I’m on my first real job search; I just graduated college in December and am trying to find a job that I at the very least don’t hate. Since the Doper community has a wide variety of people who have a wide variety of jobs, I thought that this might be a good place to pose questions about interviewing.
I went on an interview just under two weeks ago (for the record, this was a non-teaching job in a academic/non-profit setting). Everything seemed to go really, really well. I really like the job, know that I’m qualified for it, and would do a great job doing it. At the end of the interview, I was told that I would hear in 2-3 weeks, as they had to interview two other candidates. I was also told that if I have any questions, I should call them. As they did an excellent job of explaining everything during the interview, and of then answering my questions, I have not had any more questions to ask them (other than, of course, questions about salary, which I don’t think are quite appropriate at this stage in the proceedings).
It’s been nearly two weeks. I’ve already written a thank-you letter–I did so the day after the interview the minute I got home. I’m wondering, though, if it would be a good idea for me to call at any point during this in order to let them know that I am still very much interested in the position (though I would no means do so overtly). A factor in this is that, in order for me to take the job, I would have to relocate. My fiance and I went back to visit the town, and he is now quite agreeable to moving out there should I get the position (and should the pay be more than his job’s pay, which is pretty much a given in this position). To some extent, I think that letting them know that I am taking this opportunity very seriously would improve my chances of getting the position.
So should I call them at any point? When? If I call, should I come up with a question, or should I just ask about the status of the position? I’ve never had an interview for a full-time, career-type job before, so I’m a little new at this. I’d especially like to hear from anyone who’s been on the other side of this situation before.
I’ve interviewed dozens (and been on the other side of the desk a few times), so I can feel your pain! I think that an e-mail reminding them that you’re still interested would be entirely appropriate…
As for a question: I’m unclear as to the field you’re attempting to enter, but it wouldn’t hurt to anticipate what they’re looking for in a candidate - and remind them why you’re a perfect fit for the job. As in “Given the need for the (job title) to be accomplished at (skill set), I’d like to point out that I have unique (experience/education) and believe I could make a real difference at (name of company).” Let them know you are still interested, and do NOT call to ask how much the health insurance will cost you per month. The ball’s in their court, and you have to sell yourself at this point.
Good luck! I’d also go to monster.com for interviewing/resume tips.
The job I’m currently at: after my interview the buck got passed enough that they forgot to call and tell me I’d got the job. The first I heard of it was a phone call asking why I wasn’t at orientation!
So if you haven’t got the job it won’t hurt you to find out from them and if you have got the job then they’ll happily tell you. There’s no reason not to and many reasons to follow up with more than a letter.
I would definitely call. Talk to the person that said to call if you had any questions. Ask them if they are done interviewing for the position and when they might make their decision. Then let them know you are still very interested in the position. If you can somehow get a casual conversation going, that would be even better. Good luck.
Can I jump in with my own questions? I’m in a similar position to AotL, but with a slight twist.
Three weeks ago I interviewed for a job at a place I’d already worked at for two summers. The job is NOT quite the same as the one I was doing previously, but the person who interviewed me was my former supervisor (now an assistant manager) and another supervisor who I know. At the time, they said it would be a couple days before they finished interviews, the chosen name(s) would go to THEIR manager, and he would sign off on the hired person, and then give the paperwork to HR.
Last week (2 weeks after the interview) I called my former supervisor to ask if he had any news regarding the job placement. He told me the paperwork was with HR, and that they were just really slow (no surprise - they tend to live at the coffeemaker rather than at their desks) but that I should hear something “soon”. He did NOT tell me that I had the job, nor did he tell me that I DIDN’T have it. Since the position is under his management, I’d assume that he knows who has the position. So either he doesn’t know (unlikely) or I got it but he didn’t want to tell me until HR staightened things out. I think he would tell me if he knew I didn’t have it.
Anyways, so now, three weeks after the interview, I still haven’t heard a peep from HR. I’m fairly sure that calling the supervisor again wouldn’t help, and while I don’t know which HR person would be in charge of this, I do know two of them. Should I call them? Should I call the supervisor and ask if he knows who I could ask? Is that being WAY too impatient? It is a big company, and maybe they just aren’t in a hurry to hire, but in the meantime, I’m going crazy with waiting. I’m looking into applying elsewhere, but that’s going to take time, too.
To add to all this, our decison to stay in the province depends on whether I have a job or not. If I get it, then I transfer my license and medicare and all that to Ontario, if I don’t then we move back to Québec this summer. I know this doesn’t really factor into the company’s thoughts, but it does to me, and it’s driving me nuts! What should I do?
Call. But there are some more important things to have before you do, things that you should’ve picked up when you interviewed:
a) who is the decision maker? (this is typically the hiring manager)
b) what were your strengths for what they want?
c) what were your weaknesses for what they want?
