Author Topic: Waiting to hear back on job etiquette question  (Read 7186 times)

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Waiting to hear back on job etiquette question
« on: July 28, 2015, 12:59:39 PM »

Offline saltlover

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Hi Celticsblog,

I'm waiting to hear back about a job I applied for.  Here's the backstory -- please give me your advice.

I applied for this job in early April.  Before the job was posted, I was reached out to by someone involved in the decision-making process and told to please apply.  I did so, and heard nothing until early June, when I had an interview that went well.  I was one of two candidates brought back for a second interview.  That was June 10th.  I thought it went very well (better than my first interview).  It ended slightly abruptly because we ran long, and someone came to kick us out of the conference room, so I didn't get a chance to ask the "what's the decision timeline" question, and I forgot to put it in my follow-up thank you email.  After hearing nothing for three weeks, I emailed again on July 1st, and asked what the timeframe was.  I was told then that I should hear back in 10-14 days.  It's been double that period, so do I:

A) Reach out again
B) Continue to wait patiently
C) Assume I did not get the job

I want to do A, but I don't want to turn anyone off.  I also really want the job, but expect to do a little salary negotiation, so I don't want to appear too eager.  But I don't want my silence to be taken as a lack of interest.  I'm hopeful it isn't C, because HR is very slow (was told about the job opening in January, but it wasn't posted until April, and then 2 months between that and interviews).

Anyway, I don't know what to do, and am posting here in part to take up some of this nervous energy and not pursue option A if its the wrong thing.

Thanks for listening.  Thoughts appreciated.

Re: Waiting to hear back on job etiquette question
« Reply #1 on: July 28, 2015, 01:05:41 PM »

Offline BudweiserCeltic

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Personally I'd wait until the Summer season is over. Maybe some decision makers are in vacation and such.

But I don't know much about the interview process, I work in a family business so luckily haven't had to go through that.

I'd say pestering is one of the worst offenses in this, I'd say keep being patient for as long as you can manage. I very much doubt they've forgotten about you, considering you've had quite a few contacts with them through this.

Re: Waiting to hear back on job etiquette question
« Reply #2 on: July 28, 2015, 01:07:49 PM »

Offline Rondo2287

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Honestly, company's drag out interview processes for a reason.  Its rare in my experience that if a company doesn't move fast on you that they really want you as their top choice. 

My sister in law did have a crazy drawn out experience however which ended with her withdrawing her name from consideration because she just got so sick and tired of the game the company was playing. 
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Re: Waiting to hear back on job etiquette question
« Reply #3 on: July 28, 2015, 01:09:32 PM »

Offline manl_lui

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it doesn't hurt to reach out again, let them know "hey it's been 10-14 days since I last reached out, ......."

I wouldn't wait for them to call back, and personally for me, if I don't hear back within a week or two after the interview, I assume I didn't get the job. And yes, sometimes it takes time for HR to process candidates and potential offers. Hell, they took 4 months just to officially promote me.

Just to be safe, I'd apply to other jobs as well as a backup. And if you really want this job and want a higher salary, hearing other offers will only help you negotiate

"hey look, I would LOVE to work here, but this company is offering me $x a year, if you don't match, can you at least meet me in the middle?"

Re: Waiting to hear back on job etiquette question
« Reply #4 on: July 28, 2015, 01:12:09 PM »

Offline D.o.s.

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Look, J.R., I think you need to accept that your NBA career is coming to a close.

(as far as real life goes I think manl_lui's post basically hit the nail on the head)
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Re: Waiting to hear back on job etiquette question
« Reply #5 on: July 28, 2015, 01:17:57 PM »

Online bdm860

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I've always assumed you work for either the League office or one of the 30 teams managing their cap.

Danny's been busy with the draft, then summer league, and just finalized the Lee trade yesterday.  He's probably busy figuring out how to get some use out of that last 3.3m in cap space while trimming the roster to 15.  Plus, when you were told about the job opening in January, he wasn't expecting the team to make the playoffs which probably helped screw the timeline up.

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Re: Waiting to hear back on job etiquette question
« Reply #6 on: July 28, 2015, 01:20:35 PM »

Online jpotter33

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See, I actually view the opposite as true. My mother works in a job where she constantly has to make decisions on hiring new employees, and she has made it very clear to me over the years that she views option A as the best option due to it showing motivation, care, and interest in the prospective job. Every single time I had a job/college/scholarship/fellowship interview or anything like that growing up, she was always on me to contact the employer if I hadn't heard from them. She holds the philosophy that you need to stay on people's arses to get what you want, but, granted, that is only one person's ideology on the matter.

