The company I used to work for closed their local office several months ago, so I’ve been hunting for a new job. Interviews have been hard to come by, but there have been a couple.
I found a job listing a while ago that I was perfect for, and I had an interview about three weeks ago (the Monday before Thanksgiving). I aced it. I expected an offer to be waiting in my e-mail by the time I got home.
There wasn’t, but that was okay. They said when I was there that they were bringing in someone else the next day. I didn’t hear back from them that whole week. And I still haven’t.
I’ve been keeping in touch with their HR guy, but apparently they haven’t come to any decision. Two weeks ago, he told me that they were bringing in some more people to interview. Last week he told me that they were just starting to discuss the candidates and there should be some news by the middle of the week. Friday he said that there was still nothing.
I’ve heard stories of all sorts of sneaky tricks that job interviewers use. Several years ago I had an interview with someone who I’m sure was deliberately interrupting me. So I’m wondering if this stringing me along is another tactic. Are they waiting to see how resourceful and direct I’ll be about getting in touch with someone else at the company, are they indecisive, or am I just screwed?
So many things happen on the other end. They may not be SURE they are going to hire anyone at all - and maybe reconsidering the job. Or they may be looking for something oh-so-slightly different and, since you were so close to perfect, are sure perfect will walk through their door if they leave the job open another week. Or someone someone knows wants to interview and it just hasn’t happened yet. Or someone in a decision making capacity has been out of the office.
Or you didn’t ace the interview at all. Maybe you are still in the running, but something about you left questions. My guess is that they are looking for something a little different than you - you may end up with a job offer, but weren’t the perfect candidate you thought you were.
I used to work at a recruiting firm (IT guy, but had to know the process). This could be several things, some of which have been laid out by others. Here’s another possibility:
You weren’t perfect, but not in a bad way. I know of cases where candidate 1b was kept in the dark regarding the status of the process while the company tried to nail down candidate 1. If it didn’t work, they could then go to the next candidate in line. It is a bit machiavellian in the sense they are trying to keep their options open (you), and do this in hopes of the backup not snagging another position in the meantime.
My advise - take it as it comes. If you have established that it is good to keep checking in continue to do so. In the meantime, act as if it ain’t happening (since you have no evidence it will) and act in accordance. No need to burn a bridge, as it may simply be ineptitude or some other factor (hiring manager going ill, time of year, etc).
Is this a suggestion that you’ll get the job if only you find the right person to talk to? I seriously doubt it.
Either you are the top candidate, but they’re not sure about making a hire at all yet, or you’re not the top candidate and they’re stringing you along til they seal a deal (or get a rejection) from their top candidate.
Or they’re just slow as hell and still checking references. What I’d do is contact my references and see if they’ve been contacted by the employer.
As someone who in the past has hired others, I’ll tell you that after I meet the right person, I immediately call the references and if they check out, the person is hired. I don’t keep looking for something better, I’ve got work that needs getting done that you, the hire, need to get to. So unless it is some government agency or humongous corporation that must follow some rules of keeping the thing open and interviewing so many people, you are at best their back up choice if they can’t find somebody else who they think will be a better fit.
One of two things: a) you’re being strung along while they wait to see who walks through the door or if they can land their ideal guy or b) they really are taking a long time to discuss the position. Choice (a) is pretty likely - the probability of (b) depends no the level of the position - if it’s a position with broad exposure and interaction with multiple managers, it could very well be taking the time to discuss.
Or maybe they don’t know how to say no thanks - I had two days of interviews with a certain major retail chain where they flew me to their home office HQ, I met with managers for 2 days, free dinner/hotel, etc - and at the final interview we discussed salary, etc and I asked the hiring manager “Do you have any doubt about my ability to do this job?”
He answered “No” - and I felt I had the job (as you did) - but it took two weeks of phone tag AND seeing the ad back out on Monster.com until I got a rejection from them. No idea what their problem was, although I can only assume they didn’t want to meet my salary demands. But even then, they handled it poorly - not communicating to me, posting the job on Monster again before informing me, etc. So, even the “best” companies can be very stupid.
If you’ve got a decent job now or something to make ends meet, sit tight and keep looking - and let this company come to you if they are interested.
I was thinking I was their second choice, too, and they were just stalling me until they had a firm commitment from number one. But if that were the case, it seems like it should have been wrapped up already. I chatted with one of my references on Wednesday, I think, and he hadn’t been contacted.
There are some good things about this job and some weird things. I’m a Software Engineer, and job hunting for us seems to be completely dependent on which languages you know. Their job description reads like my résumé, I’ve done exactly what they’re looking for and then some. And their office is only three miles away; my last job was thirty.
But just getting the interview was a bit confused. At first they said the job listing on their website was out of date, but the web staff hadn’t taken that page down yet. Then they said the near-identical listing on hotjobs was current. Then that went away; and just when I’d written them off, I got an e-mail to call for an interview.
Everything I’ve ever heard or read about job hunting says to use the smile-on-your-face-and-a-shine-on-your-shoes, How-To-Win-Friends-And-Influence-People type of stuff; be persistent, call, let them know you’re interested. That does not come naturally to me. But I did everything right on this one. I even sent thank-you letters to all six people I interviewed with.
I don’t want to drop the ball now. But the HR guy doesn’t seem to really be in charge of this whole process, so he’s not the one I have to make an impression on. The job doesn’t really start until January (I’d be taking over for a guy who’s going to Norway for a year), so they may just be taking their time. I’ve got everyone’s e-mail address, so if I contact someone else am I being confident and persistent, or pushy and annoying? As I said, this does not come naturally to me.
Some of my programming specialties are not in terribly high demand, and money’s going to start being an issue in a few months. This job would come in very handy.