How do you get the above info? Ask in the interview. Ask #b and #c from everybody you interview with. Most people will be happy to share with you.
So, the person you want to call is the decision maker. Who’s number do you have? NOT the decision maker! It’s the HR person, and they play almost zero role in the decision-making process. You can call the HR person and tell them how wonderful you are, and 90% of the time they won’t even tell the decision maker you called; you could’ve called the pizza parlor for the same benefit. 9% of the time, they’ll go to the decison maker and say “have you made a decision yet? people are calling.” 1% of the time, they’ll say to the decision maker “Angel of the Lord is wondering about that job.” 0% of the time will they tell the decision maker what you said. Don’t call the HR person. Call the switchboard, and ask for the decision maker by name. You did write down their name, right?
Ok, you got 'em on the phone. Now, quickly convey this information:
a) You’re very interested. Let me define that, because often people get this concept wrong. You’re not interested because you want a job. You’re not interested because you’re poor or because you like the city, or because the commute is good. You’re not interested for YOU things, you’re interested for COMPANY things. You’re interested because you’re so impressed with the team. You’re interested because you love the product. You’re interested because you love the technology (if this is a high-tech job). You’re interested because you can see this is a huge market opportunity.
b) You’ve got all those positive strengths that they already know about from the interview.
c) You’ve got news to report about the weaknesses that they detected in that interview. You’ve read up on something. You’ve talked to somebody. You’ve followed some newsgroup. Basically, these shortcomings are important to you, and you’re making it a point to do better. (you have taken steps to improve these, haven’t you?) Be prepared to demonstrate some competance in 2-5 sentences. If you impress in those sentences, you’ll be invited to talk some more.
ANGEL, if I were told I were hear about a decision in 2 to 3 weeks, I would not call at “nearly two weeks.” You haven’t even hit the soonest deadline they gave you for deciding. I would call at 2.5 weeks, and what I usually say is (a) I’m still very interested in the position; (2) is there any update on when they are making the decision; and (3) is there anything further they’d like to see from me, in terms of explaining my qualifications. Points for sending a ‘thank-you,’ by the way; I think it’s a nice touch.
MNEMOSYNE, I would not call HR. They are paperwork processers, not decision makers, and they should not even be able to tell you who got the job. And you may make someone very uncomfortable if you ask – if you are asking for information they cannot give you. You have to stick with your contact person, who is the supervisor. He may not be the ultimate-decisionmaker, but he is the contact. I don’t think calling him again is unreasonable, though in this case I might say: I’m very interested in the position, but I don’t want to be a pest. When shall I call again? Not should I call again, but when.
And with all due respect to BILLH, I would never ask an interviewer to mirror back to me (tell me) perceived weaknesses. Hopefully, they haven’t noticed any. They almost certainly have, of course, be they big or small, but I would not call attention to them by asking people to tell me what they are. That is a question I might ask an interviewer after I had failed to get the job: If you have a few moments, can we discuss my interview? What went well? What went badly? What can I be doing better?
And I would also say that if the decision-maker is different from the contact person – as is frequently the case – you will score no points by calling the decision-maker directly. The reason there’s a contact person is to handle inquiries so the DM isn’t bothered, and disregarding the chain of communication the company put in place only makes you look like you can’t follow directions.
My office currently has two openings for professional positions. We have received over 150 resumes for those positions. People who try to reach the boss directly (disregarding instructions to direct inquiries to a particular contact person from the search committee), and people who call days after an interview (after being told we are interviewing for two more weeks and hope to have a decision made the week after that) do not make the positive impression of eagerness they think they do. But once the deadline you have been given has past – and you should always ask, it’s reasonable to want to know – then can you call? Sure. Just call the right person and ask for another specific deadline so you’re not calling repeatedly.
Jodi, I’m afraid I disagree on several points. For credentials, I’ve hired hundreds of people in my life (and for every person I’ve hired, there were 3-6 that I interviewed, and for every person I interviewed, I read maybe 20 resumes).
No. People like confidence. They don’t like suck-ups. It’s dating 101, and it’s job-seeking 101. It’s just how humans work. Hiring people want to see someone who looks like they can fill the job, and part of that is saying and conveying “I want this job; I’m the best person for it.” Call at two weeks, and have a conversation prepared, like I laid out in my previous post. Do NOT call and make them have a conversation with you. Lead them. I guarantee you, the responses to your questions #2 and #3 will always be “we’ll let you know”, and “no; I think we have everything, thank you.” When you take this submissive approach, you’ll also get plenty of “please contact the HR person; they’ll be your contact”.