I'm actually sort of in the same boat as you right now. I submitted a couple of manuscripts to some journals back in early April, and they were supposed to get back to me in two months. Well, after ten weeks went by I sent in a status email to inquire about the status of my manuscripts, and they said they would have a decision to me by July 15th. Here it is on July 28th, and I still haven't heard anything back. I'll probably give it another week or so and then send them another status inquiry. Hope that helps!

Re: Waiting to hear back on job etiquette question
« Reply #7 on: July 28, 2015, 01:26:13 PM »

Offline saltlover

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I've always assumed you work for either the League office or one of the 30 teams managing their cap.

Danny's been busy with the draft, then summer league, and just finalized the Lee trade yesterday.  He's probably busy figuring out how to get some use out of that last 3.3m in cap space while trimming the roster to 15.  Plus, when you were told about the job opening in January, he wasn't expecting the team to make the playoffs which probably helped screw the timeline up.

Hah, I wish!  But Mr. Ainge (or Mr. Zarren!), I'm available, and totally willing to relocate to Boston.  Get me while you can!

Re: Waiting to hear back on job etiquette question
« Reply #8 on: July 28, 2015, 01:28:41 PM »

Offline Celts Fan 508

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I would do A, but I would assume that it is C if you have not heard by now, but better to know for sure then to wait.  I hope I am wrong and that you get the job, best of luck!
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Re: Waiting to hear back on job etiquette question
« Reply #9 on: July 28, 2015, 01:29:03 PM »

Offline saltlover

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See, I actually view the opposite as true. My mother works in a job where she constantly has to make decisions on hiring new employees, and she has made it very clear to me over the years that she views option A as the best option due to it showing motivation, care, and interest in the prospective job. Every single time I had a job/college/scholarship/fellowship interview or anything like that growing up, she was always on me to contact the employer if I hadn't heard from them. She holds the philosophy that you need to stay on people's arses to get what you want, but, granted, that is only one person's ideology on the matter.

I'm actually sort of in the same boat as you right now. I submitted a couple of manuscripts to some journals back in early April, and they were supposed to get back to me in two months. Well, after ten weeks went by I sent in a status email to inquire about the status of my manuscripts, and they said they would have a decision to me by July 15th. Here it is on July 28th, and I still haven't heard anything back. I'll probably give it another week or so and then send them another status inquiry. Hope that helps!

Good luck with waiting.  I think I'll give it until August, since then it will have been a month or so.  But man I want this job -- what I like doing (aside from capology!), and a real promotion, in terms of pay, title, and responsibility.  Probably not an opportunity anywhere else like it for me.

Re: Waiting to hear back on job etiquette question
« Reply #10 on: July 28, 2015, 01:30:40 PM »

Offline RMO

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Is the person you followed up with the person who approached you about applying?  If so I would just ask them again.  I assume you have some kind of personal relationship with that person and they'd probably be less prone to be irritated. 

If you choose option C there's no reason not to give option A a try.  What do you have to lose?

Sounds like it's a big company (conference room appointments).  They can really drag things out. 

In the end do you really think someone is going to scratch you off the list because you followed up and then followed up again after THEY didn't respond?  Would you do that?  As long as you're not obnoxious about it (sending an email every day) I think you should try.  Reply on the first follow up email and just mention you never heard back and wanted to try again.

Also, while it's not all that uncommon to drag out the hiring process it could be indicative of the company culture.  You'll need to decide but you should consider if it's the right fit for you.
« Last Edit: July 28, 2015, 01:38:08 PM by RMO »

Re: Waiting to hear back on job etiquette question
« Reply #11 on: July 28, 2015, 01:36:45 PM »

Offline littleteapot

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Within reason (like don't do it 3 times a day), I don't think it hurts to keep following up and showing interest.
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Re: Waiting to hear back on job etiquette question
« Reply #12 on: July 28, 2015, 01:40:42 PM »

Offline gift

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If they said 10-14 days and you know they already move slowly, I'd wait 18-22 days and then follow up.

If they want you, they won't forget about you and they won't be turned off with reasonable follow ups.

Just remember etiquette during the follow up. We had a guy apply at my company, interviewed with us and basically had the job. Then his follow up email was really weird and turned us all off. We went another direction.

Re: Waiting to hear back on job etiquette question
« Reply #13 on: July 28, 2015, 01:44:48 PM »

Offline slamtheking

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Hi Celticsblog,

I'm waiting to hear back about a job I applied for.  Here's the backstory -- please give me your advice.

