# Call Me Back Already, Dammit! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 13, 2012, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-me-back-already-dammit/615680 "2012-03-13T19:40:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-me-back-already-dammit/615680/1 "2012-03-13T19:40:48Z")
So, the shitheels have triumphed ([background here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14327222&postcount=13)), with the end result being a newfound “fuck my department and its incompetent management” attitude for me. If they want to fuck up the entire department, have fun – time for me to jump off the sinking ship. On Friday I started looking around on our corporate HR site for a new job (after all, I’d love to stay with the company – 14 years of corporate benefits and all that). Well wouldya look at that – a job in another department (a work-at-home position, no less) for which I’m perfectly suited. I meet every qualification, I’ve had past experience in a tangentially-related field which will give me a leg up, and I’m all-around a perfect fit. \, resume sent. So why did today have to be a really nice day? If it were raining, then I wouldn’t have taken that walk at lunch, and I’d have been here when the recruiter phoned me up. I returned from my walk to a “call me back” voice mail. Ok, call him back, and leave him a voice mail of my own. It’s now two hours later. Hey recruiter guy, ya mind reading the title of this thread?! Cruel and unusual, leaving a guy hanging like this… ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-me-back-already-dammit/615680/2 "2012-03-13T19:56:29Z")
Heh I’m in a similar position. I had a couple of job interviews that went well - one so well that they called me back in to meet more people on the team. A few days later they asked me for my references and background check information and basic medical info. I sent them everything, but haven’t heard back at all and it’s driving me crazy. I’m drafting a follow-up email to see if there’s a problem or they need more information from me, but I’m so tempted to just write: Y U NO CALL BACK?! I really, really want this job ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-me-back-already-dammit/615680/3 "2012-03-13T20:50:05Z")
You know the rule. You are expecting an important call. You sit by the phone all day, then ask yourself, “What are the odds that this call will come in while I run out for 20 minutes to grab some lunch?” Strangely enough, the odds are 100% that the call will be returned while you’re out. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-me-back-already-dammit/615680/4 "2012-03-13T20:57:36Z")
I had to station a co-worker near my phone while I ran to pee. And now the workday is three minutes from being over, so unless you see an update shortly after 5:00 Eastern, that means I’m heading home for a night of “Did I get the job? Was he calling to say ‘congratulations’? Was he calling to say ‘you’re the least-valuable candidate we had apply, and we just wanted to laugh at you’? Was it just a standard ‘we got your resume, let’s set up an interview’ call? Was he calling to say ‘we were going to hire you, but then we did a cursory google check of your known _nom de geek_ and came up with some disturbing allegations about some ovine predilections’?” CALL ME THE HELL BACK, DAMMIT!! ---
**Author:** ![DiggitCamara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@DiggitCamara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiggitCamara)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-me-back-already-dammit/615680/5 "2012-03-13T22:35:17Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > I had to station a co-worker near my phone while I ran to pee. > > And now the workday is three minutes from being over, so unless you see an update shortly after 5:00 Eastern, that means I’m heading home for a night of “Did I get the job? Was he calling to say ‘congratulations’? Was he calling to say ‘you’re the least-valuable candidate we had apply, and we just wanted to laugh at you’? Was it just a standard ‘we got your resume, let’s set up an interview’ call? Was he calling to say ‘we were going to hire you, but then we did a cursory google check of your known _nom de geek_ and came up with some disturbing allegations about some ovine predilections’?” > > CALL ME THE HELL BACK, DAMMIT!! You could make it easier on them and detail the obscure allegations on your resume… ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-me-back-already-dammit/615680/6 "2012-03-14T13:26:47Z")
Just met with the HR guy – and it went awesome. Going to have a formal interview with the manager of the department I’m looking to join later this week. On the downside, I’ve found that taking this position would be about a $7-8k/year pay cut…_but_, when you take into account that my commuting expenses are about $14k/year, it’s definitely worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-me-back-already-dammit/615680/7 "2012-03-14T14:52:11Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > On the downside, I’ve found that taking this position would be about a $7-8k/year pay cut…_but_, when you take into account that my commuting expenses are about $14k/year, it’s definitely worth it. Before I even got to the end of your sentence I was sputtering about commuting expenses and clothing costs 🙂 Also you should look into what paperwork is required to write off the costs for your home office. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-me-back-already-dammit/615680/8 "2012-03-14T16:41:15Z")