No. This didn’t hurt, but it didn’t help. I’ll be frank and tell you that my experience is that people who suck up like this are desperate, and they’re usually desperate because they’re not the best candidate. I actually knock candidates down a notch when they do this. Now, it’s a different story if they send me a note saying the things I mentioned above, such as:
Why they’re great
How they’re improving their non-great traits
Additions to a conversation we had, especially if it involved my questioning them on something, where they’ve learned more since, or recalled more since
That stuff is great, and that candidate gets a big plus. But writing “Oh, Mr. H, it was such a pleasure meeting you. Thank you so much for your time. You have such lovely children in the picture on your desk.” really is a black mark for them. Maybe it works for some employers, but none that I know.
no, no and NO. This is horrible advice. Never ever convey that you’re a pest. You’re the right person for this job, and you’re eager to help the hiring manager fill his need. You are NOT worthless; don’t convey that. But the worst thing is requesting permission to call again. NEVER EVER EVER ask permission. You risk a “no”, and frankly you’re likely to get it. When you’re in the interview, don’t say “can I call you?”. Say “can I get your card?”.
I cannot emphasize how wrong you are. If you really think that your interviewers did not notice anything wrong with you, you’re just wrong. There’s no other way to put it. They interview you for the express purpose of finding things wrong with you. They want (or need) resolution to those items before they can hire you. One resolution is “he seems smart, he’ll grow.” Another is “he won’t do those tasks; we’ll have to hire someone else to.” Another is “this just won’t work, we’ll hire someone else.” No matter the resolution, before you will be hired, the hiring manager will have talked to all the interviewers and wants to be comfortable in his own mind that this problem can be handled. Ignoring that is the worst thing you can do. You want to convey to them that your weaknesses are temporary, and as soon as you can, you want to demonstrate that you are working (and succeeding) making these things better, and that this job is very important enough to you and that you care enough to make things better.
Wrong. If you call the contact person (likely HR), you will get nowhere. If you call the hiring manager, you stand a chance of improving your odds, especially if you have something that will improve your standing in their eyes, i.e. not “just wanted to thank you and tell you how lovely your office is.”
I can’t over-emphasize how bad this advice is. Your objective is to get a job there. They don’t want a floor mat, at least not in any job that’s any good.
BILL, you can disagree with me to your heart’s content, but unless someone elected you Exclusive Arbiter of Hiring Practices, and I didn’t get the memo, you are hardly in a position to decree how “wrong” I am about something as subjective as the best way to get a job.
I did not advocate that she suck-up to anyone, or to be submissive, or to convey that they are “worthless.” I do not agree that a thank-you note makes an applicant look “desperate,” but then neither did I assert that anyone would be hired (or not hired) on the strength of one. For that matter, nor did I ever say that a rote thank-you note was in any way comparable to one that manages to subtly reiterate the applicant’s skills or tie in with interview specifics. The latter is obviously better, but who said it wasn’t? As an employer (and, for that matter, as an employee) I do not care at all for being “led,” and I detest people who think they do not need to secure my permission before taking up more of my time or bothering me.
And I think the value – or lack thereof – of highlighting your own weaknesses in a a job interview is pretty much self-evident.
I find it interesting that you would post as if you’re the only person in the entire world who’s ever hired anyone else. I hate to burst your bubble, but you’re not. I have a fairly extensive hiring history myself and I will tell you frankly, a person who used the overly-assertive tactics you advocate would not be hired by me. So I cannot over-emphasize how offensive it is for you to decree me to be “wrong” just because your experience has been different than mine.
So I guess the ANGEL will have to judge for herself which of us is doling out “horrible advice.” I would merely hope that she would keep in mind that people who insist they are inerringly correct in their opinions, are never as correct as they think they are.
::blinks:: Woah. I wasn’t expecting this to happen, exactly.
At any rate, I did call this morning. It’d been over two weeks, and I didn’t think it would be especially appreciated if I called first thing Monday morning (I’m in a temp job at the moment, and the morning is the only time that I can call).
I kind of mixed Jodi and Bill H.'s advice. I knew I was supposed to contact the person who gave me her number. The decisions in that department are made on a collaborative basis, and bugging the top man on the totem pole would have been both annoying and fruitless.
The person I contacted pretty much told me when they would be making their decision (which was outside of the 2-3 week window). She noticed that I was sick–I was a bit hoarse–and I mentioned that I’d gotten it while staying in a hotel room with my fiance while staying in the town. I also reassured her that I was still interested–she asked if I was calling to say that I wasn’t. I figured that mentioning both these things gets the point across that my SO isn’t going to hold me back, which was the one thing I worried about being a black mark against me.
As for the letter. . .I was brought up and taught that not writing a thank-you letter in this sort of situation is just downright rude. I did attempt to subtly–but briefly–reiterate my strengths, but my immediate purpose was just to thank them for their time. Not because I’m desperate; because I think it’s only polite.
They almost certainly have, of course, be they big or small, but I would not call attention to them by asking people to tell me what they are. That is a question I might ask an interviewer after I had failed to get the job: If you have a few moments, can we discuss my interview? What went well? What went badly? What can I be doing better?
Good luck.