I applied for this job in early April.  Before the job was posted, I was reached out to by someone involved in the decision-making process and told to please apply.  I did so, and heard nothing until early June, when I had an interview that went well.  I was one of two candidates brought back for a second interview.  That was June 10th.  I thought it went very well (better than my first interview).  It ended slightly abruptly because we ran long, and someone came to kick us out of the conference room, so I didn't get a chance to ask the "what's the decision timeline" question, and I forgot to put it in my follow-up thank you email.  After hearing nothing for three weeks, I emailed again on July 1st, and asked what the timeframe was.  I was told then that I should hear back in 10-14 days.  It's been double that period, so do I:

A) Reach out again
B) Continue to wait patiently
C) Assume I did not get the job

I want to do A, but I don't want to turn anyone off.  I also really want the job, but expect to do a little salary negotiation, so I don't want to appear too eager.  But I don't want my silence to be taken as a lack of interest.  I'm hopeful it isn't C, because HR is very slow (was told about the job opening in January, but it wasn't posted until April, and then 2 months between that and interviews).

Anyway, I don't know what to do, and am posting here in part to take up some of this nervous energy and not pursue option A if its the wrong thing.

Thanks for listening.  Thoughts appreciated.
I was in a similar situation 5 years ago.

contacted by a headhunter late May/early June, put in touch with a company mid-June to do phone interviews.  I'll call them Company A. 

At the same time, was contacted by another talent recruiter for the same phone interview process.  I'll call them Company B.

Company B was more 'aggressive' in lining up the phone interviews where I was speaking with a Director that oversaw several products the company develops and sells nationally.  had all the qualifications they wanted and then some.  expressed a lot of interest in hiring me, particularly regarding there biggest product which they wanted me to help in the redesign of.  sounded great but got bogged down in negotiations over time off.  in the end, the company told me there'd be delay in further hiring discussions while they filled positions related to another one of their products.

enter Company A which decided to go through with a phone interview finally after over a month after initial contact/interest (after everything with Company B happened).  This is now late-July.  company A dragged their feet organizing actual face-to-face interviews.  Had the first, went great.  the type of interview where you and the interviewers hit it off immediately and there's no doubt you are the top candidate.  got good feedback afterwards (this was early-august).  had to wait another month to get the second interview which was a formality.   chased the company for another 3 weeks (using the head-hunter to also put some pressure on the company to get moving) until I finally got the official offer end of September for a start date the following Monday.  (My boss at the time was fine with the short notice since my job was being re-org-ed out of the company).

in the meantime, I didn't like being on tenderhooks with A so I keep pinging the Director at B and that recruiter for updates.  didn't get a lot of feedback in terms of projected timeframes for further interviews and hiring decisions.  Finally, it wasn't until I had the offer from A and told B about it that they finally moved.  said they wanted to bring me out for an interview (fly me from RI to CO).  when I told them I already accepted the other offer, they asked me to back out of that offer and come work for them but they wouldn't budge on my time off offer so I politely declined.

end of story -- been with A for almost 5 years now and don't regret it.  I definitely feel you need to stay on the butts of the HR depts at the companies you interview at or you just get dropped from the radar.  if you're involvement came through a head-hunter/recruiter, use them as your voice.  they do this for a living and know which buttons to push to get info.

Re: Waiting to hear back on job etiquette question
« Reply #14 on: July 28, 2015, 01:46:17 PM »

Offline manl_lui

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See, I actually view the opposite as true. My mother works in a job where she constantly has to make decisions on hiring new employees, and she has made it very clear to me over the years that she views option A as the best option due to it showing motivation, care, and interest in the prospective job. Every single time I had a job/college/scholarship/fellowship interview or anything like that growing up, she was always on me to contact the employer if I hadn't heard from them. She holds the philosophy that you need to stay on people's arses to get what you want, but, granted, that is only one person's ideology on the matter.

I'm actually sort of in the same boat as you right now. I submitted a couple of manuscripts to some journals back in early April, and they were supposed to get back to me in two months. Well, after ten weeks went by I sent in a status email to inquire about the status of my manuscripts, and they said they would have a decision to me by July 15th. Here it is on July 28th, and I still haven't heard anything back. I'll probably give it another week or so and then send them another status inquiry. Hope that helps!

Good luck with waiting.  I think I'll give it until August, since then it will have been a month or so.  But man I want this job -- what I like doing (aside from capology!), and a real promotion, in terms of pay, title, and responsibility.  Probably not an opportunity anywhere else like it for me.

I'd do it now, no point waiting a few more days for August to arrive. You mentioned you were one of two people asked to come back for a 2nd interview. That guy may have already emailed HR or the hiring manager for it.