I am looking for a job currently, as I want to relocate to be closer to my girlfriend and find out if this relationship is the ‘one’. However she lives somewhere that is somewhat small and full of government jobs (Kingston, ON for those interested). Her relocating to be near me is not an option as she has at least 2 years left of med school. My questions are:
Is it advisable to do a follow-up call after you have emailed your resume?
If so, how long do I wait before doing this?
How long does it generally take to hear back from prospective employees?
I am getting somewhat depressed as I have applied for a number of jobs, some of which would be a step down from what I currently do (network admin, have applied for desktop support/hardware support) and have heard nothing. I still do desktop support/hardware support, I just also do more network admin stuff now as I am the only IT guy for the company. Could my resume be that bad? Or is it something else? Any help/advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
Are you applying for government jobs? Those are often the slowest to fill. I’m speaking from a US perspective, but perhaps some things about governments are universal.
Also, I’d suggest you use your girlfriend’s address and phone number on your applications, if she’s OK with that. Employers tend to overlook people who are not local. They either think you’re not serious, or that you will expect relocation costs to be paid, or that you will be resentful when it turns out you moved for a job that they know is not that great.
If it’s feasible, you might try taking temporary or contract work there while you look. A lot of places prefer to hire a known quantity.
Here in NC, our state government and local state universities have their own temporary agencies. If you are not already working for the state, taking one of their temporary positions is one of the most successful ways to get a job with the state. You may want to look for something similar if it exists.
Good luck in your job search!
Since this is mainly asking for advice, I am moving it to IMHO.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
Bumping in hopes some HR person comes in, and wants to answer the “do I do a follow up call” question.
I do a lot of hiring at my job, and work closely with our HR office.
I think a call to the HR office couldn’t hurt. They deal with that a lot, and the worst case scenario is that they say “thanks for calling” and the best case scenario is that they fill you in on some point of the application process that perhaps you weren’t aware of.
I would not call the supervisor of the open position. I sometimes get these calls, and to be honest, they mean nothing. I’ve never chucked a resume because of a phone call, but I don’t even bother to make a note of the person who called. Often, the calls are frustrating because having vacant positions in the office frequently means I am doing even more work than usual, and my call list is already getting to the critical point. Now, this might be a function of the types of jobs that I deal with – for something very specialized, it might be that supervisors find it helpful to have a phone conversation, but I couldn’t speak to that myself.
I think Harriet has a great point about the local issue. If you can’t provide a local number, you might emphasize in your cover letter that you are relocating to the area in such a way that it makes it clear that you wouldn’t be relocating for this job.