That’s good news. I still have no news whatsoever and it’s depressing me. I’ll try and reach the HR person today, but I’m feeling really unsure of myself (even though my husband is convinced that this is just the rate of bureaucracy and I shouldn’t worry). I hate being unemployed. I was convinced I’d get hired by this company (where I did my internships!) right after I finished school…back in June. My self-esteem is basically nil right now. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-me-back-already-dammit/615680/9 "2012-03-14T18:03:05Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > Just met with the HR guy – and it went awesome. Going to have a formal interview with the manager of the department I’m looking to join later this week. > > On the downside, I’ve found that taking this position would be about a $7-8k/year pay cut…_but_, when you take into account that my commuting expenses are about $14k/year, it’s definitely worth it. Wow, $1000+ a month, that’s craazzzy! Are you driving a Lamborghini that gets about 8mpg? Don’t forget the commute costs are out of pocket, where the pay cut is pre-tax, which lowers that gap even more. Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-me-back-already-dammit/615680/10 "2012-03-14T18:46:54Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > Wow, $1000+ a month, that’s craazzzy! Are you driving a Lamborghini that gets about 8mpg? I live 50 miles from my office, so I’m putting $100+ into the gas tank of my Saturn wagon each week right now. Add in all the wear and tear and such, and it doesn’t take long to add up. From a company/union standpoint, personal vehicle travel is $0.55/mile. That makes it $55/day, and 225 work days each year makes it $12,375. Add in things like extended day care and the company paying for work-at-home employee’s internet access and such, and it clears 14 grand easily. And I hope you get that call before the time I hit “submit reply”, **mnemosyne**! ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-me-back-already-dammit/615680/11 "2012-03-14T19:00:26Z")
Thanks! I didn’t get the call, but I called and left a message (has anyone _ever_ actually reached an HR person at their desk on the first try? I don’t think I ever have!) Hopefully I’ll get some news soon… at least this HR woman seems pretty good and competent, and she’s really nice. The one for another set of interviews is a clueless moron (didn’t even come to the interview, didn’t notify anyone that she wouldn’t be there, forgot that she had, in fact, called me 2 weeks before when she called to schedule these, screwed up my name twice in emails, etc.). It’s a good company, and I know not to judge a company by it’s HR staff… but it’s frustrating dealing with some people, knowing that their ability to do their job is what stands between you and employment! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2012, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-me-back-already-dammit/615680/12 "2012-03-16T00:38:51Z")
Still no return phone call. This is so frustrating. Maybe tomorrow… ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2012, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-me-back-already-dammit/615680/13 "2012-03-16T08:26:06Z")
Since this is internal, why don’t you email them? Something along the lines of, “I’m sorry I missed your call; when would be convenient for me to call you to discuss the position?” ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2012, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-me-back-already-dammit/615680/14 "2012-03-16T18:58:47Z")
Hope there’ll be good news for both of you after the weekend! ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2012, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-me-back-already-dammit/615680/15 "2012-03-16T19:49:40Z")
Just finished the interview. I think it went quite well…so now begins another two to three weeks of waiting! (And they better get back to **mnemosyne** well before then!) ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2012, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-me-back-already-dammit/615680/16 "2012-03-16T20:03:21Z")
Well, unless she calls at the end of the workday on a rainy Friday afternoon, I get to stew and bitch about this all weekend. How hard is it to return a phone call, even just to say “Sorry, no news yet, we should get back to you in [time]”? ☹ I am so bloody tired of this. I am not cut out for being a housewife - I went back to school for a major career change _because I want to work_ and define myself largely by my career. I finished school in June…I’m seeing a full year of sitting on my ass creeping up on me and I want to cry (fuck this, I am crying…they told me during internships that they’d hire me after graduation!!!). I already know I’ll be very good at this job - _just bloody get the paperwork over with and let me work!_ This has been the worst year of my life. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Sethcrzygy86](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c2a13f/32.png) [@Sethcrzygy86](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sethcrzygy86)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2012, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-me-back-already-dammit/615680/17 "2012-03-16T23:15:35Z")
Unless the new boss comes along and decided it’s unfair to let someone work from home and makes you come back into the office. Then you’re stuck with a pay cut and a commute. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-me-back-already-dammit/615680/18 "2012-03-23T19:59:49Z")
I’m bored so I figured I’d update in case anyone wants to know… I finally reached HR this week and the answer is… they haven’t filed all the paperwork. They don’t know when it will happen…a few days, a week…who knows? They will call me when they have news. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-me-back-already-dammit/615680/19 "2012-03-23T20:42:26Z")
Aww, you have my sympathies. ☹ Tom Petty had it right! [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ItLzdZV004s/hqdefault.jpg "The Waiting by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItLzdZV004s) ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-me-back-already-dammit/615680/20 "2012-04-12T18:22:12Z")
Almost a month since the interview, so I decided to take a walk up to the department in question and find out if they were ever planning on hiring someone. Turns out they did, two weeks ago. And HR never bothered to tell the other candidates. Lordy, I fucking hate HR. **mnemosyne**? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-me-back-already-dammit/615680.md?page=2)