoped to make a decision, and I was told they would be in contact within 2-3 weeks. It’s been more than 3 weeks, and I haven’t heard back. I sent an e-mail inquiring about the status of the position, but haven’t received a response. Is it fair to assume I didn’t get the job, or is it possible they’re dragging their feet? Why make a verbal statement saying you’ll be in touch if you don’t plan on contacting a potential employee? This isn’t my first interview, and I’m sure it won’t be my last, but this is the most unprofessional situation I’ve dealt with and I’m not really sure where to go with it.
The bottom line is this. If an employer is interested they will make you an offer. I would not wait around because anything can happen and you may not have been chosen. Keep moving forward.
I passed an assessment test three wks ago. Next day did an interview and day after that was asked to do a drug test and I passed. I called to ask when will I start and they told me when something becomes available. I was told I would be doing assembly. The company is similiar to Caterpillar. It may takes months to get in I’m assuming but why have me believe I would be getting the position by asking me to do a drug test. I thought that pretty much finalizes employment. What is going on?
I was recommended for a VP job by two very high executives. Within the last 3 weeks, I had a phone interview and in-person interview with the hiring Exe VP, interview with the COO and interview with the President of Marketing. In my interview with the hiring Exe VP she asked my salary requirements and that she wanted to move on this quickly. After my last interview I sent an email to the hiring VP re-confirming my interest. She responded and stated she was going to follow-up with my last two interviewers and that “she was still scoping other candidates, but they wanted to make a decision in two weeks but she would follow-up with me later next week on where they are in the process. The position hasn’t been posted.
After all the interviews and asking about salary do I have a chance even though they are still “scoping” other candidates? In addition, why would they even tell me that? I know it’s only two weeks, but I don’t handle stress very good :(
I’m not sure if
I had been interviewed for a lead role in a startup company. Since the interviews were by phone and there was one round of interview pending with the director of the organisation and this never happened, I sent him an email (he was the one that offered the chance for the interviews) and the reply was that he got busy and asked for my current remuneration. I replied to this and a couple of days later sent a follow up email (I was being impatient, I admit) just to know the status. He replied telling that they had 2 more interviewees lined up for the week. But he confirmed that I was shortlisted and that he would get back to me in due course. Now I’ve waited one more week after the said week of the interviews. Would it be wise if I send another follow up email.
Yep, send one more.
Back in Sept of 2010 I recieved a call for a phone screen for a position that I had applied for. I never heard back from anyone. Then the middle of last month I got a phone call to come in for an interview. I feel it went great! The hiring manager even gave me a print out of my pre-interview testing and said that I was exactly what they are looking for. I then interviewed with her boss a week later, who again told me nothing but good things. A week after that I interviewed with the VP and he told me that he was recommending me for the job and that he was looking forward to working with me. The next step was to be his boss calling me, but I was told that this was just standard proceedure and I should not worry about the interview with him. That was a week ago yesterday and I have never heard from anyone. The original time line was three weeks which is next week. I am afraid to bother them by calling. I am not sure what to do. Should I call and check up on my status, or just wait it out? I don’t understand did I not get the job?
Call or email to follow up, and read the “job search: follow up” category in the archives here.
They didn’t give me any emails. I usually always follow up. But, in this case I am not sure who to follow up to. Everyone of them said that they were recommending me for the job and that it would take a while. I guess I can call but I have no direct line to my would be boss and everytime prior to trying to set up an interview time was intercepted by the recptionist. I guess I am just dis-heartened by my would-be boss’, boss’, boss telling me that he was looking forward to working with me and that he was recommending me and I would have one more follow up interview and never hearing anything. I don’t understand how I could be perfect to everyone and basically being told I had to the job to not hearing anything.
I recently applied to a position and had an interview. The interview seemed to go really well. I interviewed with the person that I would be working for, and she said she liked my answers to her questions, and acknowledged my experience. At the end of the interview she said she always interviews all candidates a second time and that she would definitely call me and “second interviews are next week.” She said she wanted to fill the position by early next month because she and the other staff person would be out of town during parts of the month, and she would need coverage. When I arrived home, I realized that she did not give me a business card with contact information on it, but I found her workplace mailing address and sent a thank you letter to her. It is now Friday afternoon of “next week”, and I haven’t had a phone call or an email from her. My gut tells me that she will not call. I have since applied to two more jobs. I realize it’s only been a week, but I feel like during the normal course of events, a hiring manager would limit the number of interviews on the second round to real candidates, and since I haven’t heard anything during the week of the second interviews my hopes are slipping. It is quickly approaching the end of the month, and she is aware that I need to give my current employer two weeks of notice if I am hired. I will continue on with my job search, but should I still hope for further contact from this employer, and is her lack of follow-up a sign that she might not be the best person to work for?