After Job Interview: No News = Bad News?

[TromboneAl]

DD graduates from Wash U in St. Louis in May, and hasn't lined up a job yet. She's pretty worried.

She had a job interview three weeks ago for a job she'd like, and hasn't heard back yet. She feels that no news = bad news.

I'm not so sure. What do you think?

 

[FinanceDude]

Has she tried to follow up? Sometimes employers are looking to see how interested the applicants are. A quick call to that employer would tell her if she is in the running.........

 

[TromboneAl]

Yes, she's followed up. They told her two weeks ago that it would be a few weeks before she'd hear.

 

[FinanceDude]

Yes, she's followed up. They told her two weeks ago that it would be a few weeks before she'd hear.

Wait until next week and have her call again. Sometimes the hiring process drags on for awhile..........

Is she keeping sharp by interviewing other places too? "Interview experience" is very valauable.........

 

[Bestwifeever]

IMHO she should assume she's not getting that job and continue looking (and continue contacting her interviewer just to keep in touch).

Good luck to her.

 

[ziggy29]

IMHO she should assume she's not getting that job and continue looking (and continue contacting her interviewer just to keep in touch).

Agreed. I wouldn't necessarily give up all hope, but I wouldn't put my job search on hold waiting for a response, either -- *especially* not in this job market.

 

[ratface]

Having conducted a few interviews I'll sometimes get a thank-you card stating something to the effect, "Thanks so much for the opurtunity to meet with you on such and such" The call may not have ever gotten to the interviewer, the card thing is more personal and has more lasting effect. It may not be appropriate in all situations but certainly it is in some.

 

[TeeRuh]

I did campus recruiting for a few years for MegaTech (20 years ago). If she interviewed with a large company then 3 weeks is not out of reason at all. Recommendations/resume etc. are routed through multiple departments for review by multiple people (takes awhile). It's probably even harder in today's unsure environment. (I remember having an offer I had when I graduated "rescinded" due to an "unexpected slowdown in construction".)

t.r.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Some professional employers (including mine) are obliged to advertise in specific minority oriented publications for periods of time. They can't close the recruiting process until that is done.

So, no response is not a good thing but it might be for all kinds of reasons. When I'm hiring and have a great candidate in the wings, I'll usually call her and reinforce that we haven't forgotten about her, she's cleary a strong candidate and please bear with us another 2 weeks, etc.

Best of luck to your DD. Tough times. If she doesn't land a job, maybe she'll go back to graduate $chool like mine did.

 

[Dawg52]

When I graduated, I did not have a job. I did all the on campus interviews and received very few nibbles. One week after graduation, one company I interviewed with called and offered a job. A couple of days later, a company I had not interview with called requesting an interview with me. So sometimes the process can be slow and all of a sudden, things start popping.

 

[toofrugalformycat]

IMHO sending a snail mail letter appreciating the interview yada yada would not be out of line and may rattle someone's cage.
OTOH the last time I applied for and got a new job was in the mid-1980s.

 

[bbbamI]

OTOH the last time I applied for and got a new job was in the mid-1980s.

Yes.....me too....

 

[GoodSense]

I would say it depends on the organization. If it's a public sector job, 4 - 6 weeks is pretty normal. Even for a private company, 3 weeks is not too long. When I had my govt job, I applied in March and didn't start until September. That was typical. Luckily I had another job to tide me over.

It doesn't hurt to give a follow up email in my opinion. Stress on the "Thank You" part and just say something like "I look forward to hearing from you."

 

[Donzo]

I remember my career job - heard nothing for almost a month, then a 2nd interview, 1 week later I was flown to NJ to interview with the homw office and was offered the job the next day. What an exciting time of life! I was so happy to become a pharma rep for a Fortune 100 company - in the early 80's it was like a country club.....now -- not so much.
Good luck to your daughter - while stressful these will be some of the best years of her life.

 

[LOL!]

Also, the prospective employer may be offering the job to another person and that person after a short negotiation may not accept (maybe their spouse won't move!). One could be 3rd or 4th on the list and still get the job.

 

[TromboneAl]

She got the job!!!!

Just talked with her now -- she's very excited. No details yet.
​

 

[Bestwifeever]

WOW!! Yay!!! I can't believe a mere five hours after your first post you have such good news!

Congrats to her and you too!!!!

 

[Nords]

Just talked with her now -- she's very excited. No details yet.

I was just about to ask if she wants to work for a company that treats its new hires like that.

How does she tell if her salary & benefits are appropriate or if she's being lowballed? Does the college or other alumni or her professional association give her a ballpark estimate?

 

[Martha]

She got the job!!!!

Just talked with her now -- she's very excited. No details yet.
​

All right!

And I was just going to post that it always took me about a month to go from the first interview to hiring someone.

 

[Donzo]

I was just about to ask if she wants to work for a company that treats its new hires like that.

How does she tell if her salary & benefits are appropriate or if she's being lowballed? Does the college or other alumni or her professional association give her a ballpark estimate?

Valid point, but it is all about getting into the co/industry you want and then perform - the money always comes if you are valuable.
But as a manager, I always tried to start new hires with as high a salary as I could - trying to keep other co. from swooping in and taking the good ones with more money early on.
She is officially launched! And on St. Paddies no less

 

[harley]

It's great news that she got the job, Al. I hope it all works out for her. Just one word of warning regarding slips, cups, and lips. In my w*rking career I twice had situations where I was told I had gotten a job, only to have it fall through. Try to make sure she waits until she gets a written offer before she starts buying stuff and counting her chickens and everything. I'm not trying to be a wet blanket, but it's pretty devastating to have the rug pulled out from under you when you are counting on something.

By the way, my nephew just started there at U of Wash St.Louis. Sounds like a great school.

 

[cantlogin]

So, when's the retirement party? Gotta plan ahead.

 

[donheff]

Great news Al. My daughter graduates in May but with a studio art major the big-bucks offers are not exactly rolling in

 

[W2R]

T-Al, CONGRATULATIONS to your daughter. Getting a good job in this economy is quite a coup.

How does she tell if her salary & benefits are appropriate or if she's being lowballed? Does the college or other alumni or her professional association give her a ballpark estimate?

When I was an EE senior at A&M, we got lots of information by word of mouth from other EE students. Granted, we were a pretty tight-knit bunch and as time passed I learned of the amounts offered for most of the job offers in my graduating class. Every offer that everyone got was discussed among us, and we all knew each other's approximate GPA so it was pretty easy to tell what was a lowball offer. I also learned which companies routinely made high (or low) offers.

Also, the university had an employment office for graduating students, though which the interviews were conducted. That office provided statistics that I perused, as well, and these were consistent with the word of mouth info that I was getting. But I found it more helpful to hear about the offers for people that I knew - - because I knew their GPA's and had a pretty good idea of how they would come off in an interview, and I knew who had a relative working for that firm and so on.

Word of mouth also helped when finishing up my Ph.D., though the pool of graduates was much smaller.

 

[TromboneAl]

I was just about to ask if she wants to work for a company that treats its new hires like that.

Actually, it wasn't as bad as it sounds from my post. She was in contact with them, and they said it would be a while.

How does she tell if her salary & benefits are appropriate or if she's being lowballed? Does the college or other alumni or her professional association give her a ballpark estimate?

What W2R said. Of course, in her current state of mind, she'll take anything they offer.

Try to make sure she waits until she gets a written offer before she starts buying stuff and counting her chickens and everything.

I feel the same way, but I have chosen not to say anything. It's a very reputable company, one of Fortune Magazine's 100 best companies to work for, so she's probably OK. But most of all, it's time for Dad to not be putting his 2 cents in.